APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 2012, 61 (2), 323–346

doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00470.x

Antecedents of Underemployment: Job Search of

Skilled Immigrants in Canada
Laura Guerrero*
The University of Texas at El Paso, USA

Mitchell G. Rothstein
The University of Western Ontario, Canada

We investigate factors that skilled immigrants can improve in order to have

better job search outcomes, in particular to avoid underemployment. We test
an unfolding model which considers barriers faced by skilled immigrants during
their job search (language and cultural barriers, and the lack of social support
in the receiving country), job search constructs and job search outcomes
(including underemployment). We collected data through an online question-
naire and obtained 357 usable responses from skilled immigrants in Canada.
The hypotheses were tested with partial least squares (PLS). Language fluency
and cultural knowledge were positively related to both job search clarity and
job search self-efficacy. Social support was only related to job search self-
efficacy. Job search clarity was related to job search intensity. Job search
intensity was related to the number of interviews, which in turn, was related to
the number of job offers. Finally, the number of job offers was negatively
related to underemployment. Our paper contributes to the understanding of the
job search of skilled immigrants by examining factors that can help them
overcome obstacles and obtain better job search outcomes.

INTRODUCTION
Skilled immigrants migrate from developing countries to developed nations
seeking a better life for themselves and their families. In many countries,
skilled immigrants account for a considerable proportion of the immigrant
population. In Canada, for instance, of the 250,000 immigrants that were
admitted in 2001, over 62 per cent were in the Economic Class, which
includes both investors and skilled immigrants (Citizenship and Immigration

* Address for correspondence: Laura Guerrero, Department of Management, The University

of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, Texas 79968, USA. Email:
lguerrero5@utep.edu
This study was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
The authors wish to thank Drs Victoria Esses, Alison Konrad, Joerg Dietz, Christopher Higgins,
and Ronald Burke.

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324 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

Canada, 2008). The difficulties that skilled immigrants experience when

attempting to enter the workforce often result in undesirable job search
outcomes, such as lower earnings (e.g. Ferrer & Riddell, 2008) and under-
employment (e.g. Reitz, 1998). Canadian immigrants typically earn 70–85
per cent of what native Canadians with comparable levels of education earn
(Ferrer & Riddell, 2008). Underemployment is an undesirable outcome that
affects skilled immigrants. Underemployment is defined as the degree to which
individuals’ education, skills, and abilities are underutilised by their current
job (Bolino & Feldman, 2000; Feldman & Turnley, 1995). The impact of
underemployment of skilled immigrants brings negative economic conse-
quences to the receiving country because skilled immigrants who are unem-
ployed or underemployed contribute less than expected to economic growth
and tax revenues. Thus, underemployment has negative consequences for
both the immigrants and the receiving countries.
Although researchers have investigated various aspects of immigrant
careers such as the barriers faced by immigrants (e.g. Hakak, Holzinger, &
Zikic, 2010; Zikic, Bonache, & Cerdin, 2010) and employer behaviors such as
the discounting of immigrant credentials (e.g. Esses, Dietz, & Bhardwaj,
2006), we did not find any studies about the proactive behaviors that recent
immigrants could use to overcome the barriers—called job seeker reemploy-
ment constraints in Wanberg, Hough, and Song (2002)—they face when
entering the workforce. Van Hooft, Born, Taris, and Van der Flier (2004) and
Van Hooft and De Jong (2009) studied minority and majority job seekers, but
it was not clear whether the minority job seekers were only ethnically different
or also different in language fluency and culture. In other words, it was not
stated whether minority job seekers in those studies were recent first-
generation immigrants. To our knowledge, no other research has studied the
various factors that skilled immigrants can learn to reduce the likelihood of
having negative job search outcomes, in particular underemployment.
Immigrants continue to be an understudied group that is growing in size
and importance in many countries (Bell, Kwesiga, & Berry, 2010). This
research topic is important for three reasons. First, although they may be
ethnically different, immigrants are also different from non-immigrants in
other ways. Immigrants face a different language and culture, and have
limited access to social support. Second, although many studies have consid-
ered only the dichotomous outcome of employment (employed or unem-
ployed), others have highlighted the importance of considering quality of
employment (Schwab, Rynes, & Aldag, 1987; Wanberg et al., 2002; Zikic &
Klehe, 2006). We use underemployment as a measure of employment quality.
Employment quality is relevant because it is a common problem for skilled
immigrants. Third, research in underemployment has focused to a great
extent on its consequences rather than its antecedents. In this study, we
explore antecedents of underemployment. In short, our study considers

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 325
obstacles faced by skilled immigrants during their job search, including lan-
guage and cultural barriers, and the lack of social support in the receiving
country, and we propose a model that includes malleable factors that can be
used in order to overcome these obstacles.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES

Feldman’s (1996) model includes several antecedents of underemployment,
including economic factors (e.g. degree to which the economy or an industry
is in decline), job characteristics (e.g. degree to which a certain job function is
considered to be essential or superfluous), career history (e.g. extent to which
individuals have employment gaps or have reached a plateau in their careers),
demographic characteristics (e.g. whether the individuals are members of a
minority group), and job search strategies (e.g. degree to which job seekers use
proactive job search strategies). In this paper, we focus on malleable factors
that can reduce the likelihood that skilled immigrants will be underemployed.
The job search literature generally emphasises behaviors and cognitions
that are malleable rather than semi-permanent traits or external factors such
as job market conditions. We develop a model based on Kanfer, Wanberg,
and Kantrowitz’s (2001) meta-analytic model of antecedents, job search
behaviors, and job search outcomes. In Kanfer et al.’s (2001) model, job
search behaviors (e.g. job search intensity) mediate the relationship between
antecedents (e.g. personality, job search self-efficacy, social support) and job
outcomes (duration of job search, number of job offers, and job status). We
focus on the most malleable factors influencing job search outcomes—job
search self-efficacy and job search intensity. Our model is also based on Côté,
Saks, and Zikic’s (2006) unfolding model of job search in which job inter-
views, job offers, and employment occur in sequence. Côté et al. (2006) also
highlight the importance of job search clarity. Thus, our model includes
constructs previously supported as antecedents to favorable job search out-
comes and constructs that can be learned or improved by skilled immigrants
to overcome barriers that may otherwise result in underemployment.
The model, displayed in Figure 1, consists of four main components:
immigrant-specific factors, job search factors, job search behaviors, and job
search outcomes. Immigrant-specific factors are expected to impact the
ability of skilled immigrants to overcome barriers in their job search. Hakak
et al. (2010) found that social networks, language, culture, and discrimina-
tion emerged as barriers to employment in a qualitative study of Latin
American MBAs in Canada. We expect immigrants to be able to overcome
these barriers with cultural knowledge, language fluency, and social support.
Although discrimination is also likely to be a barrier, we did not find a
suitable construct that represented a learnable skill to help immigrants over-
come it. Thus, we did not include it in the model. The model’s second

