Skills in Employment Placement: Job Analysis and Identifying Qualified Jobseekers

Part One — Understanding Jobs, Job Components, and Position Requirements

Understanding the Nature of Jobs

Every job has its own distinctive characteristics and content and, accordingly, imposes particular requirements on the person who performs it or enters the occupation. When these requirements are clearly defined and the employee’s characteristics correspond to them, satisfactory performance can reasonably be expected. A consultant can therefore provide comprehensive guidance only when they have a thorough understanding of the nature of occupations. More precisely, they must be capable of matching the conditions, demands, and requirements of a job with the characteristics of jobseekers.

Describing the Components of a Job Position

Examining, analysing, and identifying the components of a job position generally leads to a definition of the employee’s duties, the way their daily work is performed, and the employer’s obligations in relation to both the position and its holder.

The following headings must be addressed: job title; purpose of the job; employee responsibilities; physical exertion; mental and psychological demands; tools and equipment associated with the job; occupational hazards; employee decision-making; methods of control and supervision; daily duties; and additional considerations and explanations.

1. Job Title

Consultants should ensure that job titles correspond to titles drawn from recognised international or local occupational classification codes.

2. Purpose of the Job

In this section, the consultant sets out the medium- and long-term (strategic) objectives of the position.

3. Employee Responsibilities

Before responsibilities can be designed, an organisational chart must be prepared, positions must be located within the vertical and horizontal structure of the organisation, and reporting lines between senior and subordinate positions must be established. Defining these relationships, while taking account of the duties of other positions, makes it possible to clarify the responsibilities of each role. Holding a position entails accepting responsibilities towards superiors and overseeing the responsibilities assigned to subordinate roles. Accordingly, this section must carefully describe all job responsibilities that are defined and reportable to a superior, including those relating to the working environment, labour laws, social legislation, workforce protection, safeguarding entrusted property and equipment, protecting work-related information, and monitoring the duties of subordinate employees.

4. Physical Exertion

This refers to the bodily movements an employee is required to make in carrying out their duties during working hours. Using work measurement and methods analysis, the consultant provides an overall description of the compulsory movements and physical demands placed on different parts of the worker’s body.

5. Mental and Psychological Demands

These include any challenges to, or stimulation of, intellectual and perceptual faculties and emotions arising from requirements such as the form, nature, and manner in which duties are performed. The consultant should describe these elements through careful observation and interviews.

6. Tools and Equipment

This includes hardware, software, furniture, equipment, machinery, vehicles, supplies, and any other non-consumable items used regularly or occasionally during working hours. For example, a welding machine is equipment, whereas welding electrodes are consumable materials.

7. Working Conditions and Occupational Hazards

By examining the workplace, machinery and equipment, raw materials, working methods, final products or services, the personalities of colleagues and customers, job responsibilities, and other relevant factors, the consultant describes the working environment and identifies conditions that may cause discomfort or threaten the employee’s health.

8. Employee Decision-Making

The consultant reviews daily duties and the organisational chart item by item to determine how the employee should respond to and make decisions about routine and exceptional situations at work. Where decisions must be made quickly, or authority may appropriately be delegated by a superior, decision-making is assigned to the employee; otherwise, it remains a responsibility of the superior position.

9. Control and Supervision

This section describes the procedures by which the employee must monitor and evaluate subordinates daily, weekly, monthly, annually, or as circumstances require. It also describes the corresponding oversight and supervision exercised over the position by its superior.

10. Daily Duties

The activities the employee must perform each day are listed in order of priority and importance, with a brief description of each. The consultant is responsible for examining and covering all relevant activities.

11. Additional Considerations and Explanations

This section covers any matter that the consultant considers necessary for the proper and complete fulfilment of job requirements, or that the employer requests, which has not been addressed under the ten preceding headings.

Qualification Requirements for Jobholders

In general, job requirements may be defined under the following headings: (1) employee gender; (2) permissible age range; (3) occupational skills; (4) relevant work experience; (5) educational level, field, and specialisation; (6) relevant training courses; (7) physical capabilities, including illnesses and limitations; (8) mental and psychological capabilities; (9) required personality traits; and (10) financial resources or capacity.

The following sections explain these requirements in greater detail.

Gender of the Jobholder

To make a precise assessment while avoiding unnecessary restrictions on a position, the consultant should consider two important matters: first, differences between men and women that may be relevant to the work; and second, the nature of interactions between the jobholder, colleagues and clients. There are many exceptions to the observations that follow; the discussion concerns what the author regards as general patterns.

1.1 Differences Between Men and Women in Relation to Job Suitability

These differences can broadly be considered in physical and psychological terms. The author observes that, on average and without additional training, men are taller and have greater muscular strength, thicker skin and greater physical power. On that basis, the author considers men more suited to operating rugged tools and machinery that may cause minor injuries, and to work involving the lifting, pushing or control of heavy and resistant objects.

Apart from men whose physical endurance has developed through regular exercise or repeated demanding work, the author argues that tasks involving relatively light but continuous exertion throughout the working day may not suit most men.

