job analysis thesis

Job Analysis and Job Evaluation

• First Online: 27 February 2024

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• Alekh Verma 4 &
• Sompal Singh 5  

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The output of job analysis includes job description and job specification. Both are required for human resource planning in an organization. Various methods of job analysis include questionnaires, interviews, observation, and computer-based systems. Job evaluation provides the relative importance of various jobs in an organization. This helps in arriving at appropriate decisions regarding the remuneration of the various job positions. The methods of job evaluation include analytical and non-analytical methods. This chapter covers the key aspects of job analysis and job evaluation along with the importance of job evaluation committee.

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Herndon JS. Job analysis and job evaluation method choice: user qualifications and implications for applications and research. Old Dominion University; 1986. . https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_etds/279 . https://doi.org/10.25777/xvfs-8b13 .

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Kailash Hospital, Noida, India

Alekh Verma

Department of Pathology, North Delhi Municipal Corporation Medical College and Hindu Rao Hospital, New Delhi, India

Sompal Singh

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Shakti Kumar Yadav

Division of Cytopathology, ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida, India

Ruchika Gupta

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Verma, A., Singh, S. (2023). Job Analysis and Job Evaluation. In: Yadav, S.K., Gupta, R., Singh, S. (eds) Clinical Laboratory Management . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46420-1_5

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Job Analysis: A Practical Guide [FREE Templates]

Did you know that job analysis is a powerful tool for improving job and organizational performance ? A proactive and strategic approach to job analysis will help your business thrive in the competitive market.

What is job analysis?

• Guide the recruitment and selection process: The analysis can inform the development of job postings, interview questions, and selection criteria to ensure candidates are well-suited for the role.
• Determine where jobs fit within the overall organizational structure: And understand how they relate to one another.
• Design and redesign jobs: Modifying job roles to improve efficiency, employee satisfaction, and adaptability to changing organizational needs.
• Support compensation and benefits decisions: Providing a basis for determining appropriate salary levels, benefits, and incentives based on job complexity and requirements.
• Duties and tasks: The type, frequency, and complexity of performing specific duties and tasks.
• Environment: Work environment, such as temperatures, odors, and hostile people.
• Tools and equipment: Tools and equipment used to perform the job successfully.
• Relationships: Relationships with internal and external people.
• Requirements: Knowledge, skills, and capabilities required to perform the job successfully.

Types of job analysis data

• Work activities: Data on the specific activities that make up a job.
• Worker attributes:   Data on the qualities that workers need to do the job.
• Work context: Data on the internal and external environment of the job.

The purpose of a job analysis

Why is job analysis important?

• Create detailed and accurate job postings that attract the skills and competencies you need.
• Improve decision-making when recruiting and hiring new employees by easily tracking candidates with the required qualities and qualifications for the job.
• Develop the job roles in line with evolving organizational needs and stay competitive in the changing business environment.
• Develop effective employee development plans by identifying the skills the employees lack to perform a job successfully.
• Plan and conduct more effective performance reviews based on a good understanding of the duties and nature of the job. It will improve employee performance and engagement.
• Determine the content of a job and its value to the company to offer fair compensation packages .
• Assess risks associated with a job and implement safety measures to avoid safety violations.

Job analysis methods

Critical incident technique (cit).

• A description of the context and circumstances leading up to the incident.
• The behaviors of the employee(s) during the incident.
• The consequences of the behaviors and their broader impact.

Task inventory (TI)

Functional job analysis (FJA)

• “Things” – Physical objects and tools involved in the job
• “Data” – Information, facts, and figures the employee works with
• “People” – Interactions and communications with others
• Threshold Traits Analysis
• Ability Requirements Scales
• Position Analysis Questionnaire
• Job Elements Method

Job analysis process steps

1. the job analysis purpose, 2. the job analysis method.

3. Gathering data

4. Analysis

Job analysis questionnaire

Job analysis examples, 1. sales job analysis example.

2. Entry-level job analysis example

Job description vs job analysis

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Performing Job Analysis

This toolkit reviews how job analysis can be used to identify the knowledge, skills and expertise required to effectively perform job assignments, establish criteria for selection and promotions, design objectives for training and development programs, develop the standards for the measurement of performance, and assist with the determination of pay classification levels.

Job analysis is the process of studying a job to determine which activities and responsibilities it includes, its relative importance to other jobs, the qualifications necessary for performance of the job and the conditions under which the work is performed. An important concept in job analysis is that the job, not the person doing the job, is assessed, even though human resources (HR) may collect some job analysis data from incumbents.

Job analysis is often confused with job evaluation, but the two activities are quite different. Job evaluation is the process of comparing a job to other jobs within the organization to determine the appropriate pay rate and is not addressed in this toolkit. See Performing Job Evaluations .

Examples of how an organization may use job analysis data:

• Workforce planning.
• Performance management.
• Recruitment and selection.
• Career and succession planning.
• Training and development.
• Compensation administration.
• Health, safety and security.
• Employee/labor relations.
• Risk management.

Information Collection

Job analysis involves collecting information on characteristics that differentiate jobs. The following factors help make distinctions between jobs:

• Knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed.
• Work activities and behaviors.
• Interactions with others (internal and external).
• Performance standards.
• Financial budgeting and impact.
• Machines and equipment used.
• Working conditions.
• Supervision provided and received.

If an employer has not already done so, grouping jobs with related functions is helpful in the job analysis process by identifying the job family, job duties and tasks of related work. For example:

• Job family. Grouping of related jobs with broadly similar content.
• Job. Group of tasks, duties and responsibilities an individual performs that make up his or her total work assignment.
• Task. A specific statement of what a person does, with similar tasks grouped into a task dimension (i.e., a classification system).

A technical service job family, for example, could be identified as follows:

• Job family.   Technical Service.
• Job.  Technical service representative.
• Task.  Provides technical support to customers by telephone.

Job Analysis Methods  

Determining which tasks employees perform is not easy. The most effective technique when collecting information for a job analysis is to obtain information through direct observation as well as from the most qualified incumbent(s) via questionnaires or interviews. The following describes the most common job analysis methods.

