This assignment is designed to help you apply common concepts and methods used in job and occupational analysis. The intent is to obtain experience reviewing existing occupational analysis information available from the O*NET website and to allow you to obtain first-hand experience conducting a JAI as part of an abbreviated version of a job analysis, the foundational building block for the development and validation of selection procedures.
You will examine a job or an occupation of your choosing to identify what the incumbent does on the job (tasks) and the worker capabilities (for example, competencies, knowledge, skills, abilities, or other characteristics) needed to successfully perform the job. You will also learn how performance is measured on the job, as well as the working conditions under which the job is performed.
Guidance for the Job You Select for Analysis
You may analyze any job that interests you as long as you have access to speak with and either survey or observe incumbents in the job. This assignment and the Unit 5 assignment will allow you to conduct an abbreviated job analysis to inform selection procedures. The job analysis is divided into two assignments to give you exposure to and experience in different job analysis methods. For the Unit 5 assignment, you will have the choice to either use the JAQ method or conduct a job observation and linkage exercise for the same job analyzed in this assignment. Important: Please review Unit 5 assignment instructions before selecting a job to analyze in this assignment.
The discussions leading up to this assignment will prepare you for the steps involved with conducting the job analysis. Subsequent discussion topics following this assignment will build off the job analysis you conduct, so be sure to thoughtfully consider which job you analyze and give it your best effort based on the concepts you learn in the course. The job analysis involves several steps, so it will be important to start working on it early in the course.
Assignment Steps
For this assignment, complete the following steps:
- Select a job to analyze that has existing information in the O*NET database.
- Suggestions for selecting a job: Choose a job that you currently hold or have held in the past, or the job of a friend or family member. Alternatively, you may also choose a job that you regularly interact with such as customer service or food service. For this assignment, you will need to interview someone else, and in the Unit 5 assignment, you will either need to survey job-holders or observe a worker in this role. Keep this in mind when selecting the job to analyze.
- O*NET includes information about occupations, which can be a job or collection of similar jobs. Enter the occupation title in the Occupation Search or Occupation Quick Search box at the O*NET website and select the most relevant occupation for the job you selected.
- For purposes of this assignment, click Details tab on the search results page and document the work requirements (Tasks) and worker requirements (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities (KSAs), and Work Styles) for the target occupation. You can select Save Table to download these lists in Excel within each respective section or copy and paste.
- Conduct a 30-minute interview with 1-2 SMEs. If interviewing two SMEs, they can be in the same interview but do not include both a supervisor and employee in the same interview. A sample interview protocol for each are provided in the resources.
- Be sure the SMEs should know the job well, such as a high-performing employee or a supervisor.
- Note that the goal of the interview is to learn what tasks are performed, what KSAs or competencies are required for successful performance, how job performance is measured, and the context in which work is performed.
- Summarize your interview notes in a Word document, embedding the notes within the interview protocol.
- Note that you may conduct the interview in-person or via phone. You must conduct the interview in an ethical manner. Although the interview will be conducted for a class assignment, your interviewees should be informed of the basic procedures, guaranteed complete confidentiality, given the opportunity to withdraw from the interview at any time without consequences, and debriefed regarding the purpose of the interview.
Instructions
In a 1-2-page executive summary in paragraph format:
- State the target job (that is, the job you selected for analysis).
- State the most relevant corresponding O*NET code and occupation.
- Describe the two job analysis methods you used, noting the purpose of using O*NET and the JAI methods and the types of information they provide to inform selection processes. (Cite scholarly sources for each method.)
- Summarize briefly the basic background information about the interviewees to support his or her qualifications as a SME for the target job (for example, job title, years of experience, relationship to the job—currently an employee in the target job or supervisor of the target job).
- Summarize the main points you collectively gathered from the interview and O*NET search, regarding important tasks performed on the job, worker-oriented characteristics (for example, competencies or KSAOs), work context or working conditions (for example, interaction requirements and physical environment), and how job performance is measured on the job.
- Include a concluding paragraph.
- Include references. Cite the sources referenced, including O*NET for the search you conducted and other scholarly resources.
- Include the following appendices:
- Appendix A: Job Analysis Interview Protocol with notes included for each interview question. You may use bullets and/or sentences, but make sure your notes are free of spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.
- Appendix B: A table including a list of 10-15 tasks performed on the job, following guidelines in the resources for how to write a task statement.
- Appendix C: A table including a list of 10-15 competencies (KSAOs). Other characteristics represent worker characteristics such as personality, attitude, interests, or values that successful employees possess in the target job but do not fit in the knowledge, skill, or ability categories.
- Cite the source of each task or KSAO statement: O*NET or the JAI in the tables for Appendices B and C. This can be done with an added column or two, or with notations in a table note. Your task and KSAO lists should cite both sources of job analysis information. Make it clear for the reader whether the task or KSAO was represented in both sources of job analysis information or if it was found in only one source.
Additional Requirements
Your assignment should also meet the following requirements:
- Length: 1-2 pages, excluding the title page, references, and appendices.
- Font and font size: Arial or Times New Roman, 12 point.
- Line spacing: 1.15 to 1.5. (Executive Summaries are rarely double-spaced.)
- APA format: Resources, citations, and headings are formatted according to current APA style and format. A Table of Contents is not required for this assignment.
