Applicant’s self-efficacy in personnel selection: Perspectives and development of a new measure

The present study proposes a scale for assessing the self-efficacy (PSSE) of applicants in the personnel selection process and tests its measurement properties. This construct is very important not only to study the applicant’s reactions (i.e., Truxillo, Bauer & Sanchez, 2001), but also to carry out a program of career guidance (i.e., Shantz & Latham, 2012). Construct validity was examined and content validity, dimensionality, reliability and criterion-related validity were analyzed. The participants were 460 Italian adults. A group of expert judges considered that seven items had adequate content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original uni-dimensional model had the best fit; both internal consistency for reliability and convergent validity with other measures supported the quality of the psychometric properties. The results are discussed from the point of view of research and intervention.