• Open-ended questionnaire Job incumbents and/or managers fill out questionnaires about the KSAs necessary for the job. HR compiles the answers and publishes a composite statement of job requirements. This method produces reasonable job requirements with input from employees and managers and helps analyze many jobs with limited resources.  See   Job Analysis Questionnaire  and  Job Analysis Template .
• Highly structured questionnaire These questionnaires allow only specific responses aimed at determining the frequency with which specific tasks are performed, their relative importance and the skills required. The structured questionnaire is helpful to define a job objectively, which also enables analysis with computer models.  See   O*NET Questionnaires .
• Interview In a face-to-face interview, the interviewer obtains the necessary information from the employee about the KSAs needed to perform the job. The interviewer uses predetermined questions, with additional follow-up questions based on the employee's response. This method works well for professional jobs.
• Observation Employees are directly observed performing job tasks, and observations are translated into the necessary KSAs for the job. Observation provides a realistic view of the job's daily tasks and activities and works best for short-cycle production jobs.
• Work diary or log A work diary or log is a record maintained by the employee and includes the frequency and timing of tasks. The employee keeps logs over a period of days or weeks. HR analyzes the logs, identifies patterns and translates them into duties and responsibilities. This method provides an enormous amount of data, but much of it is difficult to interpret, may not be job-related and is difficult to keep up-to-date.  See   Job Analysis: Time and Motion Study Form .
• A team of senior managers identifies future performance areas critical to the organization's business and strategic plans.
• HR assembles panels composed of individuals who are knowledgeable about the organization's jobs (i.e., subject matter experts). These groups may be employees, managers, supervisors, trainers and others.
• A facilitator interviews panel members to obtain examples of job behaviors and actual occurrences on the jobs.
• The facilitator develops detailed descriptions of each identified competency, including descriptive phrases for clarity.
• HR rates the competencies, and panel members identify KSAs required to meet them.
• HR identifies performance standards for each job. The organization must develop and implement selection, screening, training and compensation instruments, or processes that focus on competencies. 

Use of Job Analysis Data

• Job descriptions and specifications HR uses the job analysis output to develop a job description and job specifications. The job description summarizes and organizes the information for the organization's job-related actions. Generally, the job description and specifications are combined but compartmentalized to enable independent updating as needed. See  How To Develop a Job Description  and  Sample Job Descriptions .
• Compensation decisions In relation to employee pay practices, job analysis has two critical uses: It establishes similarities and differences in job content, and it helps determine the internal equity and relative worth of like jobs. If jobs have equal content, then the pay established for them will likely be equal. If, on the other hand, job content is perceptibly different, then those differences, along with the market rates, will become part of the rationale for paying certain jobs differently.
• Selection assessments Job analysis information can also be used as a basis for selecting or developing employment assessments that measure the most critical tasks or KSAs. Some assessments involve work samples that simulate job tasks and require candidates to demonstrate that they can perform these tasks effectively. HR uses job-oriented or task-based job analysis data as a basis for developing these types of assessments because they focus directly on assessing how well job candidates can perform critical work tasks. Other assessment methods focus on measuring KSAs that are required to perform job tasks effectively, such as various mental abilities, physical abilities or personality traits, depending on the job's requirements. See  SHRM Talent Assessment Center .

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How To Perform A Job Analysis (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 30, 2024, 10:36pm

Table of Contents

What is a job analysis, popular job analysis methods, how to perform an effective job analysis, frequently asked questions (faqs).

As jobs and industries evolve, employers must update their job descriptions to reflect their current needs. A job analysis defines the duties, responsibilities and skills required for a specific role. In this article, we’ll discuss the popular types of job analysis methods and how you can make your own.

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A job analysis provides an overview of the competencies, skills and responsibilities for a specific role. While a traditional job analysis may be less detailed, modern versions have more in-depth details about the position. Other than the aforementioned, some employers also include performance review criteria, onboarding processes, as well as short-term and long-term expectations.

Here’s a list of the sectors that rely on the job analysis:

• Career growth
• Compensation
• Offboarding
• Recruitment

An in-depth job analysis helps organizations create in-depth job descriptions and get managers and employees on the same page. It is also useful in defining the path job holders will take to move up in an organization and transition to higher-level positions. In the worst-case scenario, when an employee does not meet these expectations, the job analysis can serve as a guide for criticisms, performance reviews and job departures.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular job analysis methods.

Questionnaire

Give open-ended questionnaires or highly structured questionnaires for employees and managers. These responses help HR managers determine the amount of time and the frequency with which specific activities are performed, as well as their level of importance to the team or organization.

Interview employees who held the position in the past. Because staff and supervisors may have an accurate overview of the job’s roles, you can also conduct interviews within departments or teams. Keep in mind that supervisors may have their own preferences and biases when defining the requirements to perform a specific position. As such, it’s essential to have more than one source of information.

Direct Observation

Direct observation can help form a clear picture of the amount of time it takes to perform a specific task. It is highly recommended for production jobs or part-time roles, as well as small businesses with a limited budget for a position.

Work Diary or Log

A work diary requires employees to record their daily activities, the amount of time spent on a task and the perceived urgency of an activity. All this information enables HR and managers to identify work patterns and evaluate whether changes should be made to support an employee.

Job Performance Method

The job analyst performs the specific job or activity to know contextual factors and scenarios job holders face. Some factors include emotional pressures, physical risks and mental demands.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to perform a job analysis.

Review Employee Job Responsibilities

The first step is to review the roles and responsibilities for the specific position. Interview employees, supervisors and HR personnel to get an idea of their tasks and responsibilities. You can also check out work diaries, questionnaires or manuals, then list down the activities the job entails. Once you come up with a viable list, consider the level of difficulty required for each task or skill set. Rank and organize the specific tasks based on the amount of skill level and experience involved.

Research Similar Industry Positions

What are the qualifications for the position? What are the responsibilities and activities that job holders are expected to fulfill? Check out similar positions to evaluate whether the scope of the job is aligned with industry standards. A good tip is to browse job descriptions for similar positions on LinkedIn or Indeed. You can even check out job descriptions and compensation on Payscale and Salary.com. Throughout the process, you may even identify employee job responsibilities you may have forgotten.

Identify and List Outcomes Needed for the Position

Even similar roles don’t have the same outcome because roles and responsibilities vary across departments. For example, a tech company may recruit a technical writer for the marketing department for advertising copy. In the same way, they can also hire another technical writer for the research department to summarize research findings and come up with detailed insights based on marketing data. Both positions demand different skill sets and levels of expertise. It’s up to employers to identify their expected outputs and deliverables for each position.

Identify Necessary Skills, Training and Education

Not every position has the same essential skills, training and experience. Management could even opt to assign or unassign responsibilities based on their level of importance to the team. As a result, it’s important to define the specific skills, training and education required for each candidate. The more specific you are, the better your job analysis would be.

Define Compensation and Any Applicable Benefits

One of the most crucial aspects of a job analysis is compensation and applicable benefits. What is the salary range for the role? How much are your competitors offering for the same role? What are the skills necessary to move up the salary range? You can check out websites such as Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to get an overview of the ideal compensation.