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Immigrant-specific Job search Job search Job search outcomes

factors factors behaviors

Language Job search

fluency clarity
Job Number of Number of
Social search interviews job offers Under-
support in in employment
intensity
preferred preferred
Job search occupation occupation
Cultural self-
knowledge efficacy

FIGURE 1. Job search model for skilled immigrants.

component includes two job search factors—job search clarity and job search
self-efficacy. The third component, called job search behaviors, includes job
search intensity. The fourth component is job search outcomes, which
include number of job interviews for the preferred occupation, number of job
offers for the preferred occupation, and degree of underemployment.
We expect job search factors to mediate the relationship between
immigrant-specific factors and job search intensity. Job search intensity will
act as a mediator between job search factors and the number of job interviews
for the preferred occupation. The number of job interviews will act as a
mediator between job search intensity and number of job offers for the
preferred occupation, and the number of job offers will act as a mediator
between the number of interviews and underemployment. The theoretical
linkages are described below.
As stated above, we consider three factors that are likely to impact the job
search of skilled immigrants: language fluency, social support, and cultural
knowledge. Language fluency is the degree to which an individual is able to
communicate verbally and in writing in the language of the receiving country.
Language fluency is different from verbal ability. Although a native speaker
with low levels of verbal ability has a limited vocabulary and may not be able
to use complex sentences, lower levels of verbal ability do not usually inter-
fere with an individual’s ability to express and understand basic written and
verbal communication in the way that language fluency does.
Another barrier to immigrant job seekers is their limited access to social
support. Social support refers to the actual benefits derived from an indi-
vidual’s social contacts. Here, we consider benefits in terms of information,
such as advice and job leads, as well as emotional support. When immigrat-
ing, individuals lose access to some of the benefits provided by their social
contacts (Zikic et al., 2010). Although individuals who move within the
country also lose some access to social connections, it is much easier to
establish new connections when people in the new city share the same culture
and language. Even if immigrants keep in touch with friends from their home
country, their support is unlikely to be helpful because these friends will not

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 327
be able to relate to the sense of confusion and frustration of conducting a job
search in a different country. Thus, we only consider social support from
people in Canada.
Another factor that acts as a barrier for skilled immigrants is culture. Thus,
we expect cultural knowledge to be useful to job-seeking immigrants. Cul-
tural knowledge is “knowledge of cultural differences . . . and knowledge of
the processes through which culture influences behavior” (Thomas, 2006,
p. 82). Thomas et al. (Thomas, Elron, Stahl, Ekelund, Ravlin, Cerdin, Poel-
mans, Brislin, Pekerti, Aycan, Maznevski, Au, & Lazarova, 2008) assert that
individuals with higher levels of cultural knowledge are likely to have a better
understanding of their own behavior and that of others, to have more com-
fortable social interactions, to make more accurate attributions, and to have
more effective cross-cultural behavior. Expatriate research has shown that
cross-cultural training has a positive impact on cross-cultural adjustment and
is effective even when self-administered (Black & Gregersen, 1991; Morris &
Robie, 2001). Cultural knowledge is explicit knowledge that can be learned
and can have a positive impact.
Next are two job search factors: job search clarity and job search self-
efficacy. These two factors were selected because they are malleable and, to
some extent, under the control of job seekers. The concept of job search clarity
was developed by Wanberg et al. (2002) and extended by Côté et al. (2006).
Job search clarity is the degree to which job seekers have clear job search
objectives and have specific knowledge of the type of job they want, how they
plan to search for a job, and when they will obtain a job (Côté et al., 2006). Job
search clarity is a cognitive construct indicating knowledge about the job that
the job seeker wants and the job market he or she is about to enter.
Job search self-efficacy refers to a job seeker’s confidence in his or her
ability to successfully perform a variety of job search activities (Saks, 2006).
Job search self-efficacy is not about confidence related to obtaining out-
comes, which is dependent on the individual’s belief about the fairness of the
system or other aspects that are not under the control of the individual
(Bandura, 1977). Caplan, Vinokur, Price, and van Ryn (1989) and Eden and
Aviram (1993) showed the effectiveness of self-efficacy training in helping job
seekers improve their job search outcomes. Bandura (1977) listed four major
sources of self-efficacy: personal mastery experiences, vicarious experiences,
verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. We will use these mechanisms to
explain the influence of language fluency, social support and cultural knowl-
edge on job search self-efficacy.
We expect language fluency to be related to both job search clarity and to
job search self-efficacy of skilled immigrants. Language fluency is expected
to be positively related to job search clarity because those with higher levels
of language fluency will have greater access to information about the job
market, industries, organisations, and jobs.

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Hypothesis 1a: Language fluency is positively related to job search clarity.

We also expect language fluency to be related to job search self-efficacy.