In the author’s view, women may perform better in such roles because, despite generally having less physical strength, they are said to have greater endurance for prolonged, low-intensity physical demands.

The discussion then turns to psychological characteristics, where the author considers the differences between women and men to be less pronounced.

A wide range of psychological characteristics may be relevant to the requirements of different occupations, including the following.

A. Personality Traits

Management ability, seriousness, gentleness, discipline, courage, boldness, punctuality, trustworthiness, honesty, loyalty, perseverance, diligence, patience, tolerance, self-control, respect for rules, adaptability, discretion, pleasantness, precision, reliability, assertiveness, sociability, insight, broad-mindedness, self-confidence, leadership, motivation to succeed, commitment to national and religious customs, attitudes, willingness to cooperate, relationships with colleagues, courtesy, compliance, ambition, cleanliness, imagination, psychological well-being, clarity of thought and communication skills, among others.

B. Psychological and Mental Capacities

Willingness to take risks, self-esteem, adaptability, intelligence, creativity, responsibility, initiative, innovation, improvisation, memory, mental agility, perception, and artistic, mechanical, verbal and learning aptitudes.

Among these characteristics, the author attributes greater prominence in women to affection, loyalty, reliability, cooperation, compliance, cleanliness, friendliness and flexibility; and in men to courage, risk-taking, assertiveness and mechanical aptitude.

The author nevertheless acknowledges that women and men share many potential abilities. For example, caring for children, older people and patients requires considerable compassion alongside other qualifications. Although men may also perform these duties well, the author suggests that women generally achieve better results.

1.2 The Context of Workplace Interactions

The author considers it important to examine all workplace relationships between the jobholder and colleagues, clients, subordinates and people receiving training when assessing the gender thought suitable for a role.

Colleagues

One consideration discussed is the gender composition of the workforce. In a factory or office where all or most employees are of one gender, the author suggests selecting new staff of that same gender unless other considerations take precedence.

In other situations, the author argues that a mixed-gender workplace may improve effectiveness or prevent losses. The presence of both genders may, in the author’s view, encourage greater professional competition, discipline, courtesy and cleanliness, while reducing the formation of informal groups whose interests conflict with those of the organisation.

Clients and Interactions with Them

The nature of client interactions is presented as another consideration. The author suggests that women may be better suited to roles serving predominantly female clients, or to repetitive administrative and clerical work involving frequent public contact, citing patience, precision and motivation as well as the conduct of clients. The author also stresses that the nature of verbal exchanges and personal interactions should be examined, and suggests reconsidering this preference where the working environment is particularly confrontational.

Subordinates

The author regards the selection of managers and supervisors responsible for male or female staff as a matter requiring particular care. A consultant should examine other factors influencing the role before making a recommendation.

In particular, the consultant should consider employees’ age composition, cultural backgrounds, experience, length of service and knowledge, together with five sources of leadership authority: legitimate authority, the power to reward and discipline, control over operations, expertise and charismatic influence. The author emphasises that the position and the prospective jobholder must be assessed together.

People Receiving Training from the Jobholder

Finally, the author suggests that, in certain training roles or environments, having a trainer and trainees of the same gender may support effective performance. Whether this applies should be assessed against the specific physical and cultural circumstances.

Age of the Jobholder

Another variable that significantly influences the selection of applicants for a defined position is the age of the prospective jobholder.

Matching a person’s age to the requirements of a position, whether those requirements are affected directly or indirectly by age, may, in the author’s view, benefit both the individual and the effective and efficient performance of the job.

For the purposes of this discussion, the author divides the working-age population into adolescence (13–20 years), youth (20–40 years) and middle age (40–65 years), examining these stages in relation to employment.

Each age range may be associated with particular physical and psychological opportunities and limitations. Relevant considerations include personal interests and ideals, self-perceptions and expectations, external pressures, expectations of society, competition, physical strength and flexibility, and the body’s tolerance of occupational strain.

The author notes that the International Labour Organization (ILO) prohibits employment below age 15 and, for certain hazardous occupations, below age 18, and that many countries have undertaken obligations through international conventions.

Personal Interests and Ideals

The nature of personal interests changes across different stages of life. Two important influences are the characteristics associated with a particular age and exposure to occupations that an individual can recognise and potentially enter.

Together, these influences help shape a person’s interests and ideals. Familiarity with occupations may arise from observing relatives and acquaintances at work or through books, newspapers, television, films and illustrated occupational guides.

Characteristics that may become more or less prominent with age include enthusiasm for work and participation in society, independence, self-assertion, the exercise of power, commitment, loyalty, the desire for superiority or achievement, ambition and willingness to take risks.

For example, the author suggests that a young person seeking independence may be attracted to a job requiring night work, because remaining at the parental home at night may be perceived as a sign of dependence on the family.

In general terms, the author groups these tendencies into three stages.

Among adolescents, enthusiasm for work and social participation without an immediate expectation of income, together with a desire for independence, are described as relatively prominent.

Among young adults, self-assertion, commitment, loyalty, achievement and risk-taking are emphasised. In middle age, the author identifies stronger tendencies toward superiority, ambition and risk avoidance. Accordingly, occupations perceived as meeting these psychological needs may become personal interests or ideals.