Continually Iterate and Evolve the Job

A job analysis isn’t a one-time thing. As the industry and organization evolve, the expectations for each position change. With a thorough job analysis, you’ll be able to attract candidates who are the right fit for the job and provide them with the right compensation based on industry standards. You’ll also be able to determine an appropriate path for job holders looking to move up the career ladder.

Bottom Line

A job analysis provides an accurate overview of the duties and responsibilities required for the role. Just follow the right process and you’ll be able to get a clear picture of the position. Here’s hoping this in-depth guide has helped you create your own job analysis.

How do I perform a job analysis?

Performing an effective job analysis requires a six-step process. This includes:

• Reviewing employee job responsibilities.
• Researching similar industry positions.
• Identifying and listing outcomes needed for the position.
• Identifying necessary skills, training and education.
• Defining compensation and any applicable benefits.
• Continually iterating and improving the job analysis for each role.

What is the purpose of a job analysis?

A job analysis is an overview of the activities, duties and responsibilities required for the job. An accurate job analysis is crucial to attracting top talent, training job holders, defining the path towards career advancement and identifying the ideal compensation and benefits for each role.

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Job Analysis Importance Analytical Essay

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Three Elements of Job Analysis

Significance to the hiring and employee development aspects of hrm, importance of paq, challenges of designing job efficiency for customer service, redesigning customer service job using paq, fleishman job analysis system, challenges of redesigning customer care job, possible suggestions in redesigning the job, how hrm can use information obtained from job analysis.

Job analysis refers to the process of gathering all the relevant information pertaining a given job specification. It involves evaluation of data on the overall job content and the required personal attributes necessary for the successful execution of such duties.

Job analysis comprises of three major elements; sources of data, data collection and data analysis. The initial stage of job analysis demands that the recruiting or hiring personnel identifies sources of data relevant to the job at stake.

These sources may include; the current manager of the proposed position for which hiring is being done, workforce plans and even staff members who had previously held the same position.

External data sources include managers who employ similar positions as well as staff members from other organizations with similar positions like the one in question (Hartley, 2001).

Data collection involves the actual process of gathering information related to the position. During this process, information that provides solutions to issues such as the objectives of the job, the physical location of the job and the current trends in the job market are considered.

Sometimes, the hierarchical position of the job must also be given much weight.

The final element of job analysis is the evaluation of the information collected where the gathered information is grouped into functional areas. Irrelevant and wasteful information is also discarded during this phase.

The functional area tasks are then simplified to eliminate unnecessary complexity and arranged in order of importance.

Job analysis is an important aspect in hiring and employee development. For instance, the information obtained during job analysis may be subsequently used in clearly defining the responsibilities of a given job position.

The information is also considered during the recruitment and selection of new employees as well as training of newly recruited members depending on their performance standards.

Lastly, information gathered during job analysis is crucial in developing salary and remuneration programs for the employees. It may also be used in job redesign to enhance efficiency in production (Hartley, 2001).

Position analysis and questionnaire is a widely used information collection technique in employee selection and recruitment. Specific objective oriented questionnaires are designed and administered to prospective incumbent employees prior to an oral interview.

Position analysis and questionnaire is particularly important because it saves time as it limits the extent and range of response from the respondent. Some people are naturally talkative and might consequently be tempted to do the same during oral interviews.

Thus, this method limits them to specific relevant responses hence cutting down on the overall time spent as well as tendencies to give too much information which is irrelevant (Ulrich, 2006).

PAQ is also important as it helps the employer to ascertain the personal attributes and performance trends of the prospective employee.

This happens where the employer needs some performance experience and thus goes ahead to design a questionnaire that will help solicit for information from previous appointments.

The employer may also make the incumbent employee reveal reasons for resignation from previous appointments. Thus, the employer is able to evaluate whether the same person was dropped from the position or is moving out on other beneficial grounds.

Another importance of this technique is that it helps in benchmarking of an organization’s overall performance.

In the design of the questionnaires, most employers tend to gather information on how business is carried out in other organizations of the same type; more so from their competitors.

This helps the recruiting organization to gauge its current performance in comparison to its competitors and make necessary adjustments in order to compete favourably.

Customer service job requires strong interpersonal skills and results from position analysis and questionnaire will thus be of great importance in redesigning of such a job to enhance efficiency and overall improvement in performance.

One such way that human resource personnel will use this information is to evaluate the daily work load of each customer care employee.

These cases may include scenarios where the employee has to answer phone calls and physically respond to customers and in most cases exhaustion may lead to boredom.

In the case of customer care attendants, such instances may result in mistreating or acting hostile towards the customers.

The human resource manager may opt to redesign the job in a way that another employee be taken to handle phone calls while the former be retained to deal with physical responses to clients.

This will reduce the workload and exhaustion. Introduction of another employee in the room will also provide company and reduce boredom hence improve output (Ulrich, 2006).

Human resource personnel may also use the information from position and questionnaire to redesign a customer care job in such way that the employees work in daily shifts instead of having a single employee work the whole day.

This can be more efficient compared to scenarios where a single employee works for a given period of time say a week before he or she hand over duties to another. Working half day ensures higher concentration levels and employees are bound to work better.

This information may only be obtained when the questionnaire is designed to allow the respondent to select amongst several job plans which is best suited to him. Most of them will go for a plan that allows them to work half a day.

There are several strategies of employee selection as proposed by the Fleishman Job Analysis System. One such strategy is through outsourcing. Here, the human resource department contracts a hiring firm in order to get the best suited candidate for the required position.

The hiring firm then advertises, recruits candidates and conducts interviews. The firm then selects the most qualified candidates in line with the organization’s requirements and presents them to the organization for staffing and training.

The second strategy of employee selection is through evaluation of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA). In this strategy, the human resource department evaluates each job and designs the required knowledge, skills and abilities required for a given job.

The department also decides on the best way to assess candidates that possess such skills as enlisted for the job. Afterwards, the human resource department then embarks on processing the applicants on the basis of those assessment tools (Fine & Cronshaw, 2009).

The main challenge of redesigning a customer care job is the tendency to increase the number of employees hence an increase on the wage bill. In most cases, efficient customer care service demands that the attendant is neither bored nor exhausted.

In order to achieve this, it may be necessary to have many attendants to work in shifts. This may result into financial pressures in meeting their wages and salaries. A company that sells items by catalogue receives such catalogues for different products.

Another possible challenge would be managing a large number of people in one department.

It is necessary that the company has several groups of people under the customer care section dealing with catalogues for different items especially when the overall population of the customer care employees is large.

Some possible strategies to redesign the job involve having sub departmental heads dealing with different product catalogues. Each sub department head will have a number of employees dealing with specific product catalogues under him or her in a different room.

