THE EFFECTS OF A JOB INTERVIEWING SKILLS WORKSHOP ON THE VOCATIONAL MATURITY OF INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS IN A PRERELEASE ORIENTATION PROGRAM
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of job interviewing skills training and vocational exploration experiences on the vocational maturity of incarcerated individuals in a prerelease orientation program. Portions of the Adkins Life Skills (ALS) program and Daane's Vocational Exploration Group (VEG) were used for the job interviewing workshop and the vocational exploration workshop, respectively. In addition to the two treatments, a no treatment condition and placebo condition were provided as controls. Ratings on the Venardos and Harris Interview Rating Scale (IRS) were used to assess performance on a posttest videotaped job interview. The Career Maturity Inventory Attitude Scale (CMI-AS) and Competence Test (CMI-C) were used as measures of the individuals' vocational maturity. The subjects chosen for study were 80 male inmates from a youth correctional center, within 90 days of release, who had voluntarily sought help in securing a job. A series of analyses of variance were used to confirm the random assignment of individuals into the four groups. The participants' ages, years of education, and pretest scores on the CMI-AS formed the basis for the analyses. The average individual who participated in the study was 21.5 years old, with 10 years of education. The design of the study utilized pretest-posttest analysis of the four groups on the CMI-AS and a posttest only analysis on the CMI-C and IRS measures. The analyses of the groups' scores on the Interview Rating Scale (IRS) (F = 22.22, p < .001) and on the CMI-AS (F = 5.97, p < .05) indicated that significant differences did exist between the groups. The analysis of the groups' scores on the CMI-C showed no significant differences between the groups. A Newman-Keuls post hoc comparison was used to determine which differences between the groups' means were significant. The job interviewing skills workshop did have a significant effect on the Interview Rating Scale scores (p < .01). The remaining comparisons between the means of the groups' IRS scores were not significant. The job interviewing skills workshop also had a significant effect on the career maturity attitudes (p < .05) but did not produce a significant effect on the individuals' career choice competence. The post hoc comparison of the effects of the vocational exploration workshop showed no significant effect on the individuals' job interviewing skills. However, the vocational exploration workshop did have a significant on an individual's career choice attitudes, as measured by the CMI-AS (p < .05). The results of this study partially supported the main hypothesis with the findings that job interviewing skills workshops did have a significant positive effect on career choice attitudes as well as the expected effect on job interviewing skills. However, it was not shown that the participation in a job interviewing skills workshop was able to significantly effect career choice competence as measured by the CMI-C. The following implications were made as a result of the findings. The findings of this study would appear to indicate that participation in a job interviewing skills workshop did have an effect on an individual's vocational maturity attitudes. At the same time, participation in this workshop did increase job interviewing skills. Thus, those particular individuals who want help in securing employment, and have a need for improved vocational adjustment may benefit from participation in a job interviewing skills workshop. It would therefore be possible to provide a client-centered service by meeting an individual's announced short-term objective of employment while facilitating long-term vocational adjustment.
Subject Area
Psychology
Recommended Citation
KAHN, MICHAEL JOHN, "THE EFFECTS OF A JOB INTERVIEWING SKILLS WORKSHOP ON THE VOCATIONAL MATURITY OF INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS IN A PRERELEASE ORIENTATION PROGRAM" (1981). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8119776.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8119776