Immigrants with better language fluency will have better interactions and
outcomes in the receiving country (i.e. personal mastery), which will lead to
higher job search self-efficacy. Similarly, immigrants may observe that others
with high levels of language fluency are able to perform job search activities
successfully (i.e. vicarious experience). These vicarious experiences will give
those with higher levels of language fluency increased levels of job search
self-efficacy.

Hypothesis 1b: Language fluency is positively related to job search self-efficacy.

We expect social support to be positively related to both job search clarity

and job search self-efficacy. Social networks have been shown to be an
important factor in obtaining a job (Van Hoye, van Hooft, & Lievens, 2009).
Because one of the barriers that skilled immigrants face is lack of knowledge
of the local labor market (Zikic et al., 2010), we expect that social support
will help job seekers by providing them with information about the job
market and specific jobs to help clarify their job search objectives.

Hypothesis 2a: Social support is positively related to job search clarity.

Skilled immigrants are expected to increase their job search self-efficacy

through verbal persuasion and vicarious experiences. Social contacts can
convince job seekers that they have the ability to conduct a successful job
search (i.e. verbal persuasion) or by demonstrating that other immigrants can
conduct successful job searches (i.e. vicarious experiences).

Hypothesis 2b: Social support is positively related to job search self-efficacy.

We expect cultural knowledge to be positively related to job search clarity

and to job search self-efficacy. As immigrants’ cultural knowledge increases,
they will have higher levels of job search clarity because they will be able to
better understand that their skills may be evaluated differently, and that there
may be different ways to look for a job in the receiving country. Cultural
knowledge will be related to job search clarity because as immigrants
improve their understanding of the culture, they are likely to change their
expectations and improve their understanding of the job search.

Hypothesis 3a: Cultural knowledge is positively related to job search clarity.

Immigrant job seekers with more cultural knowledge are also expected to
have higher levels of job search self-efficacy. Immigrants with more cultural

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 329
knowledge will have better interactions and outcomes in the receiving
country (i.e. personal mastery), which will lead to higher job search self-
efficacy. Similarly, immigrants may observe that similar others with high
levels of cultural knowledge are able to perform certain job search activities
successfully (i.e. vicarious experience), leading to higher levels of job search
self-efficacy.

Hypothesis 3b: Cultural knowledge is positively related to job search self-efficacy.

The subsequent hypotheses link job search factors to job search intensity.
We expect job search clarity to be positively related to job search intensity. We
use goal theory to explain this link. The definition of job search clarity is
functionally similar to that of a goal because, like job search clarity, a goal is
a statement of what a person wants to achieve, usually including a plan on how
and when it will be achieved. Locke and Latham (2002) theorised that goals
affect performance through four mechanisms: (1) goals direct attention to
goal-relevant activities and direct attention away from goal-irrelevant activi-
ties, (2) goals have an energising effect, (3) goals positively impact persistence,
and (4) goals affect action indirectly by leading to the discovery and use of
relevant skills and abilities to reach the goals. Previous research has shown that
job seekers with higher job search clarity have higher levels of job search
intensity (Côté et al., 2006). Although skilled immigrants may have difficulty
attaining high levels of job search clarity because they are likely to be unfa-
miliar with various aspects of the job search in the receiving country, it is
expected that those immigrants with higher levels of job search clarity will have
higher levels of job search intensity because, like a goal, job search clarity will
have an energising effect, improve focus, and increase persistence.

Hypothesis 4: Job search clarity is positively related to job search intensity.

We also expect job search self-efficacy to be positively related to job search

intensity. Job seekers with higher levels of job search self-efficacy are more
likely to have better developed job search strategies and perform them with
greater job search intensity because they expect to be able to perform them
well. Kanfer et al. (2001) theorised that job seekers high in job self-efficacy
are also likely to be persistent in challenging job search situations. Previous
research supports the relationship between job search self-efficacy and job
search intensity (Côté et al., 2006; Saks & Ashforth, 1999; Yanar, Budworth,
& Latham, 2009).

Hypothesis 5: Job search self-efficacy is positively related to job search intensity.

We expect job search intensity to be positively related to the number of job

interviews job seekers obtain. In this paper, we do not expect job search

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330 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

intensity to be directly related to underemployment. Our model, like Côté

et al.’s (2006), unfolds in such a way that job search intensity is related to
number of job interviews, which in turn is related to the number of job offers
and number of job offers is related to underemployment.
We begin by defining job search intensity, which refers to the frequency and
scope of specific job search behaviors (Kanfer et al., 2001). Schwab et al.
(1987) suggest that when job seekers lack knowledge about the job market,
they are likely to obtain jobs more rapidly if they increase their job search
intensity. The alternative is a situation, unlikely to be faced by immigrants,
where job seekers have clear knowledge about job opportunities, and thus
they only need to apply to a few targeted jobs. We anticipate that job seekers
who engage in greater job search intensity will have greater probability of
being invited to interviews. Empirical research supports this relationship
(Creed, King, Hood, & McKenzie, 2009; Kanfer et al., 2001; Saks & Ash-
forth, 1999; Saks, 2006). In this study, we focus on job interviews related to
the preferred occupation because the overall number of interviews is not as
likely to lead to lower levels of underemployment. To our knowledge, the
relationship between job search intensity and the number of interviews for a
preferred occupation has not been previously investigated.

Hypothesis 6: Job search intensity is positively related to number of interviews for

the preferred occupation.

We also expect the number of job interviews for the preferred occupation
to be positively related to the number of job offers for the preferred occupa-
tion. Despite the challenges faced by immigrant job seekers, those who
receive more job interviews increase the probability that employers will
extend job offers to them. Empirical results show that applicants who receive
more interviews are also likely to receive more job offers (Côté et al., 2006;
Saks, 2006). We consider the relationship between interviews for the pre-
ferred occupation and job offers for the preferred occupation because our
outcome of interest is underemployment.

