Job Search Behavior as a Multidimensional Construct: A Review of Different Job Search Behaviors and Sources

Greet Van Hoye Ghent University, Belgium

In U. C. Klehe & E. A. J. van Hooft (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Job Loss and Job Search (in press). New York: Oxford University Press.

This work was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellow grant from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Greet Van Hoye, Department of Personnel Management, Work and Organizational Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Phone: +32 9 264 64 54, Fax: +32 9 264 64 94, Email: greet.vanhoye@ugent.be

Different Job Search Behaviors and Sources

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Abstract Both theoretical models of job search and empirical research findings suggest that job search behavior is not a unidimensional construct. This chapter addresses the multidimensionality of job search behavior and provides a systematic review of the different job search behaviors and sources studied in the job search literature and their relationships with antecedent variables and employment outcomes. Organized within three major dimensions (effort-intensity, contentdirection, temporal-persistence), job search effort and intensity, job search strategies, preparatory and active job search behaviors, formal and informal job sources, specific job search behaviors, job search quality, job search dynamics, and job search persistence are discussed. This review strongly suggests that considering all the dimensions of job search behavior is essential for understanding job search success in both practice and research, resulting in a number of key implications for job seekers and employment counselors as well as crucial directions for future research.

Keywords: Job search behavior, job search effort, job search intensity, job search strategy, job