Management and Organizational Studies Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 12-2023

Journal

Academy Of Management Learning and Education

First Page

1

URL with Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2021.0347

Last Page

42

Abstract

Students often choose to pursue a business major during their post-secondary education to increase their chances of securing employment post-graduation. However, evidence suggests that many recent business degree graduates struggle with underemployment, highlighting the importance of examining how post-secondary institutions can better prepare students for the transition to work. In the current study, we investigated how including a personal strengths-driven intervention, the Reflected Best Self Exercise (RBSE), in management curricula may help better prepare students for securing employment by increasing students’ confidence in their ability to succeed in an employment interview (i.e., by enhancing interview self-efficacy). Using a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design with a control group (N=190 undergraduate students), we found that the RBSE increased students’ interview self-efficacy and that this effect was moderated by pre-test levels of general self-efficacy and career choice confidence. Moreover, we found that students with lower levels of general self-efficacy and career choice confidence experienced greater benefits from the RBSE. Our results contribute to the management education literature by demonstrating how strengths-based interventions with a reflection component can be leveraged to develop interview self-efficacy in business students.

Citation of this paper:

Baird, N.A., Robertson, J.L., & McLarnon, M (2022). Looking in the Mirror: Including the Reflected Best Self Exercise in Management Curricula to Increase Students’ Interview Self-Efficacy. Academy of Management Learning and Education. DOI: 10.5465/amle.2021.0347

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