Hypothesis 7: The number of job interviews for the preferred occupation is posi-
tively related to the number of job offers for the preferred occupation.

Job seekers with a greater number of job offers for their preferred occu-
pation are less likely to face underemployment because those with several
options are expected to choose jobs that better utilise their skills. Although it
is possible for job seekers to accept the first offer they receive, it is also likely
that they will continue to consider subsequent offers if they are better than
the one they have accepted. Empirical evidence supports the positive rela-
tionship between the number of job offers and job status (employed or
unemployed) (Côté et al., 2006; Saks, 2006). We go beyond this previously

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 331
established relationship and test the relationship between job offers for the
preferred occupation and underemployment.

Hypothesis 8: The number of job offers for the preferred occupation is negatively
related to underemployment.

Figure 1 suggests several mediating relationships. Because these relation-

ships are not theoretically grounded or hypothesised, we test them on an
exploratory basis.

METHOD

Participants and Procedure

Participants were members of a Canadian non-profit online service designed
to help employers identify and recruit qualified skilled immigrants. To reg-
ister with this service, skilled immigrants were required to: (1) be legally
allowed to work in Canada; (2) have an adequate level of English language
fluency; (3) have a clearly defined job goal and action plan; (4) have a job
search portfolio including résumés, cover letters, references, and interview
preparation skills; (5) have a referral from an employment preparation agent;
(6) have licensing and certification of foreign credentials when required; and
(7) have knowledge of the industry and occupation terminology and
minimum technology standards. The minimum requirements to immigrate
to Canada as a skilled immigrant are to have the equivalent of 1 year of
continuous full-time paid work experience in a managerial, professional, or
technical job within the past 10 years (Citizenship and Immigration Canada,
2007).
Members were sent an email invitation to participate in an online ques-
tionnaire. They were informed of the purpose of the research, participant
confidentiality, and the voluntary nature of their participation. Participants
were entered into a draw for several $50 gift cards as an incentive for par-
ticipation. Out of 4,839 email invitations, 1,526 were opened. All individuals
who opened the email were sent a 6-week reminder to participate in the
questionnaire. A total of 389 questionnaires were returned. We deleted 28
respondents who were neither employed nor searching for a job and four
respondents who had lived in Canada longer than 5 years. We had 357 valid
usable responses. Depending on whether the unopened emails are considered
or not, the response rate is either 7 per cent or 23 per cent. The emails that
were not opened may have been identified by spam filter software, ignored, or
deleted before opening. Although it is a relatively low response rate, it is not
unusual since the prospective respondents were undergoing various forms of
transition (i.e. immigration, job search, and perhaps relocation within
Canada). As a comparison, expatriate studies usually report low response

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rates (e.g. 22% in Black & Gregersen, 1991) and expatriates are in a some-
what similar situation because they are more likely to be in transition than
other types of respondents. We conducted tests to compare late respondents,
which are expected to be similar to non-respondents, to earlier respondents
and found no significant differences in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, time in
Canada, employment, or number of months spent looking for a job.
The majority of respondents were female (52%). In terms of age, 8 per cent
were under 30, 38 per cent between 30 and 39, 38 per cent between 40 and 49,
and 15 per cent over the age of 50. The majority of respondents (55%) were
unemployed, and 65 per cent of those who were employed were looking for
another job. In terms of education, 44 per cent of respondents had university
degrees, 14 per cent had begun but not completed some graduate or profes-
sional school (Masters, PhD, or MD), and 30 per cent had completed a
graduate or professional degree. Forty-four per cent of respondents had been
in Canada for one year or less, 28 per cent between 13 and 24 months, 11 per
cent between 25 and 36 months, 11 per cent between 37 and 48 months, and
about 7 per cent between 49 and 60 months. Seventy-nine per cent of respon-
dents learned English as a second language, 10 per cent learned it as a first
language, and the rest learned English as a third or fourth language. The top
countries of birth of respondents were: India (81 respondents), Colombia
(34), China (27), Philippines (25), and Pakistan (21). These countries are
almost the same as the top five source countries for Canadian immigrants,
which are China, India, Philippines, United States, and Pakistan (Citizenship
and Immigration Canada, 2008).

Measures
Language fluency was assessed with a three-item scale measuring ability to
speak, read, and write in English on a 10-point scale. The scale format was
taken from the LEAP-Q instrument, a language assessment tool for multi-
lingual individuals (Marian, Blumenfeld, & Kaushanskaya, 2007). Although
concerns exist regarding individuals’ ability to make accurate self-reports
of their language abilities, Delgado, Guerrero, Goggin, and Ellis (1999)
reported that individuals’ assessments of English reading and writing skills
in bilingual individuals showed significant correlations ranging from .26 to
.41 to more objective tests. To assess social support, we used an eight-item
measure originally developed by Abbey, Abramis, and Caplan (1985) as
modified by Vinokur and Vinokur-Kaplan (1990). It was adapted to include
social support from people in Canada only. A sample item was, “In the last
3 months of your current (or most recent) job search, to what degree did
people that you know in Canada provide you with encouragement when you
need it?”, with possible responses ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great
deal). Cultural knowledge was measured with the cultural knowledge dimen-

