Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T08:11:20.322Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Employability and Career Success: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Reality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Robert Hogan ,
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic  and
Robert B. Kaiser
Robert Hogan*
Affiliation:
Hogan Assessment Systems
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Affiliation:
University College London New York University at London
Robert B. Kaiser
Affiliation:
Kaiser Leadership Solutions
*
E-mail: [email protected], Address: Hogan Assessment Systems, 2622 E 21st Street, Tulsa, OK 74114-1738.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Employability is defined as the capacity to gain and retain formal employment, or find new employment if necessary. Reasons for unemployment are often attributed to economic factors, but psychological factors associated with employability also contribute to the problem. Consequently, industrial-organizational psychologists should be uniquely suited to contribute to policy solutions for enhancing employability. This review begins by surveying the most common research approach to employability—the study of career success—which psychologists believe is determined by cognitive abilities, personality, and educational achievement. Next, we review the literature concerning what employers actually want. This section highlights the importance of social skills (being rewarding to deal with) as a key determinant of employability. We conclude by proposing a model for understanding the psychological determinants of employability and for bridging the gap between what psychologists prescribe and what employers want.

Type
Focal Article
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 3 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Argyle, M. (1967). The psychology of interpersonal behavior. Middlesex, England: Penguin.Google Scholar
Arthur, W., Bell, S. T., Villado, A. J., & Doverspike, D. (2006). The use of person-organization fit in employment decision making: An assessment of its criterion-related validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 786–801.Google Scholar
Baruch, Y., & Bozionelos, N. (2011). Career issues. In Zedeck, S. (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 67–113). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Becker, G. S. (1975). Human capital. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Boudreau, J. W., Boswell, W. R., & Judge, T. A. (2001). Effects of personality on executive career success in the United States and Europe. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 53–81.Google Scholar
Bretz, R. D. (1989). College grade point average as a predictor of adult success: A meta-analytic review and some additional evidence. Public Personnel Management, 18, 11–22.Google Scholar
Brown, P., & Hesketh, A. (2004). The mismanagement of talent: Employability and jobs in the knowledge economy. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011). Civilian labor force participation rate. Retrieved from http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000years_option=specific_years&include_graphs=true&to_month=1&from_month=2 Google Scholar
Bureau of National Affairs. (1988). Recruiting and selection procedures. Personnel policy forum survey No. 146. Washington, DC: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.Google Scholar
Caliendo, M., Cobb-Clark, D., & Uhlendorff, A. (2010). Locus of control and job search strategies. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4750.Google Scholar
Carmeli, A., Shalom, R., & Weisberg, J. (2007). Considerations in organizational career advancement: What really matters. Personnel Review, 36, 190–205.Google Scholar
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Arteche, A. (2008). Intellectual competence and academic performance: Preliminary validation of a model. Intelligence, 36, 564–573.Google Scholar
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). The psychology of personnel selection. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Kanfer, R., DeShon, R. P., Mathieu, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2009). The motivating potential of teams: A test and extension of Chen & Kanfer's (2006) model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110, 45–55.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Kannan, P., Trehan, B., & Loungani, P. (2011, May). New evidence on cyclical and structural sources of unemployment (IMF Working Paper No. 11/106). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI): Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Crede, M., & Kuncel, N. R. (2010). Study habits, skills, and attitudes: The third pillar supporting college academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 425–442.Google Scholar
Dipboye, R., & Colella, A. (Eds.) (2005). Discrimination at work: The psychological and organizational bases. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Dunn, W. S., Mount, M. K., Barrick, M. R., & Ones, D. S. (1995). Relative importance of personality and general mental ability in managers' judgments of applicant qualifications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 500–509.Google Scholar
