The Job Search Grind: Perceived Progress, Self-Reactions, and Self-Regulation of Search Effort

Abstract

Guided by theory and research on self-regulation and goal pursuit, we offer a framework for studying the dynamics of unemployed individuals' job search. A daily survey over three weeks demonstrated vacillation in job seeker affect and, to a lesser extent, “reemployment efficacy.” Daily perceived job search progress was related to this vacillation. Lower perceived progress on any given day was related to more effort the following day. The study provides insights into the daily dynamics of job search and elucidates the roles of search progress, affect, and three key moderators—financial hardship, employment commitment, and “action-state orientation”—in explaining these dynamics.