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 333
sion of cultural intelligence developed by Thomas et al. (2008). The 13-item
measure was modified to ask specifically about Canadian culture. A sample
item was, “How much do you know about Canadian culture in terms of how
much time passes before someone is considered late?” Possible responses
ranged from 1 (I have no knowledge about this) to 5 (I have very extensive
knowledge about this).
Job search clarity was measured by modifying the five-item scale developed
in Côté et al. (2006). A sample item was, “I had set a goal for the type of job
I wanted to have”, with responses ranging from 1 (Disagree strongly) to 7
(Agree strongly). Job search self-efficacy was measured with a 10-item scale
developed by Saks and Ashforth (1999). A sample item asked to indicate how
confident you feel “Preparing résumés that will get you job interviews”, with
answers ranging from 1 (Not at all confident) to 10 (Totally confident).
Number of interviews in the preferred occupation and number of job offers in
the preferred occupation were the actual number reported by the respondents.
We asked, “How many interviews/job offers have you had in Canada?” and
“How many interviews/job offers were for your preferred occupation?” We
only utilised the number for preferred occupation in the analysis. Underem-
ployment was measured by adapting Bolino and Feldman’s (2000) nine-item
measure. A sample item was “I feel overqualified for my current job”, with
possible answers ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). Job
search intensity was measured using a five-item scale developed by Vuori and
Vesalainen (1999). A sample question was, “During the past 3 months, how
often have you read the newspaper and other publications for job opportu-
nities?” Responses ranged from 1 (not at all) to 6 (every day).
We controlled for gender, age, time since arrival in Canada, ethnicity, level
of education, and job search duration. Because they have been shown to be
related to job search outcomes (Kanfer et al., 2001; Turban, Stevens, & Lee,
2009), we also controlled for extroversion, openness to experience, and con-
scientiousness. Saucier’s (2002) eight-item mini-markers of personality were
used to measure these three personality dimensions. Perceived financial need,
measured with one item from the economic hardship scale by Vinokur and
Caplan (1987), was also used as a control variable.

RESULTS
The hypotheses were tested with partial least squares (PLS) using SmartPLS,
a software package created by Ringle, Wende, and Will (2005). PLS has
several advantages over regression and other structural equation modeling
(SEM) methods. In comparison to regression, one advantage is that PLS, like
other SEM methods, tests the measurement and structural models simulta-
neously. The measurement model refers to the relationship between the items
and the construct they form. The structural model refers to the hypothesised

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334 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

TABLE 1
Number of Items, Cronbach’s Alpha (Alpha), and Internal Consistency (IC) for
Multi-item Measures

Original scale Revised scale

Construct # of items Alpha IC # of items Alpha IC

Language fluency 3 .854 .910 3 .854 .910

Social support 8 .938 .948 8 .938 .948
Cultural knowledge 13 .919 .932 13 .919 .932
Job search clarity 5 .759 .836 3 .682 .826
Job search self-efficacy 9 .862 .890 4 .780 .858
Job search intensity 5 .780 .850 3 .825 .896
Underemployment 9 .895 .915 4 .902 .932

relationships between constructs and variables (Sosik, Kahai, & Piovoso,

2009). PLS has been advocated as a useful technique for organisational
research because it is suitable for small sample sizes and does not require
multivariate normality like other SEM methods do (e.g. AMOS and
LISREL) (Hair, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2011; Sosik et al., 2009). The data for
number of interviews and offers were not normally distributed, and multi-
variate normality was unlikely to be found. Mediation was tested with the
Sobel’s (1982) tests with Preacher and Leonardelli’s (2006) interactive calcu-
lation tool for mediation tests.

Measurement Model
There are three main aspects to consider when testing the measurement
model: (1) individual item reliability, (2) internal consistency, and (3) dis-
criminant validity (Barclay, Higgins, & Thompson, 1995). To improve indi-
vidual item reliability, poor-loading items were dropped if they had loadings
lower than .707 because that meant that they shared less variance with the
construct than with error (.7072 = .500) (Barclay et al., 1995). We found that
the constructs had adequate internal consistency—the shared variance
between a construct and its measures. Unlike Cronbach’s alpha, internal
consistency does not assume that each of the items contributes equally to the
construct (Barclay et al., 1995). Instead, internal consistency considers the
individual item loadings. Table 1 lists the internal consistency and Cron-
bach’s alpha of each construct. The only scale that had a Cronbach’s alpha
below Nunnally’s (1978) criterion of .70 was job search clarity. In terms of
internal consistency, none of the scales fell below Fornell and Larcker’s
(1981) standard of .70.
We also found adequate discriminant validity. First, we did not find any
problematic cross loadings (Barclay et al., 1995). Second, we found that the

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 335
construct shared more variance with its measure than with other constructs
in the model (Barclay et al., 1995). We tested this by ensuring that the square
root of the average variance extracted (AVE) between the construct and the
items forming it—shown on the diagonal in Table 2—is larger than the
correlations with other constructs (Barclay et al., 1995). The results of both
tests for discriminant validity suggest that it is adequate. Table 2 also lists
correlations, means and standard deviations.

Structural Model
PLS calculates path coefficients (betas) and correlations between latent vari-
ables (constructs). Table 3 shows the path coefficients and their t-values.
Language fluency was positively related to both job search clarity (H1a)
and to job search self-efficacy (H1b). Social support was not related to job
search clarity (H2a), but it was related to job search self-efficacy (H2b).
Cultural knowledge was positively related to both job search clarity (H3a)
and job search self-efficacy (H3b). Job search clarity was related to job search
intensity (H4). Job search self-efficacy was not related to job search intensity
(H5). Job search intensity was related to the number of interviews for the
immigrant’s preferred occupation (H6), and the number of job interviews
was related to the number of job offers for the preferred occupation (H7).
Finally, the number of job offers for the preferred occupation was negatively
related to underemployment (H8).
Preacher and Leonardelli’s (2006) interactive calculation tool for media-
tion tests returns the Sobel test statistic when one inputs the path coefficients
and the standard errors of each of the relationships tested in the mediation.
The exploratory tests of mediation showed five fully mediated relationships.
First, job search clarity mediated the relationship between language fluency
and job search intensity (test statistic = 3.032, p < .01). Second, job search
clarity also mediated the relationship between cultural knowledge and job
search intensity (test statistic = 2.950, p < .01). Third, job search intensity
mediated the relationship between job search clarity and the number of
interviews for the preferred occupation (test statistic = 3.332, p < .001).
Fourth, the number of interviews mediated the relationship between job
search intensity and number of job offers for the preferred occupation (test
statistic = 2.442, p < .05). Finally, the number of job offers mediated the
relationship between number of interviews and underemployment (test sta-
tistic = 1.975, p < .05). The rest of the mediation tests were not supported.
In addition, we tested for common method variance (CMV) using the
single common method factor approach (Liang, Saraf, Hu, & Xue, 2007;
Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). In this approach, a
common method construct is assigned all the individual items, and then the
variance explained by the substantive constructs is compared to the variance