Self-Perceptions and Expectations

The images people form of themselves, and the expectations arising from those images, may differ considerably between age groups.

In adolescence, self-perception is often shaped by ideals and impressions of the surrounding world before it has been refined by practical experience and realism.

The author compares the adolescent’s self-image to a hero seen in a mirror who may not yet possess the means to overcome real obstacles. When such expectations collide with reality, the resulting shock or embarrassment may remain in memory and sometimes lead to withdrawal from social interaction.

With time, and particularly during young adulthood, self-perception may move closer to reality and aspirations become more practical. Nevertheless, hope and a comparatively high willingness to take risks continue, in the author’s account, to distinguish this stage from middle age. Young adults may be strongly motivated to work toward a better future.

That anticipated future may be short- or medium-term, provided economic pressures do not replace hope with discouragement.

As individuals approach middle age, the author suggests that risk-taking tends to give way to caution and conservatism. Maintaining existing circumstances may become more important than pursuing unattainable dreams, as people increasingly seek firm ground beneath their feet.

At this stage, individuals may prioritise security in their lives and favour gradual, sustainable progress—consolidating one step before attempting the next.

External Pressures and Obligations

During adolescence, external pressure to work may chiefly arise from the family, sometimes despite the adolescent’s reluctance to choose or undertake employment. In young adulthood, these pressures may take the form of financial need, an identity crisis associated with unemployment, and expectations imposed by the surrounding community.

In middle age, inadequate earnings and the need for a second job, psychological pressures following retirement or separation from a previous occupation, or a combination of these factors may motivate a person to seek employment again.

Perceptions and Expectations of Society

Expectations of society are generally shaped by feelings developed through interactions with the surrounding environment. The author describes these expectations as relatively limited in adolescence, when young people may project their own outlook onto society and form idealised occupational preferences based on their upbringing and personal background. During young adulthood, ideals carried over from adolescence may persist before being substantially reshaped by lived experience.

According to the author, expectations of social recognition become more apparent in middle age, including expectations concerning one’s position, age, the respect one receives and society’s consideration of limitations associated with ageing.

Competition

The author suggests that competitive motivation to achieve better occupational outcomes is strongest in adolescence and may gradually diminish as age, experience and realism increase. At some stages, competition may give way to a greater willingness to accommodate and cooperate with rivals.

Physical Strength and Flexibility

Differences in physical strength and flexibility across age groups are readily observable and, the author argues, may be considered when defining the physical requirements of a particular position.

Tolerance of occupational pressures and the responsiveness of different parts of the body may also change and decline with increasing age.

In light of these considerations, the author regards the relationship between an applicant’s age and the age range associated with a position as an important factor in sound selection and employment counselling.

Age may also affect the perceived maturity and persuasiveness of a person’s speech, their influence on clients or other audiences, and the respect and social acceptance they command. These matters are discussed further in the section on personality.

Skill

Skill may be defined as a thorough command of the details of a set of purposeful physical or mental operations, acquired through repetition, which reduces waste and improves speed and efficiency.

As this definition suggests, individual skill in a particular activity enables faster performance and more effective use of time, labour, equipment, energy and other resources.

In a particular sense, life may be described as a series of repeated activities. The skills developed through everyday actions, relationships and interactions are essential to relative success and satisfaction.

Without the skills we use in daily life, even simple tasks would become difficult. Consider unlocking the front door: you recognise the correct key on a key ring, insert it into the lock and turn it in the proper direction. These familiar skills allow you to complete the task quickly, even in darkness or with your eyes closed.

Imagine having none of these skills for an ordinary task performed several times a day. A considerable amount of time would inevitably be lost.

The principal consequences of inadequate skill are wasted time and physical effort. Some losses can be recovered; others cannot.

The many simple and complex activities of everyday life require different skills. Driving provides a more complex example: failure to react quickly can sometimes lead to serious or fatal accidents, whose consequences may be impossible or extremely difficult to remedy. In employment, skill is equally important for productivity, quality, safety and the prevention of industrial accidents.

Even occupations that do not initially require specialised skills, and involve simple, repetitive work, require employees to develop a degree of proficiency in those tasks to achieve the necessary productivity and quality.

The level of skill required must be determined by the demands of the position. For example, a restaurant’s need for a skilled cook depends on its standard, number of customers and customer expectations. Similarly, a production-line worker or operator must be capable of working at a pace that does not create a bottleneck, while remaining coordinated with other workers and machinery.

Consultants must also consider the opposite situation: a person whose skill or working speed greatly exceeds the position’s requirements may entail higher salary and benefit costs and may even disrupt the normal workflow.

Skill requirements naturally differ between occupations; even the particular place or position in which an employee works can affect the level of proficiency required.

Skills are commonly classified in three grades, from 1 to 3. These grades are based on the time spent actively practising the occupation and the ability developed to perform its principal tasks satisfactorily.

The resulting ability is assessed against standards specific to the relevant trade or skill.

