Job and organisational characteristics : a construct evaluation of applicant perceptions

This research aimed to assess the underlying dimensionality of items commonly used to assess applicants' perceptions of job and organisational characteristics. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine the number of underlying constructs in a job and organisational characteristics scale. The initial sample consisted of 450 applicants for graduate positions with an international bank. A five-factor structure was identified: (a) Challenging Work, (b) Co-workers, (c) Pay and Promotion Opportunities, (d) Reputation, and (e) Location. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm that the five-factor model was a good fit to the data. Preselection ratings were used for EFA and postselection ratings for CFA. The five-factor model was confirmed in two additional samples: graduate applicants for a national telecommunications company and applicants for a state police force. Multigroup CFA was used to assess the generalisability of the model across three groups of applicants. The five-factor model was consistent across the groups. [Author abstract]