Tell Me About Your Job. . .: An Experiential and Relational Job Analysis Exercise

Abstract

Without updated job descriptions, workers are likely to lack role clarity and the effectiveness of important human resource management (HRM) functions will be hindered. Yet, organizations frequently scrimp on or altogether skip the process necessary for producing those descriptions: job analysis. Many introductory HRM students similarly identify job analysis as the most opaque and least interesting topic they learn about. The job analysis interview exercise (JAIE) addresses these pedagogical challenges. It involves conducting a job analysis interview with a university employee who is working in a job related to students’ occupational field of interest. They use this information to produce a job description and critical assessment of the job’s design, then receive feedback on their process and output. In addition to enhancing students’ interest in and comprehension of job analysis, the JAIE contributes to the meaningfulness of interviewees’ jobs by allowing them to connect with the beneficiaries of their work.