Some technical and non-technical skills cover such a broad range of activities that achieving first-grade proficiency is difficult. Machine-tool work is one example. In other occupations, such as certain branches of welding, first-grade proficiency may be acquired after a shorter period of employment than in machining, under comparable conditions.

Under normal, balanced economic conditions and with well-functioning occupational structures, productivity considerations call for employers to recruit staff with the specified skill level. Human resource managers should also focus on training and upgrading the skills of existing employees and preparing prospective staff for future recruitment needs.

A consultant should likewise consider whether training after selection or recruitment is appropriate for candidates who meet the other requirements. This may be economical or necessary where skilled labour is scarce. An experienced worker may expect higher pay than a less experienced one; where the workplace is located in an area with limited access to skilled workers, on-the-job training may be a suitable alternative.

Relevant Work Experience

The amount of previous employment in positions comparable to the vacancy is specified in order to establish whether a candidate has acquired the skills required for the role.

Skill was previously described as a thorough command of physical or mental operations acquired through repetition. Time spent in relevant occupations can improve the ability to perform the work. However, experience produces benefits beyond proficiency in a single physical or mental activity. The consultant should therefore examine the various outcomes of employment history that may contribute to better job performance.

From the worker’s perspective, the returns from months or years in a particular position can be divided into two categories: tangible and intangible returns.

Tangible returns include compensation paid or benefits made available in exchange for work, such as wages, bonuses, allowances, goods provided in kind and housing privileges. These provide present purchasing power or immediate practical benefits.

Intangible returns are advantages gained during employment that may not be directly usable or measurable at the time. After sustained employment, however, they may help increase the worker’s tangible earnings.

In formal employment structures, this increase may take the form of progression in an official job classification, advancement in grade or rank, transfers or promotions, which in turn may lead to higher income.

What, then, constitutes intangible returns?

1. Acquisition of experience

2. Development of professional credibility

3. Understanding the sociology of work

4. Occupational self-confidence and social acceptance

5. Opportunities to express individual creativity

Experience

Experience may be defined as the art of putting theoretical and practical training to use with the least possible waste, combined with mastery of the subtleties learned through repeatedly performing a task.

Knowledge acquired through academic and theoretical study, and even through practical training, becomes genuinely effective in the world of work and social endeavour when it has been tested through trial and error or reinforced by supplementary, applied instruction delivered alongside practical activity.

Many occupations involve nuances rarely covered in written training materials. Familiarity with the lessons of trial and error and mastery of these occupational subtleties are what can turn a worker into an experienced professional.

Professional Credibility

Credibility means possessing the endorsement and confidence of individuals, organisations and others whose interests are connected with those of the worker.

A central consideration in establishing or carrying out an occupation is the degree of risk inherent in the performance of its duties, including the quality and safety of the work.

These risks differ according to the parties professionally connected with the worker. Supervisors, organisations, banks and those providing financial resources or non-cash facilities face financial or technological risks. Poor performance may waste capital and cause losses to the provider. From a technological perspective, selecting someone who lacks credibility may damage reputation and intangible interests, or even result in the theft of technology.

Subordinates may face unemployment, bankruptcy, loss of position or damage to personal standing. Clients and customers may suffer financial loss or physical harm through their dealings with a professional. Consider a patient entrusting their heart to a surgeon, an investor leaving share-purchase decisions to a stockbroker, or a defendant placing their fate in the hands of a lawyer.

Finally, the wider community may risk losing achievements and the reputation in which it takes pride.

Through sustained service and the gradual development of the qualities essential to professional success, a worker may earn the confidence of the community without slogans, exaggeration or self-promotion, thereby becoming a person of recognised credibility.

A patient may reasonably place confidence in a reputable physician with a distinguished record; a defendant may rely on a respected, well-known lawyer; and an investor may entrust capital to the advice of a credible stockbroker.

Credibility acquired through good performance over time helps secure the principal resources and opportunities the professional expects to obtain when needed.

The Sociology of Work

Sociology may be understood as the scientific study of the beliefs and cultures prevailing in communities, large or small. The sociology of work concerns social beliefs surrounding work and employment and, more specifically, the culture governing interactions between practitioners and the people seeking their goods or services.

Interactions between workers and their particular clients have distinct sociological and psychological backgrounds. Professional success depends in part on understanding these contexts and meeting the expectations of the communities served.

The customers and service users of an occupation can be classified in several ways, including age, gender, occupation, education, financial circumstances, social standing, personality and social culture.

Every occupation serves a particular range or combination of these groups. To satisfy customers, practitioners must understand how best to interact with them. This valuable understanding is developed through meaningful experience in the occupation.

Self-Confidence and Social Acceptance

One of the principal sources of self-confidence is the breadth of knowledge a person possesses in the field in which they work or through which they are known to their community.

Practical and theoretical mastery of a profession or discipline can strengthen an individual’s confidence while also laying the groundwork for social recognition and acceptance.

Indeed, it may be said that a person’s confidence communicates a positive sense of assurance to others, reinforcing their trust.

Opportunities to Express Creativity

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, once people have met their basic physiological needs, they experience a higher need for security in its various forms, enabling them to protect what they have attained.