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 TABLE 2 336
Correlations, Means, Standard Deviations and Square Root of Average Variance Extracted (AVE)

M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

1 Underemployment 5.27 1.56 .88

2 Offers .077 1.60 -.21
3 Interviews 3.07 4.17 -.06 .15
4 Intensity 4.16 1.23 .04 -.12 .13 .86
5 Clarity 5.97 .88 .12 -.06 .13 .38 .78
6 Self-efficacy 7.23 1.75 -.04 .08 -.01 .14 .33 .78
7 Social support 3.04 .91 -.16 .05 -.04 -.09 -.03 .20 .83

Association of Applied Psychology.

8 English fluency 8.38 1.22 .09 -.09 -.08 .18 .22 .37 .02 .88
9 Cultural knowledge 3.76 5.40 .07 -.12 -.02 .08 .20 .35 .10 .27 .73
10 Duration 9.14 9.82 .11 .00 .05 -.06 -.05 -.08 -.12 -.02 .06
GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

11 Time in Canada 21.36 16.30 .01 .12 .05 -.15 -.05 -.09 -.08 -.21 .03 .33
12 Financial need 5.15 1.74 .12 -.05 -.07 .19 .15 .03 -.20 .13 .05 .10 .03
13 Gender 1.57 .50 .08 .01 .13 .12 .01 .12 -.13 .08 -.03 .03 .02 .14
14 Ethnicity 1.78 .41 .02 .02 -.09 -.06 -.06 .12 .03 .13 .05 .05 .09 .08 .08
15 Age 5.70 1.76 .05 -.06 .08 -.03 .08 .04 -.13 .02 .02 .13 .16 .07 .31 .01
16 Extraversion 6.26 1.47 .12 -.12 -.02 .19 .19 .29 .13 .20 .34 -.07 -.13 -.01 -.06 .14 -.06
17 Conscientiousness 7.71 1.16 .09 -.10 .05 .07 .17 .38 .10 .30 .28 -.04 -.06 .01 .07 .19 .13 .48
18 Openness 7.38 1.56 .14 -.06 .12 .13 .10 .21 .05 .31 .19 .03 -.02 .12 .08 .05 .17 .35 .35
19 Education 6.55 1.20 -.02 .03 .12 .10 .16 .14 .04 .05 .15 .04 -.00 -.04 .05 -.11 .14 .06 .01 .15

Correlation coefficients > .12 are significant at p < .05; coefficients > .16 at p < .01; and coefficients > .33 at p < .001.
Gender: 1 = Female; 2 = Male
Ethnicity: 1 = White/Caucasian; 2 = Visible minority
Age: 1 = 19 or under; 2 = 20–24; 3 = 25–29; 4 = 30–34; 5 = 35–39; 6 = 40–44; 7 = 45–49; 8 = 50–54; 9 = 55–59; 10 = 60 and over
Education: 1 = less than high school; 2 = completed high school; 3 = some technical or community college; 4 = completed technical or community college; 5 = some university;
6 = completed university degree; 7 = some graduate school (Masters, PhD, MD, JD); 8 = obtained Masters, PhD, MD, JD
Duration of Job Search and Time in Canada are in months

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 337
TABLE 3
Path Coefficients and T-Values

Hypothesis Path Path coefficient T-values

H1a language fluency to job search clarity .173 3.313***

H1b language fluency to self-efficacy .303 6.641***
H2a social support to job search clarity -.053 .682
H2b social support to self-efficacy .166 3.504***
H3a cultural knowledge to job search clarity .161 3.162**
H3b cultural knowledge to self-efficacy .252 5.463***
H4 job search clarity to job search intensity .373 7.349***
H5 self-efficacy to job search intensity .018 .320
H6 job search intensity to number of interviews .175 3.578***
H7 number of interviews to number of offers .154 2.898**
H8 number of offers to underemployment -.196 2.635**

* p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001.

explained by the common method construct. The results indicated that CMV
was unlikely to be a problem since the substantive variance (.639) was 31
times larger than the variance attributable to common method (.020).
We collected data at time 2 (6 months later) for number of interviews and
offers in the preferred occupation, and underemployment. Unfortunately,
the response rate was very low (60 responses) and did not allow for the full
model to be analyzed with these data. Instead, we conducted a supplemental
analysis of a truncated model without cultural knowledge, language fluency,
social networks, or any of the control variables. We used the findings from
the supplemental analysis to support the main analysis when necessary. Job
search intensity at time 1 was related to the number of interviews for the
preferred occupation at time 2 (H6), and the number of job interviews was
related to the number of job offers for the preferred occupation (both at time
2) (H7). Finally, the number of job offers for the preferred occupation was
negatively related to underemployment (both at time 2) (H8).