This employee will then report to the overall department head hence making supervision of the customer care efficient. In this way, the problem associated with managing large employee groups will be solved.

Another approach to redesigning such a job would be by offering workload related perks and incentives. This can be done by having employees work in shifts or by having employees work interchangeably as temporal sub department heads.

This works to improve the general employee morale thus high and quality output (Fine & Cronshaw, 2009).

A human resource manager can use the information from position analysis and questionnaire to measure resource performance through the following three ways.

The first is by analysing the employee employment history since it is possible to rate the resource performance basing on the performance in their earlier commitments.

The second way is by evaluating personal skills as presented by the respondent. Every job responsibility has certain knowledge and skills required. Thus, it is possible to ascertain the performance of the resource by evaluating his/her skills as given in the questionnaire.

The third approach is through analysing the remuneration estimates of the employee as most non-performing employees will quote relatively low salaries in order to win the employer.

Fine, S., & Cronshaw, S. (2009). Functional job analysis: A foundation for human resources Management , New Jersey, NY: Erlbaum.

Hartley, D. (2001). Job analysis at the speed of reality , Amherst, MA: HRD Press.

Ulrich, D. (2006). Human Resource Champions, The next agenda for adding value and delivering results . Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

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2 Department of Law and Economics, University “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy

Fabiana Di Duca

Alfonso nardo, bartolomeo ferrante, daniela d’angelo, salvatore di sarno, francesca pennino, armando masucci, maria triassi, antonio nardone, associated data.

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Job satisfaction has a huge impact on overall life quality involving social relationships, family connection and perceived health status, affecting job performances, work absenteeism and job turnover. Over the past decades, the attention towards it has grown constantly. The aim of this study is to analyze simultaneously knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward job satisfaction in a general population in a large metropolitan area. The data acquired from 1043 questionnaires—administered to subjects with an average age of 35.24 years—revealed that only 30% is satisfied by his job. Moreover, among all the tested sample, 12% receive, or often receive intimidation by their superior, and 23% wake up unhappy to go to work. Marital status and having children seem to be an important factor that negatively influences job satisfaction through worst behaviours. The multiple linear regression analysis shows how knowledge is negatively correlated to practices; although this correlation is not present in a simple linear regression showing a mediation role of attitudes in forming practices. On the contrary, attitudes, correlated both to knowledge and practices, greatly affect perceived satisfaction, leading us to target our proposed intervention toward mindfulness and to improve welfare regulation towards couples with children.

1. Introduction

Job satisfaction has been defined as a “pleasurable or positive emotional state, resulting from the appraisal of one’s job experiences” [ 1 ]. Job satisfaction reflects on overall life quality involving social relationships, family connection and perceived health status, affecting job performances, work absenteeism and job turnover, leading, in some cases, to serious psychological condition such as burnout [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].

The recent Gallup statistics on job satisfaction indicated that a very large portion of the world’s 1 billion full-time workers is disengaged, more precisely, only 15% of workers are happy and production in the workplace, the remaining 47% of workers are “not engaged,” psychologically unattached to their work and company [ 7 ]. In the EU, approximately one in five residents (16.9%) currently in employment expressed low levels of satisfaction with their job, on the other hand approximately one in four (24.6%) expressed high levels of satisfaction, the remaining residents (58.5%) declared medium levels of satisfaction with their job [ 8 ]. Characteristics such as age, sex, education, occupation, commuting time and difficulty as inadequate income, seems to be related to job satisfaction as they tent to influence expectation and preferences of individuals’ reflection on their perceived working condition [ 9 , 10 ]; however, as assessed in Eurofound, European Working Conditions Surveys [ 11 ] the relation between age and job satisfaction is very weak, although a slight increase in low satisfaction prevalence was found in elder population, it does not increase significantly with age even though expectations change during lifetime; educational attainment and income seem to play a significant role in job satisfaction as they grow in parallel, leading to better positions and a higher wages, along with power and more decisional autonomy. Sex is a factor as women seems to be overall more satisfied by their job in despite of the worst general conditions [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Job satisfaction also relates to marital status as single subjects’ results as the most satisfied by their work in some European Countries [ 15 ]. In Italy, the overall perceived job satisfaction seems to be similar to other regions in EU, and social relations as well as family composition appear to play a relevant role [ 16 ].

Job satisfaction has been studied mostly over a specific category of workers [ 17 , 18 ], as some types of works seems to be more related to pathological conditions such as burnout [ 19 , 20 ] and job-related stress [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]; however, as reported by those authors, this kind of selection method could lead to selection biases. According to van Saane [ 24 ], although many studies were carried as since Job Satisfaction broke out in the last 70’s as a central topic of interest, nor a mathematical instrument as reliable as desired nor a comparative method were found, usually those studies were based on single components of job satisfaction, taken out from extra working environment, and without analysing the consequences on behaviours in day life [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. The literature research demonstrated that practices are the results of knowledge, attitudes, or their interaction. The KAP Survey Questionnaire [ 28 ] can be applied to highlight the main features of knowledge, attitude, and practice of a person, and to assess that person’s views on the matter. The purpose, when using the KAP Survey Model, is to measure a phenomenon through the quantitative collection method of a large amount of data through the administration of questionnaires and then statistically process the information obtained. Through a questionnaire, however, seems to be easier to quantify job satisfaction. In addition to that, studying broader populations’ consent to explore different components, both personal and environmental, which concur to influence it [ 29 , 30 ].

In the recent literature, a KAP model was used only once to analyse behaviours toward job satisfaction. In his work, Alavi [ 31 ] conducted a survey based cross-sectional study on 530 Iranian radiation workers; although it comprehends simultaneously knowledge, attitude, and practices, it was conducted on a specific category of workers and on a narrower population. Therefore, since to the best of our knowledge none of the studies presented in the literature are carried out on a broader population relating both knowledge and attitudes to behaviours on job satisfaction, the aim of this study is to analyse simultaneously knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours toward job satisfaction in a large metropolitan area. It is important to investigate this phenomenon to evaluate the condition and develop health education programs and community-based intervention to increase job satisfaction and knowledge and positively orienting attitudes.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. participants and procedure.