Once security has been established, the next priority is the expression of affection through loving and being loved. After this comes the desire for acceptance within the community and for a fitting social position. Ultimately, the fifth level involves developing one’s inner, innate and, in the author’s terms, God-given potential and talents. Recognising and realising these abilities can satisfy a deeply valued human aspiration: the sense of personal pride and fulfilment.

Within this account, social standing is presented as a culminating stage in the pursuit of achievement. As noted earlier, social acceptance is also one of the outcomes of sustained effort and commitment to one’s profession.

It is therefore an important duty of the consultant to consider the experience required by the position and the circumstances of applicants, using assessment and appropriate questions to establish whether they meet the relevant requirements.

Education

The principal reason for establishing university education programmes has been to train the specialists and professionals required in industry and mining, services, and agriculture. Such programmes have naturally developed in response to the needs of each society.

Not so long ago, university disciplines were largely associated with medicine and allied health, engineering, basic sciences, and theoretical fields, which may well have met most of the needs of that period. Over time, however, societies developed a need for new fields of knowledge. A broad range of humanities and social-science disciplines entered higher education, while existing disciplines were divided into increasingly specialised branches.

As the volume of human knowledge has expanded, specialisation has become inevitable. In addition to improving individuals’ prospects of success in their occupations, it helps them achieve the highest anticipated efficiency in their work.

Consider that only a few decades ago, road and building engineering was the principal engineering discipline associated with civil construction. Today, civil engineering encompasses numerous specialisations. Similarly, electrical and mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics, agriculture, and other technical disciplines have developed branches that provide many opportunities to educate young specialists and professionals.

At the same time, disciplines within the humanities and social sciences have gained greater prominence. Management and its various specialisations, for example, can help generate more added value from a given amount of capital. Management has consequently been included among the essential inputs of production in many accounts.

Management specialisations—including business, planning, education, industrial management, insurance, and public administration—at bachelor’s and master’s levels can serve different sectors producing goods and services. They can increase output and the productive use of finite resources while reducing waste, ultimately increasing profits and limiting losses.

The same importance attaches to other disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, accounting, and law. A little reflection makes clear how the active application of each can contribute to success in related occupations.

For those analysing the factors that influence occupational success, whether academically qualified or experienced in practice, identifying the required educational level, field, and specialisation is important. Their ultimate aim is to design jobs correctly, logically, and effectively; there is therefore no sound reason to disregard a potentially decisive factor such as university education.

To define essential or preferred educational qualifications, consultants need familiarity with university disciplines and specialisations. Knowledge of specialist courses and an outline of their content can broaden the consultant’s range of options and, in turn, expand the choices available to those responsible for workforce recruitment.

An incomplete statement of educational requirements, based on limited information and insufficient investigation, can undermine job analysis.

The required level of education—whether secondary-school diploma, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or higher—should be determined by the minimum qualification genuinely necessary to perform the work and discharge its responsibilities well. As noted earlier, job analysis seeks both employee satisfaction and occupational productivity. If a consultant neglects the minimum necessary qualification and instead adopts an idealised specification without adequate investigation, the analysis may become ineffective. Graduates entering the labour market develop expectations concerning the nature, quality, remuneration, status, and other conditions of work, influenced by their field and years of study. These expectations generally rise with educational attainment. Assigning such individuals to jobs that do not correspond to their expectations may at least cause dissatisfaction and its subsequent consequences.

Consultants and analysts should also recognise that educational level, field, and specialisation, together with vocational training, skills, and relevant work experience, can be considered in combination. They can devise one or more flexible combinations of these elements to support better job performance.

For example, a position may call for a bachelor’s degree in fluid mechanics engineering together with two years of practical skill in installing industrial equipment. Through further investigation, the consultant may identify other combinations capable of meeting the same requirements.

Giving particular attention to flexible combinations of these five elements can make it easier for employers to secure the workforce they need. It can also remove some barriers facing job applicants and improve their chances of employment.

Training Courses

The purpose of training courses is to develop the initial skills required for a specific specialised occupation. Their objective is to prepare capable, practically oriented technicians to carry out the duties associated with a position effectively.

These courses generally emphasise practical competencies, with some attention to the scientific principles underlying them. Participants are therefore trained primarily for operational positions, and subsequent advanced courses usually follow the same approach. In other words, senior managerial and administrative positions are not the principal focus of such training.

Because their content is closely connected to a particular occupation and its practical application, these courses are considerably shorter than formal higher-education programmes. Individuals can therefore undertake as many as they need within a relatively short period.

One limitation is that the skills taught may lean towards conventional classroom or laboratory practice and differ somewhat from everyday workplace requirements. Another is that skills acquired during a course may deteriorate if they are not used afterwards.

Training should therefore be purposeful, aimed at improving job performance, and timed so that participants either enter the relevant occupation afterwards or receive instruction while employed to upgrade their skills. Accordingly, where an applicant meets the other essential requirements, the necessary training may be provided after selection but before employment, or during employment. Exceptions arise where prior completion of a course is itself an essential condition of the job or where an urgent staffing need leaves no time for additional training.

