r/IOPsychology

After graduating with my master in IO WORK is finding a job hard ?? Because I hear a lot of people say finding a job with a I/opsychology degree is hard. I live in Texas Houston to be specific and I just want to know why’s I’m getting into too

Seriously asking.

The validity evidence is about as solid as it gets in applied psych. Consistent questions, behavioural anchors, standardised scoring. Schmidt and Hunter basically settled this decades ago. Adverse impact is better than most alternatives. It scales fine.

And yet most companies I've ever encountered just let hiring managers ask whatever comes to mind and then argue about vibes in the debrief.

I've gone back and forth on why this keeps happening. Is it that nobody trains hiring managers on any of this? Is it that building a proper competency framework feels like a big project and the role needs filling this week? Or do people just genuinely trust their gut more than a rubric, even when all the evidence says they shouldn't?

My honest guess is it's not really a knowledge gap anymore. Most TA leaders know the research. It's more that nobody's figured out how to make it easy enough that a busy hiring manager actually does it under pressure.

Anyway. Has anyone here actually cracked this in practice or are we still having the same conversation we were 20 years ago?

Hi Everyone,

Some have reached out to me asking for examples of the kind of IO research that I find so concerning. There are, of course, many candidate papers but I thought I'd offer one that I just came across today. It's an older paper (published in 2010) but has been very widely cited with well over 2,000 citations according to google scholar. For those interested they can take a look at the paper, comment on what they see, and I will return in a day or two to offer my thoughts.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10400419.2010.504654

An open access version of the paper is found here:

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=psychfacpub

Hello everyone,

I am currently planning on obtaining my MS in IO Psychology, and I am in the planning stages of refining my career path/goal. I have been exploring 2 options: Consultant and Executive Coaching. I'm still a bit unclear on which one more aligns with what I want to achieve, which ultimately is entrepreneurship, and having the capabilities to establish my own contracts, schedule, and employment freedom. I know it will be a journey, but I want to hear from those who have followed the path of obtaining the degree and what a work week is like in the career fields. I have several additional questions below:

• What was your own timeframe from earning your degree to entering into your career?
• What is your area(s) of focus for your Consulting or Executive Coaching clients?
  • If your area is Learning & Development, please advise how you make it stand out from those who may have taken the HR or Business path
  • If your area is Employee Relations & People Operations, please advise how you make it stand out from those who may have taken the HR or Business path
• What made you decide this is the career path that was destined for you?
  • What were the driving factors or key points?
  • What are the pros and cons?
• Is your career more of a team environment or more independent?
• Did you obtain any additional credentials or education for your career path?
• What do you feel is the most rewarding part of your career?
• What are some recommendations or advice do you have to prepare someone who is considering your career?

Please feel free to elaborate and share any stories or scenarios that you have that even made you question whether or not it was right for you. I am also open to hearing from those who may have taken the unconventional route to get into the career.

Also, if you want to share more info with me directly, let me know! Please keep all responses respectful and genuine!

Hi all!

I'm looking for some book suggestions (preferably not textbooks). I'm starting my PhD in I/O psych next semester but my undergrad psych dept did not have any I/Os so I'm feeling a bit underprepared.

I'm mainly interested in task/ job analysis, technology and personality at work. Doing a simple search revealed an overwhelming number of books so I'm reaching out to see what the community suggests.

Thank you so much for your help!!

I don't even know how to flair this post. A potential employer has made me complete the 16PF psych exam. Is this test even that useful for determining if a candidate is a good fit for a particular organization?

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