THE MODERATING EFFECT OF JOB SEARCH INTENSITY ON POSTGRADUATES' COMPREHENSIVE ABILITY, EMPLOYMENT PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ANXIETY SENSITIVITY
Authors: Qiao Pengliang , Huang Zhecheng , Hamid Abu Bakar Abdul 
Published: July 2022

Background

With the increasing number of college students in China year by year, the employment situation of college students is becoming more and more serious. In this context, more and more students have participated in various comprehensive ability activities in school, so a series of questions need to be solved and answered urgently, such as whether the improvement of these abilities can make students more competitive in the job market, and whether the degree of competition in the job market will affect the employment performance of college students. The research questions of this study are as follows: (1) whether the comprehensive ability obtained by students through conscious participation is conducive to job hunting; (2) How different comprehensive abilities play a role in job hunting. (3) Whether the pressure of the job market affects the motivation and willingness of students to improve their comprehensive ability. It also analyzes the anxiety phenomenon of students after employment.

Subjects and Methods

This study used questionnaire survey to obtain data. The variables were measured by the existing maturity scale, and 300 valid questionnaires were obtained through the online questionnaire. The reliability, convergent validity and differential validity of the variables were good. Using the methods of descriptive analysis, analysis of variance, regression analysis and adjustment effect analysis, this paper makes an empirical analysis on the adjustment effect of the seven dimensions of College Students' overall ability on the relationship between job hunting intensity and job performance. We use Kim's job anxiety scale as the measurement scale, and use Likert scoring method to evaluate the scale. Pearson correlation, standard deviation and statistical significance are combined to illustrate the correlation. T-test of independent samples was used to verify the difference between high anxiety group and low anxiety group. According to the statistical value of anxiety, participants were divided into three groups: low, medium and high anxiety groups. The questionnaire includes two kinds of anxiety, namely debilitating anxiety and promoting anxiety. Through t-test, univariate and multivariate analysis of variance and regression analysis, we investigated the relationship between job-hunting anxiety, self-efficacy and comprehensive ability of students of different majors and genders.

Results

The relationship between College Students' comprehensive vocational ability and employment performance is regulated by the intensity of job hunting. Employment intensity has a negative impact on the relationship between College Students' comprehensive vocational ability and employment performance. The empirical analysis based on SPSS software shows that the seven comprehensive abilities of college students, such as intelligence ability, social communication ability, social adaptability, problem-solving ability, self-development ability, personal execution ability and emotion regulation ability, have significantly improved the employment performance of college students. Job hunting intensity negatively regulates the positive correlation between College Students' intelligence ability, social communication ability, social adaptability, problem-solving ability, self-development ability, personal execution ability and emotional regulation ability and employment performance. In the process of the influence of job-hunting on anxiety, emotional response plays an intermediary role, and psychological elasticity plays a regulatory role. Job-hunting activities are regulated by psychological elasticity through the intermediary effect of emotional response on anxiety. That is, the higher the psychological elasticity, the lower the influence of job hunting on anxiety through coping styles; On the contrary, the lower the level of psychological elasticity, the higher the effect of job hunting on anxiety through coping styles.

Conclusion

The significance of this study is that college students should not only pay attention to the study of professional courses, but also comprehensively enrich and supplement their abilities through seven dimensions to improve employment performance. As a social phenomenon, the intensity of job hunting cannot be changed by individuals. College students need to improve their comprehensive ability and actively pay attention to the changes of the employment market. Research limitations: future research can focus on the relationship between employment pressure and professional development of students in different majors, so as to draw analytical conclusions among professional groups in different disciplines. In short, we should give full play to students' self initiative, strengthen their self-regulation ability in job-hunting activities, and actively pay attention to their psychological, emotional and behavioral changes.

Acknowledgements

Supported by the projects: Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education: Research on the Cultivation of Professional Development Ability of Master of International Business (Grant No.:JGY2020177), Guangxi Higher Education Reform Project: Research and Practice of Deep Modular Teaching Reform Based on the Integration of Industry and Education (Grant No.: 2019JGA241), and the project of major scientific research projects in Colleges and universities in Guangdong (Grant: 2021ZDJS122).