Edwards, A. L. (1957). The social desirability variable in personality assessment and research. New York, NY: Dryden Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. R., & Cable, D. M. (2009). The value of value congruence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 654–677.Google Scholar
Feintuch, A. (1955). Improving the employability and attitudes of “difficult to place” persons. Psychological Monographs, 69, 392–397.Google Scholar
Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 14–38.Google Scholar
Gallo, W. T., Endrass, J., Bradley, E. H., Hall, D., & Kash, S. V. (2003). The influence of internal control on the employment status of German workers. Schmollers Jahrbuch, 123, 71–81.Google Scholar
Hall, D. T. (1996). Protean careers of the 21st century. The Academy of Management Executive, 10, 8–16.Google Scholar
Hillard, J., & Pollard, E. (1998). Employability: Developing a framework for policy analysis. Nottingham, England: Department of Education and Employment.Google Scholar
Hoffman, B. J., & Woehr, D. J. (2006). A quantitative review of the relationship between person-organization fit and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 389–399.Google Scholar
Hogan, J., & Brinkmeyer, K. (1994). What do employers want? Tulsa, OK: Hogan Assessment Systems.Google Scholar
Hogan, J., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2010). Management derailment. In Zedeck, S. (Ed.), American Psychological Association handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 555–575). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Hogan, J., Lock, J., & Brinkmeyer, K. (1997). A general taxonomy of interpersonal skills for work. Tulsa, OK: Hogan Assessment Systems.Google Scholar
Hogan, R., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (in press). Personality and career success. In Cooper, L., & Larsen, R. (Eds.), Handbook of personality processes and individual differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Hogan, R., & Shelton, D. (1998). A socioanalytic perspective on job performance. Human Performance, 11, 129–144.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., & Cable, D. M. (2004). The effect of physical height on workplace success and income. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 428–441.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Cable, D. M., Boudreau, J. W., & Bretz, R. D. Jr. (1995). An empirical investigation of the predictors of executive career success. Personnel Psychology, 48, 485–519.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Higgins, C. A., Thoresen, C. J., & Barrick, M. R. (1999). The big five personality traits, general mental ability, and career success across the life span. Personnel Psychology, 52, 621–652.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Hurst, C., & Simon, L. S. (2009). Does it pay to be smart, attractive, or confident (or all three)? Relationships among general mental ability, physical attractiveness, core self-evaluations, and income. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 742–755.Google Scholar
Kuncel, N. R., Ones, D. S., & Sackett, P. R. (2010). Individual differences as predictors of work, educational, and broad life outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 331–336.Google Scholar
Latham, G. P., & Mann, S. (2006). Advances in the science of performance appraisal. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 21, 295–337.Google Scholar
Leary, M. R., & Tangney, J. P. (in press). Handbook of self and identity (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.Google Scholar
Lefkowitz, J., & Lowman, R. L. (2010). Ethics of employee selection. In Farr, J. L., & Tippins, N. T. (Eds.), Handbook of employee selection. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lievens, F., & Sackett, P. R. (2012). The validity of interpersonal skills assessment via situational judgment tests for predicting academic success and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 460–468.Google Scholar
Lindqvist, E., & Westman, R. (2011). The labor market returns to cognitive and noncognitive ability: Evidence from the Swedish enlistment. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3, 101–128.Google Scholar
McArdle, S., Waters, L., Briscoe, J. P., & Hall, D. T. (2007). Employability during unemployment: Adaptability, career identity, and human and social capital. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 71, 247–264.Google Scholar
McCall, M. W. Jr., & Lombardo, M. M. (1983). Off the track: Why and how successful executives get derailed. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.Google Scholar
McGee, A. (2010). How the perception of control influences unemployed job search. Unpublished manuscript, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.Google Scholar
Mintzberg, H. (1985). The organization as a political arena. Journal of Management Studies, 22, 133–154.Google Scholar
Mount, M., Ilies, R., & Johnson, E. (2006). Relationship of personality traits and counterproductive work behaviors: The mediating effects of job satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 59, 591–622.Google Scholar
Murphy, K. R. (Ed.) (2006). A critique of emotional intelligence: What are the problems and how can they be fixed? Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Murphy, K. R. (2008). Explaining the weak relationship between job performance and ratings of job performance. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 1, 148–160.Google Scholar
