How Plan-Making Helps Job Seekers Get Hired
Intervention Brief
Overview
Many job seekers struggle to stay organized, leading to scattered job searches and missed opportunities. Unemployment remains a persistent challenge, particularly for youth and marginalized job seekers. While many employment programs focus on training or job matching, research by Abel et al. (2019) suggests that Plan-Making—a simple, structured way to help job seekers set clear goals—can significantly boost employment success.
Why This Matters for Practitioners
Employment coaches, career counsellors, and workforce professionals need easy, proven tools to keep job seekers focused and motivated. This study shows that Plan-Making is an affordable and effective way to help people organize their job search, improve their applications, and find work faster. Unlike costly training programs, Plan-Making is simple to implement, scalable, and highly effective.
Key Takeaways
- Plan-Making helped job seekers get hired 26% more often.
- Job seekers submitted 15% more applications and received 30% more job offers.
- Setting job search hour goals led to longer employment.
- Breaking job search into smaller tasks made it easier to stay on track.
- Strong applications mattered more than sending out lots of applications.
Why This Works
Plan-Making is based on implementation intentions, a behavioural science technique that helps people turn goals into action. It works by:
✅ Reducing procrastination – Job seekers often delay searching due to uncertainty. Pre-planning removes this barrier and makes job search tasks feel more manageable.
✅ Minimizing decision fatigue – Job searching is mentally exhausting. Writing a clear plan helps people follow through by reducing the daily decision-making burden.
✅ Bridging the intention-action gap – Many job seekers intend to apply for jobs but don’t follow through. Structured planning increases follow-through rates by converting general intentions into clear, concrete steps.
✅ Providing structure and focus – Many job seekers feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. Plan-Making provides a roadmap, ensuring they stay on track and maintain momentum.
Study Overview
Methodology
- Who was in the study? Unemployed job seekers.
- What did they do? Some received Plan-Making training, while others did not.
- What was measured? Employment rates, job search effort, application quality, and search persistence.
Findings
- Plan-Making increased employment rates by 26%.
- Job seekers submitted 15% more applications and received 30% more job offers.
- People who set search hour goals stayed employed longer.
- Breaking job search into small steps made it easier to complete.
- Sending fewer but better applications led to more job offers.
💡Using This in Practice
Coaches can use Plan-Making to help job seekers set goals, stay accountable, and apply more effectively.
✅ Plan Daily Actions: Help job seekers list specific tasks each day (Example: Apply to 3 jobs on Monday, follow up with 2 employers on Tuesday).
✅ Be Specific About Search Methods: Encourage job seekers to note where and how they will apply (Example: Use X job board, attend Y job fair).
✅ Set Weekly Goals:
- Find X job openings per week
- Send X applications per week
- Spend X structured hours searching
✅ Check Progress Weekly: Review what worked and what needs improvement.
✅ Improve Application Quality: Encourage job seekers to refine their resumes and tailor applications.
✅ Don’t Rely on Peer Support Alone: One-on-one planning works better.
✅ Track & Adjust: Keep adjusting goals based on results.
Conclusion
Plan-Making is a simple, cost-effective strategy that helps job seekers stay focused and improve their chances of finding a job. Goal-setting and structured job search planning are key. Unlike expensive training programs, this approach is low-cost, easy to implement, and scalable. Coaches can use this strategy to help job seekers build better habits, submit stronger applications, and land jobs faster.
References
Abel, Martin Burger, Rulof Carranza, Eliana Piraino, Patrizio Bridging the Intention-Behavior Gap? The Effect of Plan-Making Prompts on Job Search and Employment American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 11 2 284–301 2019 10.1257/app.20170566 https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20170566
About Buoyancy Works:
Buoyancy Works is a Calgary-based social purpose company dedicated to empowering individuals through behavioral science and technology. By providing personalized tools and evidence-backed support, Buoyancy Works helps people manage life transitions, like unemployment, more effectively. Their platform enables real-time collaboration between job seekers and coaches, fostering meaningful human connections and delivering tailored guidance. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for economic growth and decent work, Buoyancy Works partners with nonprofits to expand employment opportunities and promote economic empowerment. Learn more at buoyancy.works.