As discussed earlier, effective performance depends on many skills, large and small, some of which can be developed through short courses. These include the ability to use occupational tools and equipment. An accountant, for example, must be able to use a calculator, accounting software, and computer hardware.

Some government bodies subsidise public or private vocational training providers to make skills needed by those bodies more widely available. Today, technical and non-technical training is a significant service sector, delivered both by public organisations, such as vocational training authorities, and by private providers.

Although a certificate of course completion may serve as supporting evidence of suitability for a position, consultants, job analysts, those who define selection criteria, and recruitment personnel should remember that the objective of training is the acquisition of practical skill. Demonstrable technical and vocational competence, verified through a practical assessment, may therefore be even more relevant to effective job performance than possession of a certificate alone.

Physical Capabilities (Illnesses and Limitations of the Worker)

The earliest means available to human beings for performing work was muscular strength. In the terminology of physics, work occurs when a force causes an object to move. For thousands of years, human muscles supplied the direct force needed to move objects. Simple tools such as levers gradually made this easier, but muscular effort remained the source of power until animal power, steam and, ultimately, other forms of energy replaced many kinds of human physical labour.

Although machinery and tools now relieve people of much strenuous physical effort, and many production lines operate automatically with little or no direct human intervention, physical labour remains important for several reasons.

Among these reasons are:

1. The flexibility of the human body and its limbs.

2. The ability to perform movements intelligently as skills are developed.

3. The contribution of mental capacities such as intelligence and creativity.

4. The preference of some economic strategists for labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive industries to generate employment and reduce unemployment.

Rapid technological progress and automation have become essential to the social and economic circumstances of advanced industrial countries. They can help avert declines in production and the loss of existing markets as low or negative population growth raises the average age of the workforce and reduces labour-force participation. At the same time, a greater emphasis on knowledge and software production has reduced the role of manual work. In the author’s view, the sale of second-hand factories from Europe, the United States, Russia and Japan to developing countries also illustrates the movement of industrial economies towards automation.

The term “work” also has a meaning in psychology and management. In this context, the performance of several tasks constitutes a piece of work, while the performance of several kinds of work constitutes an occupation. Consider the following example.

A person preparing rice first sorts and cleans it, washes it, places it in boiling water on the stove, drains it after boiling and finally steams it. Each step is a task. Completing these tasks in an orderly sequence constitutes the work of cooking rice; when such work is performed regularly, the person may be described as a cook, and cooking as their occupation.

To carry out occupational tasks effectively, people use different parts of the body in different ways: hands, feet, fingers, joints, the spine, the neck, the mind and the five senses. Some are used continuously and others only occasionally. Depending on the occupation, certain movements may be essential, optional or unnecessary.

The author argues that where a job requires the use of a particular body part, even occasionally, its functional condition should be addressed in the job requirements.

Returning to the cooking example, the consultant reviews every action involved and identifies its physical requirements. Hands, feet, joints and the spine are used repeatedly. Mental attention is also important: if rice should boil for ten minutes but is left for thirty, it will become overcooked and sticky. Smell, touch, taste, sight and, to some extent, hearing also contribute to the task.

Defining a position’s physical requirements can help society make better use of its available human capabilities and place people in jobs suited to their abilities. Two further considerations deserve particular attention.

Disabilities

Appropriate job selection can benefit both parties: it supports effective performance and productivity while promoting job satisfaction and personal fulfilment. The author also identifies a broader social benefit that can reinforce these outcomes.

The capabilities of people with disabilities are often left unused because those able to make a difference fail to recognise or support them. Beyond the social problems this creates and the neglect of a human responsibility, it can also prevent certain occupations from achieving their full potential.

The author refers to research suggesting that some physical or cognitive limitations may be accompanied by strengths in other areas. Examples offered include strong memory among some blind people and strong concentration among some deaf people. The text further suggests that people who acquire disabilities through accidents may, after adjusting to their circumstances, demonstrate considerable motivation to succeed and may have different expectations of work and job satisfaction.

These observations are not intended to justify exploiting people with disabilities. Rather, the author’s purpose is to bring together motivation and job satisfaction in ways that benefit both employees and employers through productivity and professional development.

Accordingly, consultants should consider the employment of people with disabilities in suitable positions as a professional responsibility and, more broadly, as a human and social responsibility.

Illnesses

Just as it is necessary to specify the physical abilities a position requires, it is important to identify conditions that may be unsuitable or hazardous in order to protect both the employee and the work itself.

A detailed description of daily occupational duties should therefore include working conditions. Consultants need to examine external factors that may expose workers to unpleasant or potentially harmful circumstances.

Such factors include excessive heat or cold; inadequate or excessive lighting; noise; dust; fumes; airborne metal, wood or textile particles; direct exposure to sunlight, gamma rays, X-rays and other harmful radiation; and psychologically challenging circumstances such as extreme silence, overcrowding, fear or anxiety. They may also include contact with dangerous or distressing objects, deceased persons or human remains, or repeated exposure to people experiencing illness, poverty or other forms of suffering. The overall level of occupational risk must also be considered.

