Persevering Through Stress: An Examination of Professional Rejection During the Job Search

Experiences of and reactions to work-related rejection (referred to as “professional rejection”) have not been thoroughly explored in the I-O psychology literature, yet the outcomes may have important implications for how individuals progress in their careers. Job seekers are uniquely faced with repeated professional rejections, which may exacerbate the already difficult circumstances of unemployment and lead to increased stress. Professional rejection sensitivity (an individual’s propensity to react negatively to work-related rejection experiences) was expected to influence how job seekers handle rejection by amplifying this stress response. Work centrality was also expected to play a role in whether job seekers choose to persevere or pivot career paths following professional rejection, with the expectation that the importance of one’s work identity to their self-view would make them more likely to persevere. Drawing from affective events theory, the current study surveyed unemployed job seekers at three time points to gain a better understanding of their reactions to professional rejection, dispositional and identity-related traits that may influence these reactions, and how these experiences may impact their career trajectories. While none of the hypotheses were supported, initial results provide insight into how future research may better explore these phenomena and contribute to an emerging stream of research related to professional rejection.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology, Industrial and Organizational

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mehta, Nandini Mukesh

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Reyes, Denise L

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Sabat, Isaac E
• Fetterman, Adam K

• Psychology, Industrial

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/18239

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/18239