This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 in the large metropolitan area of Naples, southern Italy, among working places, universities, and community centres. No specific category of participants was selected. In the questionnaire, respondents indicated their occupation by choosing from the following options: lawyer, architect, engineer, doctor, accountant, entrepreneur, teacher, law enforcement, trader, student, employee, worker, unemployed, other. Table 1 shows the categories indicated by the participants. The criteria for inclusion in the study required that respondents of a general population were over 18 years old, belonging to one of the categories of employment listed in Table 1 , and resided in the metropolitan area of Naples. Every participant directly received a questionnaire (available upon request from the corresponding author) and at the time of filling out the questionnaire, the aim of the study and the anonymity and privacy of the data collecting method being used was explained, both in written form, as an introduction part of the questionnaire, and verbally to each of the participants. The questionnaire consisted of basic information about participants (age, gender, children, civil state, education level, profession, smoke habits) and three pools of questions divided in knowledge, attitudes and behaviours concerning their job satisfaction for a total number of 37 questions. The construction of the questionnaire was carried out as recommended by the KAP Model [ 28 ], briefly was divided into four phases: (1) Constructing the survey protocol; (2) Preparing the survey; (3) Course of the KAP survey in field; (4) Data analysis and presentation of the survey report. To develop the questionnaire, research questions based on the “Objectives of the study” were first carried out to develop the research questions, according to KAP Survey Model [ 28 ], the knowledge was considered as a set of understandings, knowledge, and “science” while Attitude as a way of being, a position. After, the research questions were reduced in number by removing those questions that require unnecessary information. When the above step is also done, the difficult questions have been changed/removed (closed questions have been used because one of the most important things that will increase the relevance of the questions is that the questions must be closed questions). Knowledge and attitudes were assessed on a three-point Likert scale with options for “agree”, “uncertain”, and “disagree”, while inquiries regarding behaviours were in a four-answer format of “never”, “sometimes”, “often”, and “yes/always”. A pilot study was also carried out to test the questionnaire and to verify the reliability of questions. Finally, all the collected questionnaires were digitalized submitting the codified answers in an Excel worksheet (MS Office).

Study population characteristics.

2.2. Statistical Analysis

Data reported by the study were analysed using IBM SPSS (vers. 27) statistical software program. The analysis was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, a descriptive statistic was used to summarize the basic information of the statistical units. In the second stage, a Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (MLRA) was used to model the linear relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable.

The dependent variables (Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours) had been obtained by adding the scores obtained in the corresponding questions (questions with inverse answers have been coded inversely). The independent variables were included in all models: sex (1 = male, 2 = female); age, in years; education level (1 = primary school, 2 = middle school, 3 = high school, 4 = university degree); civil state (1 = Single; 2 = In a relationship; 3 = Married; 4 = Separated/Divorced; 5 = Widowed).

The main results from a MLRA contains the statistical significance of the regression model as well as the estimation and the statistical significance of the beta coefficients ( p -value < 0.05) and the coefficient of determination (R-squared and adjusted R-squared), used to measure how much of the variation in outcome can be explained by the variation in the independent variables. Three MLRA were developed:

• (1) Knowledge about job satisfaction (Model 1);
• (2) Attitudes toward resilience and mindfulness (Model 2);
• (3) Actual behaviours regarding Job and Job-related life (Model 3).

In Model 2, we added Knowledge to the independent variables, and in Model 3, we added Knowledge and Attitudes to the independent variables. In the analysis, we considered Attitudes and Knowledge as indexes rather than a scale, which means that each observed variable (A1, …, A13 and K1, …, K12) is assumed to cause the latent variables associated (Attitude and Knowledge). In other terms, the relationship between observed variables and latent variables is formative. Therefore, inter-observed variables correlations are not required. On the contrary, the relationship between the observed variables (B1, …, B14) and latent variable Behaviour could be considered reflective (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.825). All statistical tests were two-tailed, and the results were statistically significant if the p -values were less than or equal to 0.05.

3. Results and Discussion

Out of the 1057 participants, 1043 anonymous self-report surveys were returned, resulting in a response rate of 98.7%. Table 1 shows the characteristics of the study population: the mean age of the study population is 35.24 years; in 18–70 age range, the main group of distribution was 18–30 representing 44.6% of the sample; sex distribution shows that: 427 are men, 616 are woman. A large majority (73.5%) does not have children, while 26.5% of the sample has them. Most of the participants have a post graduate degree, while 29.1% are high school graduates. Among them, 22.2% are physicians, 15.1% teachers and 14.0% students ( Table 1 ).

Respondent’s knowledge about job satisfaction is presented in Table 2 . While a large majority of the sample population (91.7%) has a well-defined knowledge about job satisfaction main characteristics such as mains definitions, both of work-related stress and mobbing, most of them does not know or are not aware which risks are specifically related as only 31.4% knows that job related stress and mobbing are a threat to their cardiovascular health. Only 28.7% of the population knows that “Only 15% of worker, globally, are satisfied by their work” demonstrating that while knowledge regarding job related stress is well spread, the sample does not know how diffused it is and what kind of risks it involves, and that state provide a compensation for job related stress.

Knowledge of respondents toward job satisfaction.

* INAIL: Istituto Nazionale Assicurazione Infortuni sul Lavoro (National Institute for Occupational Accident Insurance).

In Table 3 are described attitudes toward job satisfaction. Most of the participants think that working out is relaxing and spending time is regenerating, showing a good attitude to copy with work related stress. According to 93.4% of the sample, workload plays a key role in job satisfaction, as well as adequate wages and a clear task schedule. Several studies have enlightened that when workers lack a clear definition of the tasks which are necessary to fulfil a specific role, their levels of job satisfaction are likely to be negatively affected [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Interestingly, most of the population sees challenges as a motivation to do better (80.2%) and are motivated by career opportunities (90.7%); however, 50.5% of the population has a negative attitude about changes. In confirmation of that, when asked if “Changes lead to stress”, only a small fraction of the sample (14.6%) disagreed. This allowed us to assume that, although most of the population sees problems as an opportunity to learn, improve and progress in their work, they are aware of the difficulties connected to changing scenarios. About 27.2% of the sample does not have a positive attitude toward sharing their feeling about problems at work talking out loud. Bad interpersonal relationships with co-workers are another reason for job dissatisfaction. Poor or unsupportive relationships and conflicts with colleagues and/or supervisors lead to negative psychological intensions, resulting in job dissatisfaction [ 35 , 36 ].

Attitude of respondents toward job satisfaction.