DISCUSSION
In this study, we investigate malleable factors that skilled immigrants can
improve to obtain better job search outcomes. Our paper contributes to the
literature by examining the role of job search as an antecedent to underem-
ployment, considering an unfolding model in which factors of job search lead
to job search intensity and, in turn, lead to job interviews, then to job offers
and eventually underemployment. In addition, our paper contributes to the
job search literature by including variables useful to overcome the obstacles
faced by skilled immigrants when searching for a job. This contribution is

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338 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

important because immigrants remain an understudied population in organi-

sational studies (Bell et al., 2010). In some studies, immigrants are considered
ethnically or racially different but their cultural and language background is
often not considered.
Most of the hypotheses in the model are supported. Although we only
tested mediation on an exploratory basis, most mediating relationships were
supported. In general, the immigrant-specific factors are shown to be posi-
tively related to job search factors. Support for the relationship between
language fluency and job search clarity suggests that immigrants who are
more fluent are able to gather more information to gain a better understand-
ing of the job market and the job opportunities that they may pursue.
Support for the relationship between language fluency and job search self-
efficacy is remarkable considering that the participants were required to have
an adequate level of English language fluency to immigrate to Canada and to
be members of the job search website. This finding suggests that even immi-
grants who are already somewhat fluent in the receiving country’s language
benefit from further improvements in their fluency level.
The relationship between social support and job search clarity was not
supported. One possible explanation is that the social networks of skilled
immigrants may not include individuals who are able to provide a great deal
of information that leads to greater job search clarity. Van Hoye et al. (2009),
for example, found that job seekers who engaged in more networking were
more likely to find employment if the people with whom they networked were
of higher status than average in terms of education and occupation. It is
possible that, in this case, status of ties may have moderated the relationship
between social support and job search clarity. However, in this study we did
not measure the status of ties. Social support was related to job search
self-efficacy as expected. Support for this relationship suggests that immi-
grants can increase their job search self-efficacy as a result of having social
support, even if these social contacts do not provide information that impacts
job search clarity.
The relationships between cultural knowledge and job search clarity and
cultural knowledge and job search self-efficacy are both supported. Support
for the importance of cultural knowledge suggests that an understanding of
the culture of the receiving country is related to the ability of immigrants to
gain an understanding of the job market and their job objectives as well as
their self-confidence to engage in job search activities effectively.
Without longitudinal data for these immigrant-specific factors, we are
unable to establish causality or directionality. However, it is more likely that
language fluency, social support, and cultural knowledge lead to job search
clarity and job search self-efficacy than in the reverse direction. The
immigrant-specific factors are more general and stable than the job search
factors. For example, cultural knowledge is likely to influence job search

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 339
clarity because knowledge about the culture (general) will help the job seeker
understand the job search process (specific) better. Conversely, having better
job search clarity is unlikely to help the immigrant understand general culture
better.
Confirming previous findings (Côté et al., 2006), job search clarity was
related to job search intensity. This finding suggests that improving one’s
understanding about the job search may increase job search intensity.
Because we did not collect data for job search intensity at time 2, we were
unable to establish causality or directionality. It is also possible, then, that
clarity and intensity have an impact on one another at different times during
the job search.
In contrast to previous findings (Côté et al., 2006; Saks & Ashforth, 1999),
our study did not show support for the relationship between job search
self-efficacy and job search intensity. A possible explanation is that it may be
easier for immigrants to describe their job search clarity than to evaluate their
job search self-efficacy. The job search clarity requires respondents to
describe the extent of their understanding of their job search objectives, while
job search self-efficacy requires them to evaluate the extent to which they are
likely to perform job search tasks successfully. This evaluation may be diffi-
cult for immigrants with limited experience performing job search activities
in the receiving country.
The results support an unfolding model of job search in which job search
intensity leads to number of job interviews, which leads to number of job
offers, and in turn, leads to lower levels of underemployment. Support for the
relationship between job search intensity and the number of interviews in the
preferred occupation suggests that despite facing various language and cul-
tural obstacles, immigrants can increase the number of interviews in their
preferred occupation by remaining active in their job search. We show that
job search intensity at time 1 predicts number of job interviews for the
preferred occupation at time 1 as well as in the supplementary analysis of
time 2. However, the possibility remains—as Wanberg, Zhu, and Van Hooft
(2010) found— that as the number of job interviews increases, job seekers
decrease their job search intensity in the next time period, which we did not
measure.
Results also reveal that the number of job interviews is related to the
number of job offers in the preferred occupation. This finding is particularly
important to immigrants because the interview is when they are more likely
to face rejection due to prejudice and discrimination (e.g. Hakak et al., 2010),
for having an accent (e.g. Molinsky, 2005), or for being ethnically different
from the interviewer (e.g. Judge, Cable, & Higgins, 2000). The number of job
offers for a preferred job was negatively related to underemployment. Immi-
grant job seekers who receive a greater number of job offers are able to
choose among those offers to obtain the one that best utilises their skills and

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340 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

minimises their underemployment. For skilled immigrants, a more useful

measure of a successful job search is underemployment rather than a dichoto-
mous measure of employment.

Theoretical Implications
The contribution of this paper is the extension to current theory on under-
employment by exploring the role of malleable factors that can impact the
job search outcomes of skilled immigrants. This paper extends current theory
of job search to include constructs that specifically impact the job search of
immigrants—language fluency, social support, and cultural knowledge.
These constructs have not been utilised in job search models because, to date,
such models have not specifically considered immigrant job seekers. The
inclusion of social support in our model rather than social networks consid-
ered actual support obtained rather than potential resources available in
social networks. Actual social support is likely to have more impact than
potential support. The introduction of cultural knowledge highlighted the
importance of understanding the receiving country’s culture without neces-
sarily suggesting assimilation, which has a negative connotation because it
implies the imposition of ethnocentric and patronising demands on newcom-
ers or minority groups (Alba & Nee, 1997). Our findings suggest that having
a better understanding of the culture as well as higher levels of language
fluency of the receiving country has a positive impact on immigrants’ job
search factors.
This paper also contributes by finding support for previously established
relationships. Support for the current job search model suggests that
although immigrants face unique challenges and obstacles, previous theoreti-
cal models can be adapted by adding constructs relevant to immigrants
without having to develop substantially different models. In addition, our
study is the first one, to our knowledge, to consider more proximal anteced-
ents of underemployment—interviews and job offers for the preferred
occupation.

