Improving Person-Job Congruence during the Classification Process: Item Development and Initial Testing of a Pictorial Interest Instrument

Abstract

This investigation centered on the design, development, and initial testing of a computer-administered pictorial interest inventory, called Job Opportunities in the Navy (JOIN). (JOIN was previously known as Jobs and Occupational Interest in the Navy.) JOIN was designed to measure recruits' interest in various facets of Navy occupations. Ultimately, a validated version of JOIN will be implemented during the classification process, after the selection of qualified applicants based largely on their cognitive abilities. The Navy's classification process occurs during a relatively short period of time, during which the individual and the organization must evaluate each other and an occupational choice must be made. During this process, individuals are offered a wide variety of opportunities in a very broad range of jobs. Extensive vocational counseling literature attests to the benefits of matching an incumbent's interests to job requirements. What is more, the advantages may extend beyond those obtained from job classification based on pre-existing abilities and knowledge alone. The study provided an examination of a computer-administered inventory that centers on the use of pictures as individual interest items. Content-valid and reliable pictorial items for an interest instrument were developed that represent various Navy work areas, work styles, work environments, and work activities. A descriptive statistical analysis of the JOIN items indicated that there was adequate dispersion of individual responses (i.e., the participants were different in their level of interest in various items). The results from an analysis of feedback items and discussion sessions suggest that incoming recruits possess the level of computer proficiency necessary to complete the inventory in a limited amount of time. Recruits were typically positive in their evaluation of the quality of the inventory and found the JOIN software to be a user-friendly interface.

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