Assessing Career Search Expectations: Development and Validation of the Career Search Efficacy Scale

Abstract
An instrument was developed to assess the career search efficacy of individuals who are interested in finding careers or jobs, changing careers or jobs, or reentering the job market. Principal components analysis of the 35-item Career Search Efficacy Scale (CSES; Solberg, Good, & Nord, 1991) yielded four factors: (a) Job Exploration, (b) Interviewing, (c) Networking, and (d) Personal Exploration Efficacy. Internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .87 to .95 indicating very good internal consistency. Convergent and discriminant validity of the CSES was also assessed. A principle component analysis indicated that the CSES converged with indices of career self-efficacy and discriminated from personality measures (e.g., assertiveness, interpersonal skills, and instrumentality). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.