National Research Council. (2001). The changing nature of work. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
National Research Council. (2011). Assessing 21st century skills. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2010). Human capital and objective indicators of career success: The mediating effects of cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 207–235.Google Scholar
Ng, T. W. H., Eby, T. T., Sorensen, K. L., & Feldman, D. C. (2005). Predictors of objective and subjective career success: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 58, 367–408.Google Scholar
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (1994). Human resources management. Burr Ridge, IL: Richard D. Irwin.Google Scholar
Noftle, E. E., & Robins, R. W. (2007). Personality predictors of academic outcomes: Big five correlates of GPA and SAT scores. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 116–130.Google Scholar
O'Boyle, E. H. Jr., Forsyth, D. R., Banks, G. C., & McDaniel, M. A. (2012). A meta-analysis of the dark triad and work outcomes: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 557–579.Google Scholar
OECD. (2011). OECD employment outlook. Paris, France: OECD.Google Scholar
Pavot, B., & Diener, E. (2011). Personality and happiness: Predicting the experience of subjective well-being. In Chamorro-Premuzic, T., vonStumm, S., & Furnham, A. (Eds.), Handbook of individual differences (pp. 699–717). Oxford, England: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Pfeffer, J., & Fong, C. T. (2002). The end of business schools? Less success than meets the eye. The Academy of Management Learning and Education, 1, 78–96.Google Scholar
Porath, C. L., & Erez, A. (2007). Does rudeness matter? The effects of rude behavior on task performance and helpfulness. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1181–1197.Google Scholar
Poropat, A. E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 322–338.Google Scholar
Ravasi, D., & Schultz, M. (2006). Responding to organizational identity threats: Exploring the role of organizational culture. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 433–458.Google Scholar
Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 313–332.Google Scholar
Rynes, S. L., Brown, K. G., & Colbert, A. E. (2002). Seven misconceptions about human resource practices; Research findings versus practitioner beliefs. The Academy of Management Executive, 16, 92–103.Google Scholar
Rynes, S. L., Giluk, T. L., & Brown, K. G. (2007). The very separate worlds of academic and practitioner periodicals in human resource management: Implications for evidence-based management. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 987–1008.Google Scholar
Schein, E. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership: A dynamic view . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1992). Development of a causal model of processes determining job performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 89–92.Google Scholar
Schmidt, F. L., Hunter, J. E., & Outerbridge, A. N. (1986). Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 432–439.Google Scholar
Smith, V. (2010). Enhancing employability: Human, cultural, and social capital in an era of turbulent unpredictability. Human Relations, 63, 279–303.Google Scholar
Steenkamp, J. B., deJong, M. G., & Baumgartner, H. (2010). Socially desirable response tendencies in survey research. Journal of Marketing Research, 47, 199–214.Google Scholar
vonStumm, S., Hell, B., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2011). The “hungry mind”: Intellectual curiosity as third pillar of intellectual competence. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 574–588.Google Scholar
Sutton, R. (2007). The no asshole rule: Building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn't. New York, NY: Business Plus.Google Scholar
The Economist. (2010). The joyless of the jobless. Should governments pursue happiness rather than economic growth? November, 25.Google Scholar
The Guardian. (2006). Employers fail to find enough graduates with social skills. February, 7th.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Labor (1991). What work requires of schools: A SCANS report for American 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Uziel, L. (2010). Rethinking social desirability scales. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 243–262.Google Scholar
Van der Heijde, C. M., & Van der Heijden, B. I. J. M. (2006). A competence-based and multidimensional operationalization and measurement of employability. Human Resource Management, 45, 449–476.Google Scholar
Van Scotter, J. R., Motowidlo, S. J., & Cross, T. C. (2000). Effects of task performance and contextual performance on systemic rewards. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 5216–5535.Google Scholar
Varma, A., DeNisi, A. S., & Peters, L. H. (1996). Interpersonal affect and performance appraisal: A field study. Personnel Psychology, 49, 341–360.Google Scholar
Verquer, M. L., Beehr, T. A., & Wagner, S. H. (2003). A meta-analysis of the relations between person-organization fit and work attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 473–489.Google Scholar
Warhurst, C., & Nickson, D. (2001). Looking good, sounding right: Style counselling and the aesthetics of the new economy. London, England: Industrial Society.Google Scholar