Identifying the tools, materials and machinery used regularly or occasionally helps consultants assess whether a person’s physical and psychological capacities, limitations and illnesses are compatible with the work, with the aim of avoiding new or aggravated health problems. For example, textile dust or unavoidable chemical emissions may worsen existing respiratory conditions; chemical exposure may affect people with sensitive skin; work at height may be unsuitable for people who fear heights; and emotionally demanding work may be difficult for those with low self-confidence. The author cautions that such mismatches can result in the loss of valuable workers.

Consultants must also safeguard the essential requirements of the position itself. In certain occupations, an employee’s illness may have adverse and sometimes dangerous consequences for the work being performed.

Skin conditions and contagious viral diseases, for example, may pose risks in food production and distribution or in medical and health-related products and services. Illness among workers involved with public health infrastructure, such as drinking-water facilities, may likewise create serious risks. The author therefore considers it essential to address relevant health requirements explicitly in job eligibility criteria and regards overlooking them as inconsistent with professional job analysis.

Psychological and Mental Capabilities

Beyond physical characteristics, individual differences can be found across an even wider range of psychological and mental attributes. By considering a person’s psychological resources, dispositions and skills, a consultant can form an assessment of how successfully that person may meet the requirements of a particular occupation.

The author describes certain broad characteristics underlying the individual as fundamental attributes, including intellectual capacity, creativity, locus of control and self-esteem. Other characteristics exist as potential capacities that can, through deliberate effort, an appropriate environment and sufficient informal learning, become more firmly established; these are described as dispositions or readiness.

Some trainable attributes may initially be weak. They are examined further in the discussion of personality characteristics.

Other characteristics appear as personal skills, acquired through repeated practice over the course of life or regarded by the author as innate. They help individuals meet everyday needs and manage daily affairs. Examples include networking, communication, enjoying life and accepting criticism.

For effective selection and sound career counselling, the author gives particular weight to fundamental psychological attributes. In this framework, willingness to work, job satisfaction, motivation and satisfactory performance depend in part on the fit between these attributes and the nature of the occupation. Skills and dispositions, meanwhile, can support further success and development during employment.

To assess this fit, consultants must also analyse the psychological demands of the position. Some desirable qualities, such as capacity for work and interest in working, are relevant across occupations. The significance of other factors varies with the nature of the job. Examples include intelligence, creativity, self-esteem, locus of control and what the author describes as a sensory or realistic personality orientation.

The author first divides occupations into two main groups: jobs that have yet to be created and jobs that already exist. The first group calls for an entrepreneurial individual; the second requires someone to fill and manage an established position.

1. Jobs Yet to Be Created

According to the author, individuals well suited to creating a new job or enterprise have aspirations, plans and the determination to carry them out. They show strong self-confidence, regard themselves as influential in shaping their future, accept risk, seek progress and achievement, take action, think fluently and creatively, and generate new ideas.

This perspective is particularly relevant to self-employment, independent business activities and roles responsible for expanding, developing and improving organisational methods and operations.

The author proposes above-average intelligence, creativity and self-esteem, an internal locus of control and a realistic personality orientation as desirable characteristics for such roles.

2. Existing Jobs

These are positions already defined, formally or informally, within the organisational structures and established practices of companies, factories, institutions and other workplaces that employ staff to carry out ongoing operations.

The author considers the characteristics associated with success in these positions to differ from those required for creating a new enterprise.

The psychological profiles described above represent ideal combinations rather than absolute prerequisites. Full success may depend on several factors working together, but the absence of an ideal combination does not necessarily rule out partial or meaningful success.

Existing positions are then divided into two categories: simple and repetitive jobs, and challenging jobs.

Simple and repetitive jobs generally follow a consistent rhythm and can be performed after limited training. Examples include machine operation, assembly and packaging.

Challenging jobs require employees to respond to unusual or unexpected circumstances. Their initiative and ability to improvise may be tested regularly or occasionally. Examples include repair technicians, managers, designers, advertising personnel and public relations officers.

The author cites research in support of the view that individuals with below-average intellectual performance, creativity and self-esteem and an external locus of control may perform well in simple, repetitive work. Conversely, those with stronger creativity, intelligence and self-confidence who believe their own actions can shape future progress may be better suited to challenging roles. In the author’s account, the relationship between these psychological characteristics and occupational progress is inverse for simple repetitive work and direct for challenging work.

The author illustrates this proposed relationship by contrasting challenging jobs with simple and repetitive jobs.

The Relationship Between Job–Person Fit and Occupational Success

Insufficient attention to the compatibility between the nature of a job and such characteristics as self-esteem, intellectual capacity and individual creativity may, in the author’s view, lead to job dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction can in turn contribute to occupational failure, poor employer–employee relations, industrial and workplace accidents, reduced productivity, lack of motivation and employee turnover.

The author therefore recommends that consultants use appropriately validated psychological assessments to examine the fit between the individual and the position.

Personality Characteristics

Personality characteristics are an important factor in job satisfaction, the fulfilment of occupational requirements and, ultimately, career success. Such outcomes emerge from the two-way interaction between the individual’s personality and the nature of the job.

