Job Search Strategies and Labor Market Success

This study examines the relation between job search strategies and two measures of labor market success, starting salary and number of job offers received, in a sample of graduating MBAs. Controlling for applicant and market characteristics, we find that job search strategy is related to both starting salary and number of job offers, but most strongly to the latter measure of labor market success. Beginning the job search earlier, greater numbers of employer contacts, and not accepting the first job offer all contribute to greater labor market success. These findings suggest that individuals take concrete steps to achieve greater labor market success than would be expected based on their personal attributes and market conditions

Interviewer Assessments of Applicant Fit : An Exploratory Investigation

Although both strategic management theorists and practicing recruiters endorse selecting applicants on the basis of fit, precise delineation of fit in a selection context remains elusive. Moreover, the majority of previous work in this area has been based on anecdotes, case studies, or prescriptions rather than empirical evidence. The present investigation examines interviewers\u27 assessments of job applicants in terms of both general and firm-specific employability (i.e., fit). Results suggest that (1) assessments of general employability differ from firm-specific assessments, (2) there is a firm-specific component to interviewers\u27 evaluations of job applicants, and (3) interpersonal skills, goal orientation, and physical attractiveness contribute to assessments of fit (holding general employability constant), while objective qualifications (e.g., grade point average, extracurricular offices, years experience) do not. Suggestions for future research are offered

Evaluation of the capture efficiency and size selectivity of four pot types in the prospective fishery for North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)

Over 230 metric tons of octopus is harvested as bycatch annually in Alaskan trawl, long-line, and pot fisheries. An expanding market has fostered interest in the development of a directed fishery for North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). To investigate the potential for fishery development we examined the efficacy of four different pot types for capture of this species. During two surveys in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, strings of 16 –20 sablefish, Korean hair crab, shrimp, and Kodiak wooden lair pots were set at depths ranging between 62 and 390 meters. Catch per-unit-of-ef for t estimates were highest for sablefish and lair pots. Sablefish pots caught significantly heavier North Pacific giant octopuses but also produced the highest bycatch of commercially important species, such as halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), and Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi)

The Importance of Recruitment in Job Choice: A Different Way of Looking

Recent literature reviews have called into question the impact of recruitment activities on applicants\u27 job choices. However, most previous findings have been based on cross-sectional ratings obtained immediately after initial screening interviews, thus raising questions about the degree to which prior conclusions are bound to that particuJar methodology. In contrast, the present study used longitudinal structured interviews to let job seekers explain, in their own words, how they made critical job search and choice decisions. Interview transcripts revealed that recruitment practices played a variety of roles in job seeker decisions. For example, consistent with signalling theory, subjects interpreted a wide variety of recruitment experiences (recruiter competence, sex composition of interview panels, recruitment delays) as symbolic of broader organizational characteristics. In addition, a number of contingency variables emerged that seemed to affect the perceived signalling value of recruitment experiences (e.g., prior knowledge of the company, functional area of the recruiter). Also notable were the strongly negative effects of recruitment delays, particularly among male students with higher grade point averages and greater job search success. Finally, our results suggest that certain applicant reactions may be systematically related to sex, work experience, grade point average, and search success. The article concludes with practical and research implications

Report on the Alternative Platform Observer Program in North Carolina: March 2006 to March 2007

In February 2006, an Alternative Platform Observer Program (APP) was implemented in North Carolina (NC) to observe commercial gillnet trips by small vessels [<24 ft (7.2 m)] in nearshore waters out to three nm (5.6 km). Efforts began with outreach to the fishing industry while simultaneously gathering information to be incorporated in a Database of Fishermen. From 30 March 2006 through 31 March 2007, 36 trips were observed. Observed trips of the NC nearshore gillnet fishery targeted seven species: kingfish (Menticirrhus spp.), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and weakfish (Cynoscion regalis). Of the 36 trips, 20 (55.6%) were with vessels that were new to the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program (NEFOP), having never carried an observer. Based on the landings data for small vessels from North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF), the APP has achieved 10.1% coverage by number of trips and 4.0% by pounds landed. No incidental takes of bottlenose dolphins were observed by the APP, although bottlenose dolphins were sighted during 19 (52.8%) observed trips. The APP has drastically increased the number of observed trips of small vessels in the nearshore waters of NC. When combined with trips observed by NEFOP (n=205), the APP resulted in a 15.6% increase in the number of observed gillnet trips. (PDF contains 34 pages

DREIDING: A generic force field for molecular simulations

We report the parameters for a new generic force field, DREIDING, that we find useful for predicting structures and dynamics of organic, biological, and main-group inorganic molecules. The philosophy in DREIDING is to use general force constants and geometry parameters based on simple hybridization considerations rather than individual force constants and geometric parameters that depend on the particular combination of atoms involved in the bond, angle, or torsion terms. Thus all bond distances are derived from atomic radii, and there is only one force constant each for bonds, angles, and inversions and only six different values for torsional barriers. Parameters are defined for all possible combinations of atoms and new atoms can be added to the force field rather simply. This paper reports the parameters for the "nonmetallic" main-group elements (B, C, N, 0, F columns for the C, Si, Ge, and Sn rows) plus H and a few metals (Na, Ca, Zn, Fe). The accuracy of the DREIDING force field is tested by comparing with (i) 76 accurately determined crystal structures of organic compounds involving H, C, N, 0, F, P, S, CI, and Br, (ii) rotational barriers of a number of molecules, and (iii) relative conformational energies and barriers of a number of molecules. We find excellent results for these systems

Recruiter Perceptions of Applicant Fit: Commonalities and Differences

To date, normative selection models have focused primarily on matching individual knowledges, skills, and abilities to job requirements. However, it has increasingly been argued that people should also be selected for fit to broader organizational characteristics such as strategy, culture and values. Despite the apparent reasonableness of these claims, there has been little research on how employers actually go about the task of screening or selecting for broader organizational fit. Accordingly, the present study examined how organizational recruiters assess applicant fit. Fifty-four campus recruiters in four colleges provided examples of best-fitting and worst-fitting applicants from just-completed interview schedules, along with specific descriptions of what it was that made each applicant fit or not fit . Examination of interview transcripts suggested that despite the recent emphasis on unique organizational values, strategies, or cultures in discussions of fit, by far the most frequently-mentioned determinants of fit were either (1) job-related coursework or experience, or (2) generally (rather than uniquely) desirable personal characteristics such as articulateness, positive personal appearance, and good general communication skills. However, some systematic differences were detected in the extent to which particular characteristics were sought by recruiters in different colleges or by those recruiting for different types of vacancies. Findings are related to previous research, and implications for applicants, employers, and future researchers are offered

The Costs of Obesity and Implications for Policymakers

Obesity, Direct Costs, Indirect Costs, Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I10, I18,

FARM-LEVEL AND MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF FARM CREDIT MIGRATION RATES

Probit regression techniques are used to identify factors affecting rates of farm credit migration. Macroeconomic factors, such as economic growth signals and money supply increments, increase class upgrade probabilities. Interest rates, a lender's credit rationing and risk management tool, negatively affect such probabilities.Agricultural Finance,