Prior Occupational Experience, Anticipatory Socialization, and Employee Retention

Research on organizational socialization processes has not firmly established the relationships among prior work experience, preentry variables, and postentry attitudes and behavior. Using a longitudinal sample of 218 newcomers, a survival model was developed to test whether the relationship between prior occupational experience and retention is mediated by such preentry variables as person-job (P-J) fit, value congruence, and organizational expectations. Results indicate that prior occupational work experience significantly affects retention in the short run, and this relationship is mediated by preentry P-J fit and value congruence.