PrepTest 113, Section 2, Question 8
Conscientiousness is high on most firms' list of(32 more words not shown)
Each of the following, if(9 more words not shown)
- APeople who shirk(21 more words not shown)
- BConscientious people tend(18 more words not shown)
- CResentment about having(16 more words not shown)
- DPeople who are(23 more words not shown)
- EFinding a job(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If firms want responsible employees, why are responsible people taking longer to find work?
“Conscientious” here contrasts with shirking workplace responsibilities: we're talking about people who take their duties seriously. My first reaction is to wonder whether a person who accepts responsibility for a mistake might be easier to blame than someone who avoids it. But that would concern who gets laid off. The finding is about what happens afterward, when people are trying to find another job.
So focus on hiring. Perhaps the conscientious candidates don't interview as well. Perhaps an employer's stated preference doesn't translate neatly into its hiring decisions. These are possibilities to investigate, not reasons we already know explain the study.
What we’re looking for
This is an EXCEPT question. Four answers will help explain why conscientious laid-off workers are less likely to find a job within five months. We want the one that doesn't help. Keep that outcome precise: it is a person's likelihood of finding a job within five months after being laid off.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This gives us a larger group of job seekers, not a reason each person in that group would be more likely to find a job within five months.
Imagine 100 people looking for work in one group and 1,000 in another. If half of each group finds work, the second group produces ten times as many new hires, but the likelihood for a person is the same in both groups. A difference in the number looking doesn't itself explain a difference in the chance of finding work. A therefore leaves the study's surprising result unexplained and is the exception we want.
- B
Someone especially concerned with a good fit might reject an available job and keep searching. Employers could want that person, yet the person might take longer to accept work. B supplies a reason for the delay without denying firms' preference for conscientious employees.
- C
Poor interviews could prevent employers from recognizing or appreciating a candidate's strengths. Resentment over an earlier layoff could therefore hurt the conscientious candidates' chances of being hired. That helps explain why being a desirable type of worker doesn't automatically produce a quick job offer.
- D
Employers act on what they believe about applicants. Exaggerated credentials could make someone who shirks responsibilities appear especially qualified and help that person get hired sooner. Firms can prefer conscientious workers and still be misled about which applicants deserve the job. D helps reconcile the two facts.
- E
Larger savings can make waiting less costly. A conscientious worker might be able to keep searching rather than take the first available job, while someone with less financial room feels pressure to accept quickly. E provides another reason that time without a job needn't mean employers don't want the person.
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