Personality may be defined as the collection of individual attributes that give rise to a relatively consistent pattern of actions and reactions, distinguishing one person from others. These attributes can be examined in three categories: perceptual characteristics, emotional and affective characteristics, and prominent behavioural characteristics.

Perceptual Characteristics

These characteristics concern, first, a person’s understanding, attitude and perception of themselves and, second, how that self-understanding is directed towards the surrounding world. Self-knowledge encompasses physical abilities and limitations as well as psychological strengths and limitations.

Height, weight, facial appearance, physical fitness, bodily strength, speech and physical proportions may be considered physical attributes. Illnesses, physical weaknesses and disabilities affecting the hands, feet, hearing, sight, speech or cognitive functioning may be regarded as limitations. Intelligence, creativity, knowledge, experience, financial resources, family, social class, nationality, race, emotions and other characteristics also contribute significantly to the individual’s self-image.

This self-image, when viewed in relation to the culture and prevailing attitudes of the society to which the person belongs, helps establish the foundations of self-confidence or its absence. The resulting image may be accurate and grounded in reality, or it may be distorted by psychological factors such as an exaggerated or diminished sense of self.

An exaggerated self-image may produce false confidence that is inconsistent with the person’s actual characteristics. When faced with the expectations of family, the workplace and society, the person may encounter difficulties as those expectations remain unmet. At a minimum, this may result in an inability to fulfil responsibilities they have accepted.

Conversely, an unduly low opinion of oneself can undermine the courage needed to make use of existing abilities and prevent a person from accepting responsibilities they are capable of fulfilling.

Accurate and undistorted self-knowledge therefore helps maintain a balanced personality. Its effects become apparent through interaction with the surrounding environment, where external influences give rise to individual responses and relatively stable patterns of behaviour.

Another important influence on self-confidence is the degree of helplessness a person experiences, or, conversely, the range of choices available to them. Choices refer to the alternative courses of action open to an individual. For example, a person who has access to only one job may have to accept it even if it does not match their interests. Someone with several employment options and no comparable constraint can choose a position with greater confidence and closer attention to their interests and abilities.

Emotional and Affective Characteristics

Feelings and emotions complement the other elements of personality. Positive qualities such as honesty, love, hope, altruism, compassion, pride, good character, aspiration, optimism and idealism—and negative qualities such as jealousy, pessimism, hypocrisy, hatred, resentment, flattery, cruelty and duplicity—all leave their mark on the formation and development of personality.

The author observes that a personality dominated by negative traits would rarely be desirable for a job in its ordinary sense, although certain unusual positions might seek such characteristics. This observation is included to broaden the job analyst’s understanding of the possible relationship between personality and occupational requirements.

Prominent Behavioural Characteristics

According to the behavioural-science perspective described by the author, individual actions and reactions are influenced by two major factors: heredity and environment. Temperament may have hereditary origins, but the environment can substantially intensify or moderate its expression. Environmental influences may even suppress the outward expression of an individual’s innate tendencies.

Values and cultural norms within the family and wider society, the way individuals receive social and family feedback, and their experiences of accepted and unacceptable behaviour throughout life are powerful influences on conduct. The author considers these influences responsible for a large proportion of observable individual behaviour.

In analysing both the position and the person, further personality attributes can be considered according to their relevance to occupational success. Many are difficult to measure through formal tests alone, but may be assessed through a review of personal history, interviews, enquiries and direct observation.

These attributes include public-relations skills; management ability; charisma; humane conduct; networking ability; managerial presence; persuasive influence; eloquence; command of vocabulary; courage and boldness; self-confidence; ability to influence an audience; controlled and appropriate body language; personal presentation; foresight; caution; commitment; faith and piety; consistency; tolerance; perseverance; compliance; loyalty; discretion; trustworthiness; diligence and hard work; self-control; respect for rules; flexibility; pleasant manners; discipline and punctuality; accuracy; reliability; assertiveness in conflict; insight and broad-mindedness; leadership; motivation to succeed; optimism; courteous conduct; willingness to cooperate and work in groups; desire for advancement; cleanliness; imagination; and other related qualities.

Financial Resources and Potential

Information about financial resources and potential is required by the consultant primarily when a jobseeker wishes to pursue self-employment or independent commercial activity. By considering the person’s other relevant characteristics alongside the requirements of employment-generation projects and the feasibility of establishing a small business, the consultant can provide appropriate guidance.

Depending on the financial resources available, consultants may guide jobseekers towards establishing an individual enterprise or towards partnership arrangements and legally constituted companies, including production and service cooperatives.

Final Remarks

As noted in the definition of skill, the effective and successful performance of any activity requires individual competence. The analysis of jobs and jobholders for the purpose of providing sound career guidance is no exception. The ultimate effectiveness of job analysis depends not only on the analyst’s theoretical knowledge but also on suitable practice, effort and experience.

Source

This article is drawn from the book “A Strategy for Fair and Merit-Based Workforce Realignment”, also titled “The Professional Practice of Career Counselling and Employment Services”, written by Gholamreza Reihani Bozorg, and reflects the author’s extensive practical experience in the field.