Behaviours of respondents are listed in Table 4 : A consistent part of the sample responded positively to the group of question toward behaviours regarding their coping level of stressful situation (B2, B4, B8, B9, B10) showing a reported good resilience. Commuting seems to be a problem for at least a third of the sample, also in a metropolitan area served by 2 subways, full bus service, car sharing services and a speedway. Job satisfaction is associated negatively with constraints such as commuting time. This dead time, mostly unpaid, is mandatory for workers to reach workplace. Although this is not considered as working time, and only a specific class is refunded, from the employers’ perspective, it is time dedicated to work and a strong determinant for low satisfaction levels. EU workers were much more likely to be highly (37.9%) or moderately satisfied (41.7%) with their commuting time compared to their job satisfaction. Most of the sample responded to not having experienced mobbing; although even a “low” result, such as a cumulative, summing both “yes/always” and “often”, of 11.8% is alarming and pushes us to study more about this phenomenon. Interestingly, 30.9% of respondents are satisfied about their work, reaching a total of 59.5%. In addition, with a “often” response showing a large appreciation of their jobs, 22.9% of the respondents “wake up unhappy to go to work”, and feel “stuck in a job with no career opportunities” (27.7%). The sample has no problems managing their work and social life (48.3%); however, only a complex of 35% of the sample usually spend their time with colleagues outside the office.

Behaviour of respondents toward job satisfaction.

Table 5 illustrates results of linear multiple regression in three models: in Model I Knowledge, as dependent variable, correlate, with a p -value < 0.001; with “sex”, interestingly, woman seem to have a higher overall score of knowledge in disagreement with Gulavani [ 37 ] whose study was conducted among a sample of nurses and found no significant relation between sex and knowledge on job satisfaction. Al-Haroon [ 38 ] evidenced that among health workers, men had a better overall level of knowledge. These results, however, were collected over specific categories of employees, in a narrower sample; whereas our study was represented by a general population of a metropolitan area. No statistically significant correlation between knowledge and age, civil status, children, and education levels was encountered.

Results of the linear multiple regression.

Previous research asses that attitude plays a key a role in job satisfaction, as some attitudinal characteristics of the subject influence perspective, coping skills and stressful situation management [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. In Model II ( Table 5 ) we correlated, through MLRA, attitudes with age, sex, civil state, having children, education, and overall knowledge score. With a p -value < 0.001, two correlations were found with education and overall knowledge score, both positively. Those results reflect, in accordance with Alavi [ 31 ], who found that higher level of education was among 3 factors that predicted job satisfaction and attaining a higher university degree compared to lower degrees contributes to a feeling of coherence, success at work, personal growth and self-respect, self-realization and intrinsic motivation, that education level and therefore a higher level of knowledge contributes to generating a sense of job satisfaction. In the questionnaire we tried to collect all those propension and as a result: in agreement with Hermanwan [ 42 ], Andrews [ 43 ] and Choi [ 44 ], subjects with better knowledge and high levels of education tent to have better attitudes.

In Model III, behaviours taken as a dependent variable are correlated to age, sex, civil state, children, education, knowledge, and attitudes. The results of linear multiple regression in this model assess that behaviours are negatively correlated to civil state, sons, and knowledge, and positively correlated to attitudes. Our findings show that there is a positive correlation between behaviours and attitudes, in agreement with previous literature [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], demonstrating that people with better attitudes tent to have a better overall behaviour. Surprisingly, in Model III, knowledge also has a statistically significant correlation to behaviours but in a negative way. This correlation, however, is not present when we correlate those variables alone in a Pearson’s correlation between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours ( Table 6 ). This evidence, therefore, suggests that attitude mediates the effect of knowledge on behaviours, assessing an important relation between those two determinants. People with a better overall score in behaviours tend to have a higher score in knowledge and attitude. In this sample, those who have a lower score in knowledge also has a higher behaviour score in accordance with a part of the previous literature [ 48 , 49 ]. This enlightens the importance of high levels of knowledge in order to form better attitudes in the pursuit of job satisfaction. Civil state and having children seem to play a key role in performing a better behaviour about job satisfaction; which is also evident in one specific question about behaviour: Question “B14” enlightens the social practices of subjects with colleagues outside the work environment, and the statistical analysis on this topic shows that subject with a more stable sentimental situation or with child tend to hang out with their colleagues less, likely worsening their relationships at work and getting a worse overall behaviour score and worse attitude toward the topic in agreement with Sousa-Poza [ 50 ] and Armstrong [ 51 ]. Job satisfaction has a strong correlation to family characteristics: Subjectst who have families with children have less positive behaviours towards their job satisfaction, directly affecting their overall behaviour score; this evidence is in contrast with Alavi [ 31 ], who states that job satisfaction is positively affected by family, assessing that “married employees have opportunities to receive support or advice from their family to mediate job conflicts,” Although he admits that in the literature, this result is controversial as some authors, such as Clark [ 52 ], found that “married employees experienced a higher level of job satisfaction than their unmarried co-workers”, and Booth and Van Ours’ [ 53 ], study did not find a statistically relevant correlation with the presence of children. Those results, therefore, suggest creating targeted educational programs, community-based intervention, and legal regulation, to improve self-awareness and resilience among workers, and a more practical intervention could be directed to families with child.

Pearson’s correlation between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours.

4. Conclusions

This study shows that the metropolitan population has general good knowledge about job satisfaction as well as a positive attitude. Job satisfaction, however, is reflected accordingly only with attitudes. While it has a negative relation to civil state and having children, this means that the experimental results of this study may be used to create targeted educational programs, community-based intervention, and legal regulation, to improve self-awareness and resilience among workers. A more direct intervention could be directed to families with children. Social networking with colleagues has an important impact on job satisfaction, as the part of the sample who responded positively to the specific question, had an overall better behaviour. Although, in this case, having children seems to be, as they negative correlate, a huge limitation to this practice. Considering that, as previously stated, the impact of job satisfaction on the population has a strong impact in terms of life balance, health, and economics, and it is well known that only a small fraction of workers are fully satisfied. It might be important to promote welfare regulation to allow a larger part of the population to conciliate work and family. Results of this paper could be an indicator of how to establish an educational program more efficiently. It is mandatory to strengthen specific knowledge about job satisfaction through the general population toward the importance of job satisfaction and the benefits related to a correct approach to work-life. The impact of a public health intervention could be even more effective by integrating another program to orient and define attitudes, which in turn will influence people to practice a mindfulness mental setting toward job satisfaction. In conclusion, a training program based on fundamental practices of job satisfaction should be improved in the young population, in early stage of family life, or before they have children, in order to achieve a double objective: “training family and spreading the practice to a future generation”.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Data curation: P.M., M.S., P.S., F.D.D., A.N. (Alfonso Nardo), B.F., D.D., S.D.S., F.P., A.M. and M.T.; Formal analysis: M.S., F.D.D., A.N. (Alfonso Nardo), B.F., D.D., S.D.S. and F.P.; Resources: P.M. and M.T.; Software: P.S.; Supervision, P.M., M.T. and A.N. (Antonio Nardone); Writing—original draft: M.S., F.D.D., A.N. (Alfonso Nardo), B.F., D.D. and S.D.S.; Writing—review and editing: P.M., M.S., P.S., F.P., A.M., M.T. and A.N. (Antonio Nardone). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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How To Use a Thesis Statement for Employment

What Is a Thesis Statement for Employment?

