Xiaojian Zheng, Mohd Hazwan Mohd Puad, Habibah Ab Jalil
This study offers the deeper understanding of how internal resources and positive personality traits interact to help people cope with employment anxiety. These findings offer the empirical basis for the optimization of mental health education and employment guidance services in colleges and universities.
Against the backdrop of global labor market volatility, Job Search Self-Efficacy (JSSE) is critical for job seekers' persistence and success. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this scoping review synthesizes 22 empirical studies (2019-February 2025) to address three core questions: JSSE's antecedents, intervention mechanisms, and consequences. The results showed the following: (1) antecedents concentrated on individual traits (e.g., career adaptability, emotional intelligence) and contextual support (e.g., mentoring, positive job search events); (2) intervention mechanisms were dominated by simple mediation (e.g., JSSE mediating perceived employability and job search behavior) and single moderation (e.g., extraversion moderating JSSE-success links); and (3) consequences focused almost exclusively on short-term outcomes (e.g., job search intensity, job offers). Key gaps include homogeneous samples (over-reliance on university students), methodological limitations (dominant cross-sectional designs), and understudied long-term career/emotional consequences. This review strengthens the JSSE's theoretical connection to SCT/SCCT and provides targeted guidance for interventions while outlining directions for more inclusive and rigorous future research.