IJobs - an Internet Intervention for the Unemployed (iJobs)

IJobs - an Internet Intervention for the Unemployed: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The current study aims to test the efficacy of iJobs, an online intervention for the unemployed. iJobs is an online adaptation of the JOBS program.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Unemployment
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: iJobs

Detailed Description

The current study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial that will test the efficacy of iJobs (a web-based adaptation of the JOBS program) against a waiting list control group. Participants from the control group will be enrolled in iJobs 2 weeks after the experimental group finishes the program. iJobs is a 2-week intervention consisting of 5 modules focusing on discovering job skills, job search strategies, preparing effective resumes, exercising different types of interviews, and overcoming setbacks in the job search process. iJobs was previously tested in a feasibility and acceptability trial.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 176
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Romania
  • Timişoara, Romania, 300223
    • West University of Timișoara

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Unemployed and looking for a job
• Work as volunteers and are looking for a paid job
• Have a PC or laptop and basic digital competencies

Exclusion Criteria:

• They don't have internet access and are not available during the two weeks of the program

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; The group that will be first randomly allocated to iJobs.	Behavioral: iJobs; iJobs is a 2-week intervention consisting of 5 modules focusing on discovering job skills, job search strategies, preparing effective resumes, exercising different types of interviews, and overcoming setbacks in the job search process. This is an adaptation of the JOBS program.
Experimental: Waiting list control group; This group will receive the intervention 2-weeks after the intervention group finishes it.	Behavioral: iJobs; iJobs is a 2-week intervention consisting of 5 modules focusing on discovering job skills, job search strategies, preparing effective resumes, exercising different types of interviews, and overcoming setbacks in the job search process. This is an adaptation of the JOBS program.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participants' self-efficacy regarding the job search process	The Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (20-item) measures participants' perception of their ability to gain employment. The minimum score is 20 and the maximum is 100. A higher score means a better outcome (increased job search self-efficacy).	Change from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up (approximately 2 weeks and 6 weeks)
Participants' job search intensity and effort	The investigators will use a version of Blau's Job-search behaviors scale adapted to the contemporary context and Romanian population. The scale measures participants' involvement in job search activities in terms of frequency and intensity. The minimum score is 16 and the maximum is 80. A higher score means a better outcome (increased job search behavior effort).	Change from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up (approximately 2 weeks and 6 weeks)
The quality of participants' job search behaviors	The Job search quality scale has 20 items and measures the quality in which the job search behaviors are performed. The minimum score is 20 and the maximum is 100. A higher score means a better outcome (increased job search quality).	Change from baseline to post-intervention and follow-up (approximately 2 weeks and 6 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participants' ability to deal with setbacks in the job search process	Inoculation against setbacks (i.e., participants' ability to deal with setbacks) will be measured using 2 items retrieved from previous studies. The minimum score is 2 and the maximum is 10. A higher score means a better outcome (presence of inoculation against setbacks).	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Participants' overall self-esteem	Rosenberg's Self Esteem Scale measures global self-worth by measuring both positive and negative feelings about the self using 10 items. The minimum score of Rosenberg's Self Esteem Scale is 10 and the highest one is 40. A higher score means a better outcome.	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Participants' anxiety regarding their future career	The investigators will measure participants' anxiety regarding their future career with the Future Career Anxiety Scale. The minimum score is 5 and the maximum is 25. A higher score means a worse outcome (increased anxiety).	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Generalised Anxiety symptoms	The investigators will measure participants' anxiety symptoms using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment. This is a 7-item instrument that uses the DSM-V criteria to assess anxiety symptom severity. The minimum score is 0 and the highest one is 21. A higher score means a worse outcome (a higher level of anxiety).	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Depression symptoms	The investigators will measure participants' depression symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The scale measures participants' severity of depression using DSM IV criteria. The minimum score is 0 and the highest one is 27. A higher score means a worse outcome (more severe symptoms of depression).	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Participants' mental health complaints	The investigators will measure participants' mental health complaints with the Mental Health Complaints Scale. This is a 5-item instrument that will be used to assess mental health complaints. The minimum score is 6 and the highest is 30. A higher score means a worse outcome.	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)
Participants' psychological capital	The investigators will measure participants' psychological capital with the 12-item Compound PsyCap Scale. The minimum score is 12 and the highest is 72. A higher score means a better outcome.	Change from baseline to post-intervention (approximately 2 weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical health	The investigators will use a short version of Ware's Physical Health Complaints Scale to measure participants' perceptions of their health. The minimum score is 4 and the highest is 20. A higher score means a worse outcome (worse physical health).	Baseline only
Treatment adherence	Drop out rate; The number of completed assignments; Quality of completed assignment (qualitative rating of the degree of completeness and depth of the answer for each assignment, conducted by two independent experts based on apriori established coding grids).	Post-intervention only (approximately 2 weeks)
Satisfaction with the intervention	Satisfaction with the intervention will be measured using 17 items. Eleven items are measured on a 4-points, 5-points, and 10-points Likert scale. Each item will be analyzed separately. A higher score means greater satisfaction. The other 6 items are open-ended questions and imply qualitative analysis.	Post-intervention only (approximately 2 weeks)
System usability	We will use a 10-item questionnaire designed to measure participants' satisfaction with TalentLMS, the online platform used for the program delivery. The total score of System Usability Scale is 0 and the highest one is 100. A higher score means a better outcome.	Post-intervention only (approximately 2 weeks)
Sociodemographic information	Age, gender, residential area, educational level, average monthly income, unemployment period, work experience, and targeted professional field.	Baseline only
Employment status	Self-reported employment status will be measured at follow-up, using a dichotomous question.	Follow-up only (approximately 6 weeks)
Employment satisfaction	Self-reported employment quality will be measured at follow-up using 4 questions. One of them is a dichotomous question, while the other 3 questions are measured on a Likert scale. The minimum score is 3, and the maximum is 30. A higher score means greater satisfaction with the job.	Follow-up only (approximately 6 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: West University of Timisoara
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Andrei Rusu, West University of Timișoara