How a thesis statement for employment works, examples of a thesis statement for employment.

Think back to when you learned to write an essay. Most likely, your teacher talked about the importance of a thesis statement, which sums up your essay. A thesis statement can also be helpful during a job search. 

Through a thesis statement, you can clarify your background as a candidate, what you want in a role, and how you'd fit in at a given company. This is, of course, valuable information for recruiters and hiring managers. 

A thesis statement for employment is a brief description of yourself, your characteristics, and your skills. 

Your thesis statement for employment is used to demonstrate your interest in a job and show how you would benefit an organization. Learn how to go about developing one. 

Key Takeaways

• A thesis statement for employment is a brief description of yourself, your characteristics, and your skills. It’s used to show how you would benefit an organization.
• You can use your thesis statement on your resume, in cover letters, in interviews, and during networking events. 
• A thesis statement should be brief, direct, and tailored to each position you apply for.

A thesis statement for employment is a one- or two-sentence statement of your qualifications.

Crafting this statement may take some time and thought. (That was likely true back when you were routinely writing essays, too.) Once you have developed a thesis statement, it'll come in handy at many points in your job search. You can use it: 

• Within your cover letters —place your thesis statement in the first paragraph, where you explain why you're applying for the role. 
• On your resume —include the thesis statement in your objective or summary section.
• During job interviews —to help explain why you're the right person for the job.
• When you're networking —with a thesis statement in mind, it's easy to respond when someone asks what type of job you want. 

Your thesis statement should intrigue potential employers, so they want to learn more about you and your credentials. Keep in mind that your thesis statement should be dynamic, evolving to fit the needs of the role at hand. 

The first step to developing your thesis statement is to think about the positions you want to apply for, what you have to offer a company, and why employers should hire you.

Here are some tips for developing a strong thesis statement:

• Be direct : Your thesis statement should be simple and to the point, as hiring managers don’t have time to figure out what you’re trying to say. This isn’t the time to show off your extensive vocabulary. The same strategies you used to craft an elevator pitch will come in handy when you're thinking through your thesis statement. 
• Tailor your statement : Start by developing a general thesis statement, and then tweak it to target the job you're applying for. You may have an IT certification and also be a strong presenter, but if you're applying for a job as a computer technician, the IT certification is more important to mention. If you're applying for a position as a sales representative at a software company, you'll want to emphasize your presentation skills.
• Frame your skills as benefits to the company : One goal of a thesis statement is to make it readily apparent to a hiring manager how hiring you will be beneficial. For example, you might say that your management skills will help you develop and train an exceptional sales team that will meet or exceed company sales goals. You may need to research a company to find its goals and priorities.

A summary statement is similar to a thesis statement, but it focuses on factual experience without the emphasis on benefits. For example, you might say, "Executive assistant with seven years of experience maintaining schedules, arranging travel, and handling correspondence."

If you’re not sure what to include in your thesis statement, these examples can help:

• I'm writing to apply for the administrative assistant position at ABC company. My strong communication and organizational skills, and my ability to create order out of chaos make me an excellent match for this position.  
• My fascination with numbers, combined with my strong accounting skills and mathematics minor, enables me to make a solid contribution in this role.
• My ability to successfully implement current web design technology, as well as develop and maintain sites for start-up IT companies, enables me to contribute to XYZ company.
• My fluency in Spanish and strong marketing and communication skills would be an asset to your company, allowing me to build trusting relationships with clients.
• I have created sales strategies that have achieved 40% revenue growth per year. I can motivate sales teams and design incentive programs to achieve short- and long-term sales goals.

The University of Arizona. " Writing a Thesis Statement ."

Chron. " Preparing a Thesis Statement Concerning a Job Interview ."

U.S. News. " What Is Your Job Fit Thesis ?"

ZipRecruiter: Maintaining Profitability In A Challenging Job Market

• ZipRecruiter management's latest guidance predicts further sequential revenue declines, contrary to earlier expectations of stabilization in the second half of the year.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin was strong at 23% last quarter, but is expected to fall to 9% in Q3.
• The valuation appears cheap, but the outlook for growth and profitability remains subdued, leading me to assign a Neutral rating.

Kitinut/iStock via Getty Images

Investment thesis

ZipRecruiter ( NYSE: ZIP ) is an online job marketplace that uses AI to match jobseekers and employers. Slower hiring and reduced quit rates in the US labor market have posed significant headwinds for the company, leading to a continued decline in revenues since the end of 2022 . Until now, the company has managed to maintain solid profitability by paring back its marketing spend as it waits for the market to improve. However, recent guidance from management indicates further revenue declines and reduced margins for Q3.

Shares appear cheaply valued at an EV to adjusted EBITDA multiple of 12.8. However, the muted outlook for growth and margins as well as the high levels of SBC keep me on the sidelines for now. I do consider the company to be a potential acquisition target, which, together with its strong balance sheet, should provide downside protection. I therefore rate ZipRecruiter stock a Hold.

Key takeaways from Q2 results

The company's Q2 results came in above management's guidance but reflected a challenging operating environment where revenues declined 27% versus the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 23%, which was particularly strong given the magnitude of the revenue decline. This was archived by management's prudent reduction in Sales and Marketing (S&M) expenses which were 30% lower this quarter versus Q2 2023, almost inline with the revenue decline. The company's CEO commented on the current labor market which was impacted by both slower hiring as well as lower quit rates , as he stated :

Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, seasonally adjusted hires have declined every month on a year-over-year basis since August of 2022. The quit rate has fallen 9% below the average rate in 2019.

One of its largest competitors, Indeed (owned by Recruit Holdings ( OTCPK:RCRRF )) showed mid single-digit year-over-year declines last quarter and has also been facing challenging times . I believe the reason behind the post earnings volatility in the share price stems from management's Q3 revenue and full-year margin guidance. Despite the strong profitability shown in Q2, the guidance implies a sharp drop in adjusted EBITDA margins to 9%. Despite previously calling for revenue stabilization in the second of the half of this year, revenue guidance of $109 million for Q3 implies a quarter-over-quarter decline of 9%. In my opinion, this weakness is due to the company's broad exposure to the SMB segment, which tends to react to macroeconomic weaknesses much faster than large enterprises. Management's guidance reflects additional weakness seen in the labor market at the beginning of July. If there is no further deterioration, given management's track record with regard to guidance, I expect them to significantly outperform this guidance.

