In Simple Words
Think of a person wanting to get fit who buys a gym membership but never goes because deciding what to do each day feels overwhelming. Writing down a concrete, step-by-step weekly schedule specifying exactly when, where, and how many gym visits will occur removes decision fatigue and turns vague intentions into automated habits.
Job seekers planning applications
- Workshop alone
- Group used for comparison
- Workshop plus planning guidance
- Smaller application gap than workshop alone
South Africa study groups. The source does not give the comparison group’s gap size. Planning guidance helped the other group come closer to completing its intended applications. The IDB report supplies the finding; the study authors’ OECD account describes the workshop and planning conditions.
See source →Workshop conditions — OECD, chapter 10 (PDF) ↗Research question
Unemployed job seekers often suffer from present bias and psychological barriers, causing job seekers to overweight immediate search effort costs relative to long-term gains and procrastinate search activities. Consequently, job seekers consistently apply to fewer vacancies than intended, restricting search channels and prolonging unemployment durations.
Participants
Unemployed job seekers participating in Public Employment Services in South Africa and Germany.
Study Design
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) testing interventions that prompt job seekers to create detailed, structured action plans for job search activities.
Results
Encouraging job seekers to complete a detailed search action plan closed the gap between application intentions and actual applications, expanded the diversity of job search channels utilized, and significantly increased employment outcomes.
Takeaway
Incorporate mandatory structured action-plan prompts into Public Employment Service intake protocols to guide job seekers in pre-committing to specific search routines and timelines.
Source and citation
See source →Evidence in Labor Market Policies and Implications for Brazil: Job Search Assistance
Copyright © 2023 Inter-American Development Bank.
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Read alongside the research
Plain-English glossary
Original explanations, informed by the references below. Examples are illustrations, not data from the studies above. The research text stays unchanged.
- Randomized controlled trial
A study that uses chance, like drawing lots, to decide who receives each option being compared. Researchers compare the groups’ outcomes to estimate the effect of those options.
ExampleA lottery assigns volunteers to a training programme or a comparison group. Researchers then compare their outcomes.
GET-IT glossary · Randomized study ↗Read more about randomized controlled trial →