Students’ expectations about interviewees’ and interviewers’ achievement emotions in job selection interviews

Expectations about achievement emotions characterizing job selection interviews were investigated by administering a questionnaire to 282 Italian twelfth graders and university students, considering literature on influence of positive and negative affect. Participants imagined being interviewees in a future interview and evaluated the intensity of interviewees’ and interviewers’ emotions. Expectations varied according to kind of emotion, and interviewees and interviewers differentiated in terms of activating and deactivating emotions. Positive emotions prevailed for interviewees, with younger students giving higher scores. Some emotions were linked to career self-efficacy and job market experience. Results were discussed in light of applied relevance for employment counseling.