Looking ahead: My expectations

Capturing market share despite revenue declines.

One of the highlights from the Q2 earnings call was management's commentary regarding the organic traffic to its website. This is particularly encouraging given the lower sales and marketing spend this quarter and its CEO elaborated on this, stating:

Total ZipRecruiter web traffic in the U.S. grew by 22% year-over-year, which is 12 percentage points more than any of our largest competitors. Ongoing investments in product brand awareness, paired with a number of product improvements, contributed to a 30% year-over-year increase in organic job seeker traffic.

In addition to the greater brand awareness for the company, the increase in organic jobseeker traffic can also be attributed to new product offerings such as ZipIntro, which facilitates the introduction of job candidates to potential employers through video format. The recently acquired Breakroom , which is an employer review platform, will soon be another product that the company will offer the jobseekers on its platform. Increasing the jobseeker traffic is vital, as this makes employers more likely to spend on the platform.

An additional opportunity for the company to gain market share is in the Enterprise segment. According to the remarks by management at a recent investor conference , the Enterprise segment represented just 20% of its total revenues. In this challenging macroeconomic environment, I expect its Enterprise segment to outperform its SMB segment. Additionally, the company is also adding new enterprises clients through numerous Applicant Tracking System (ATS) integrations such as the recent one with iCIMS, the likes of which could accelerate the revenue growth from the Enterprise segment.

Leveraging its flexible financial model to maintain profitability

Q2 Shareholder letter

The business enjoys high gross margins (~90%) while most of its costs are related to S&M and R&D, which are variable. Despite a sharp decline in revenues expected in the next two quarters, the company is expected to stay profitable by appropriately adjusting its S&M spend similar to how it has done previously, as shown above. If the revenue declines persist into 2025, I believe the company has sufficient leverage to reduce its R&D spend in order to stay profitable given that R&D spend accounted for 26% of revenue, which is much higher than normal and is likely explained by the company's aim of launching new product offerings.

Capital allocation

The company has a strong balance sheet with $523 million in cash and $543 million in debt. Notably, its debt is not due until 2030 . I expect management to leverage its solid financial position to continue share repurchases, as long as shares remain at these depressed levels. The company has nearly $50 million left on its $550 million share repurchase program. I also expect management to perform tuck-in acquisitions to broaden its product offering, similar to its latest acquisition.

Thoughts on valuation

Management's guidance for Q3 calls for revenue of $112 million, which implies a year-over-year decline of 28%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $10 million, at a margin of 9%. Current analyst forecasts show an expectation for a similar level of revenue decline continuing into Q4. Based on the current economic environment, I consider FY24 revenue estimates of $467 million to be justified. Management's full year adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of approximately 13% results in an expected FY24 adjusted EBITDA of $61 million.

Based on these estimates, at the current share price of $8, shares trade at an EV to adjusted EBITDA multiple of 13. This assumes that the company has 100 million shares outstanding, while also taking into account the $20 million in net debt. Given the challenging operating environment as well as the ongoing investments that management is making, I believe it is more appropriate to value the company based on steady state margins which it could potentially reach. I believe the company can sustain 15% adjusted EBITDA margins on an annual basis in a more normal labor market with normalized R&D spend. In such a case, the company's FY24 adjusted EBITDA would be closer to $70 million, translating to an EV to adjusted EBITDA multiple of 11. Given that it is a capital light business, adjusted EBITDA is a relevant indicator for the business's FCF generation after adjusting for the appropriate tax rate. However, as highlighted in the image below, investors should be aware of the company's high stock-based compensation, which currently runs at around $60 million on an annual basis, leading to lower GAAP earnings.

I do not find the current valuation attractive given the outlook for declining revenue and further margin compression. Nevertheless, given its size and valuation, I believe the company could be an acquisition target for larger rivals in the online or offline recruitment market as well as for HR software companies that want to enter the recruitment market. Peers such as Indeed and Monster Worldwide were previously acquired at comparable valuations in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Recruit Holdings (owner of Indeed) is currently facing mid single-digit revenue declines while trading at an EV to EBITDA multiple of 19 . I believe the possibility for a takeout coupled with its strong balance sheet limit the risk for significant downside from the current share price.

Risks to consider

Macroeconomic weakness.

A weak US job market as a result of macroeconomic headwinds has negatively impacted the company's growth and profitability in recent quarters. The company's broad exposure to the SMB segment makes it more vulnerable. Further economic weakness could exacerbate its revenue declines and cause additional margin erosion. The company is also moving further upmarket to bring on large enterprise clients as it looks to reduce its dependency on the SMB segment.

Competition

ZipRecruiter operates in a highly competitive environment which includes larger rivals like Indeed and LinkedIn. It seeks to differentiate itself by offering AI-based features, which could result in a smoother and faster job application process. However, compared to some of its competitors, the company lacks an end-to-end solution such as an ATS for the entire hiring process. As management invests further to improve its product offering, investors should monitor how these developments help in strengthening its market position.

Given the risks outlined and the weak outlook in the current challenging labor market, I see limited upside potential from the current share price. However, the valuation appears cheap, and the company has a strong balance sheet which should support its path towards growing its market share. As a result, I maintain a Neutral rating on the shares.

This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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The Australian Professor Who Turned Breaking on Its Head

Rachael Gunn, known as B-girl Raygun, displayed some … unique moves as she competed in a field with breakers half her age. The judges and the internet were underwhelmed.

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By Dodai Stewart and Talya Minsberg

Reporting from Paris

Breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport Friday, and among the competitors was Dr. Rachael Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, who stood out in just about every way.

By day, her research interests include “dance, gender politics, and the dynamics between theoretical and practical methodologies.” But on the world’s stage in Paris, wearing green track pants and a green polo shirt instead of the street-style outfits of her much younger fellow breakers, she competed against the 21-year-old Logan Edra of the United States, known as Logistx.

During the round robin, as Raygun and Logistx faced off, Raygun laid on her side, reached for her toes, spun around, and threw in a kangaroo hop — a nod to her homeland. She performed a move that looked something like swimming and another that could best be described as duckwalking. The high-speed back and head spins that other breakers would demonstrate were mostly absent.

The crowd cheered Raygun politely. The judges weren’t as kind. All nine voted for Logistx in both rounds of the competition; Logistx won, 18-0.

Online, Raygun’s performance quickly became a sensation, not necessarily in a flattering way.

“The more I watch the videos of Raygun, the Aussie breaker, the more I get annoyed,” one viewer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There’s 27.7 million Australians in the world and that’s who they send to the Olympics for this inaugural event??? C’mon now!”

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