RIASEC types and Big Five traits as predictors of employment status and nature of employment

This prospective study investigated the validity of the Five-Factor Model ( FFM) of personality and Holland's RIASEC vocational interest typology in pr edicting employment status and the nature of employment in a sample of grad uating college seniors as they entered the job market. A sample of 934 seni or college graduates enrolled in various academic subjects filled in Costa and McCrae's NEO-PI-R (1992) and Holland's Self-Directed Search (1979). One year after graduation, they were requested to describe their labor market positions and jobs, using the Position Classification Inventory (PCI; Gottf redson & Holland, 1991). Six hundred and twelve people responded to the sec ond call, of whom 335 were employed and 66 unemployed The incremental valid ity of the 2 models over and above each other was investigated in the sampl e of employed and unemployed subjects (N = 401) using stepwise regression a nalysis. The results showed that Extraversion and Conscientiousness were th e only valid predictors of employment status and that vocational interests did not show incremental validity over and above these factors. The RIASEC types, however, were clearly superior in explaining the nature of employmen t, underscoring the validity of Holland's hexagonal calculus assumptions. E mployment reflecting Realistic, Social and Enterprising characteristics was to a limited extent predicted by four of the Big Five, except Neuroticism, over and above the RIASEC types. The findings are discussed in the framewo rk of Schneider's Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) theory (1987) conclu ding that Holland's RIASEC model is more employee-driven, being better at p redicting the nature of employment, whereas the FFM is more employer-orient ed, with greater validity in evaluating the employability and employment st atus of applicants.