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.
• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
• Berwick DM, Murphy JM, Goldman PA, Ware JE Jr, Barsky AJ, Weinstein MC. Performance of a five-item mental health screening test. Med Care. 1991 Feb;29(2):169-76. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199102000-00008.
• Bangor, A., Kortum, P. & Miller, J. (2009). Determining what individual SUS scores mean: adding an adjective rating scale. Journal of Usability Studies, 4(3), 114-123.
• Bodnaru, A., Rusu, A., Blonk, R., Vîrgă, D., Iliescu, D., & Van den Broeck, A. (2023, May 4). Bodnaru_et_al_preprint. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tdseq
• Blau, G. (1994). Testing a two-dimensional measure of job search behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 59, 288-312. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1994.1061
• Curran, J., Wishart, P., & Gingrich, J. (1999). JOBS: A manual for teaching people successful job search strategies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Michigan Prevention Research Center.
• Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the Self. New York, NY: Basic Books.
• Saks, A.M., Zikic, J., & Koen, J. (2015). Job search self-efficacy: Reconceptualizing the construct and its measurement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 104-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.11.007
• Tsai C.T., Hsu H., Hsu Y.C. (2017). Tourism and hospitality college students' career anxiety: Scale development and validation. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 29(4), 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2017.1382365
• Van Hooft, E.A.J., Van Hoye, G., & Van den Hee, S.M. (2022). How to Optimize the Job Search Process: Development and Validation of the Job Search Quality Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 30(3), 474-505. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727211052812
• Virga D, De Witte H, Cifre E. The Role of Perceived Employability, Core Self-Evaluations, and Job Resources on Health and Turnover Intentions. J Psychol. 2017 Oct 3;151(7):632-645. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2017.1372346. Epub 2017 Oct 6.
• Vîrga, D. & Rusu, A. (2018). Core self-evaluations, job search behaviour and health complaints. The mediating role of job search self-efficacy. Career Development International, 23(3), 261-273. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-11-2017-0208
• Vuori, J., & Vinokur, A.D. (2005). Job-search preparedness as a mediator of the effects of the Tyohon Job Search Intervention on re-employment and mental health. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(3), 275-291. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.308
• Lorenz T, Beer C, Putz J, Heinitz K. Measuring Psychological Capital: Construction and Validation of the Compound PsyCap Scale (CPC-12). PLoS One. 2016 Apr 1;11(4):e0152892. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152892. eCollection 2016.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 6, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 2, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): November 2, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 24, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): July 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 26, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: iJobs
• Other Study ID Numbers: RCT iJobs

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No