Practical Implications
Although the study was conducted in Canada, it is likely that skilled immi-
grants in other countries have similar experiences. Our findings suggest that
the integration of skilled immigrants into the receiving country’s economy
can be improved by developing training programs to improve or increase
their levels of social support, language fluency, cultural knowledge, job
search clarity, and job search intensity.
For individual immigrants, our results suggest that they should consider
expanding their social circles to include individuals who are knowledgeable

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 341
about the desired occupation and the job market in general. This is likely to
be helpful since we did not find support for the relationship between social
support and job search clarity in our study. Skilled immigrants should also
seek to improve their cultural knowledge by reading, taking courses, or
speaking to people in the receiving country. Cultural knowledge related to
job search norms is especially likely to be useful. Skilled immigrants should
seek to improve their language fluency, even if they consider themselves
somewhat fluent. Results indicate that even among those with adequate
language fluency, greater fluency contributes to more effective job search
behavior.
Skilled immigrants should also seek ways to improve their job search
clarity. Immigrants can do this by contacting individuals in the preferred
occupation, joining professional organisations, or seeking mentors. Skilled
immigrants should also seek to increase their job search intensity. It is advis-
able to keep track of job search activities in writing in order to stay consistent
through time. Findings in our study suggest that job search follows an
unfolding model in which job search intensity is related to a greater number
of interviews and a greater number of job interviews is related to a greater
number of job offers in their preferred occupation, indirectly leading to lower
levels of underemployment, indicating that perseverance contributes to suc-
cessful job outcomes.

Future Research and Limitations

The job-seeking experience of immigrants is different from that of non-
immigrant ethnic minorities because immigrants also differ in terms of
culture and language fluency. Future research should continue to explore
the role of malleable factors as antecedents to underemployment, in par-
ticular for populations that are unlikely to be underemployed such as
skilled immigrants. A limitation of this study is that although we explored
antecedents to underemployment, we conceptualised an unfolding model of
job search. Thus, the only antecedent directly related to underemployment
was the number of job offers for the preferred occupation, and all other
links were indirect. This is a reflection of the job search process, to some
extent, since it is unlikely that job search intensity will lead directly to
underemployment.
Another limitation is that we did not consider less flexible obstacles in the
skilled immigrants’ job search. Researchers have shown that employers often
make discounted evaluations of education, experience, skills, and other
immigrant credentials, especially when immigrants are visible minorities
(Esses et al., 2006; Reitz, 2005). Even for immigrants who follow our recom-
mendations, there will be some insurmountable barriers to overcoming
underemployment such as skills discounting and the likelihood of facing

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342 GUERRERO AND ROTHSTEIN

prejudice. Future research should consider ways in which skilled immigrants

may cope with insurmountable obstacles.
A methodological limitation of this paper is that data were only collected
at one point in time, whereas the job search process takes place over time. We
sent a follow-up questionnaire 6 months later. Unfortunately, the follow-up
questionnaire had such a low response rate that we were unable to use the
data in the main analysis.
Another limitation is that the questionnaire asked about social support
and job search intensity for the past 3 months. We limited the question to the
past 3 months to prevent recall problems. Other constructs did not require
recalling the past, so they were measured in the present. A potential problem
is that our model may suggest that present levels of both job search clarity
and job search self-efficacy would predict job search intensity for the past 3
months. Thus, our results do not necessarily support a causal relationship.
For instance, looking at the relationship between job search clarity in the
present being positively related to job search intensity as it was for the
previous 3 months, we can only conclude that job search clarity led to job
search intensity if job search clarity had been stable for the past 3 months.
Given the limitations in our study’s design, we cannot exclude the possibility
that job search intensity led respondents to higher job search clarity rather
than the other way around. Future research needs to consider the method-
ologies that help establish causality and directionality given the complexity of
the job search process itself. Some researchers have stated that causality can
only be established with experimental studies (Stone-Romero & Roposa,
2008). However, because job search research is not suitable for laboratory
settings, the goal of establishing directionality may be more appropriate.
Future research may consider multiple data collections to establish direction-
ality in unfolding models, even though multiple data collections are difficult
to perform while maintaining response rates.
A related limitation is that the model seems to suggest that events occurred
linearly. This assumption is problematic because it is possible that there are
feedback loops throughout the model. For example, being underemployed
could motivate someone to increase his or her job search intensity in order to
obtain a better job. Also related to the cross-sectional design of the study,
there were concerns in relation to CMV, so we tested for it. We found that
CMV was very low in comparison to the variance explained by the substan-
tive variables in the model.
Another limitation was the measurement of interviews and job offers in the
“preferred occupation”. We allowed respondents to determine what the pre-
ferred occupation was, but we were unable to determine if they had the
qualifications required for the occupation. In job search studies, it is not
uncommon to assume that job seekers will only apply for jobs for which they
are qualified, however. Finally, the focus on skilled immigrants in Canada

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 JOB SEARCH OF SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 343
limits the generalisability of our findings to this sub-sample of immigrants.
Future research should consider the job search of low-skilled immigrants and
immigrants in other countries.

CONCLUSIONS
Two main conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, the immigrant-
specific factors (language fluency, social support, and cultural knowledge)
as antecedents to job search were supported, extending our understanding
of malleable antecedents to underemployment. Second, the unfolding job
search model (Côté et al., 2006), in which job search intensity leads to inter-
views and number of interviews leads to job offers, has been shown to
generalise to a sample of skilled immigrants. For individual immigrants, our
research provides helpful tools to improve their opportunity to obtain a job
that fully utilises their skills. Overall, more positive job search outcomes for
immigrants can be expected by improving language fluency, social support,
cultural knowledge, job search clarity, and job search intensity. For countries
such as Canada that invest resources to attract skilled immigrants, the suc-
cessful job search and overall career outcomes of skilled immigrants are
important in order to ensure desirable outcomes in terms of economic growth
and tax revenues.

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