Tips on How to Find a Job - 3 Factors to Consider When Looking for New Employment

This hub offers tips on how to find a new job or career; namely three factors job-seekers like you should consider when looking for a new place of employment. The three factors job-seekers should consider fall within the main heading of person-environment fit which includes

• Person-job fit,
• Person-organization fit,
• Person-supervisor fit.

Person-environment fit refers to the degree to which all aspects of a job and its respective place of employment match the personality, knowledge and skills, values and goals of a prospective job seeker. If a job seeker wants to find not just a job, but the best job for their respective needs and wants then they should consider the three factors of person-job fit, person-organization fit, and person-supervisor fit.

The importance of person-environment fit including person-job fit, person-organization fit, and person-supervisor fit has been demonstrated in numerous research projects undertaken by behavioral science experts. Through their numerous studies researchers have found that achieving the right person-environment fit in a new place of employemnt has strong positive correlation to

• Job satisfaction
• Lower stress levels
• Higher production rates
• Higher satisfaction with supervisors
• Higher organizational commitment
• Lower attrition rate.

Person-job fit refers to the extent to which the characteristics of a job or career match the characteristics of the job seeker. More specifically, this type of employee-employer matching refers to the degree that the personality and knowledge and skill sets of a job seeker match the demands of a job offer or opportunity.

In order to know if a certain career opportunity is a good fit for you, you should come to know yourself including your skill sets and the level of those skill sets, your personality type, your interests and passions, and your compensation needs. If you are not sure who you are and what you want, there a number of good resources which can help you assess yourself including books like What Color is Your Parachute or professional job seeker services like Best Jobs Magazine.

Person organization fit is another of the three factors to consider when looking for new employment. Person organization fit can be defined as the congruence between organizational values and individual values and refers to the degree of compatibility between people and the organizations in which they work when (a) at least one entity provides what the other needs, or (b) they share similar fundamental characteristics, or (c) both.

In assessing whether a particular organization is the right match, job seekers should find out as much about that organization as they possibly can including their vision and mission statements, overriding values, and their short- and long-term strategies to fulfill their vision.

A third factor job seekers should consider before accepting an offer for employment is person-supervisor fit. Person-supervisor fit refers to the degree that their is similarity between personalities, values, and goals.

Interestingly, researchers found that personality compatibility is not a huge determining factor as to job satisfaction because sometimes an employer hires a person with a supplementary personality (meaning a personality like their own) and other times they hire a person with a complementary personality (meaning a personality different than their own). Some leaders like to have subordinates with contrary views to help them gain a broader perspective or to have members with diverse job skills on their team.

What was a factor in improved job satisfaction was the type of leadership style of the supervisor. Most notably, leader-supervisors who displayed a transformational leadership style tended to gain a greater sense of organizational commitment and higher overall production.