ABSTRACT
This article describes the author's efforts to build a combined job-preference/job-preview measure as an alternative to conventional interest inventories for use in U.S. Navy recruiting, as most applicants have no previous exposure to Navy-specific jobs. Criteria for building a successful instrument (i.e., JOIN) that can identify the best match between the Sailor and his/her assigned job are presented. The resulting taxonomy (i.e., JOIN's classification of Navy jobs based on Community (e.g., aviation), Work Styles/Environments (e.g., outdoor), and specific Work Activity process-content pairs (e.g., maintain mechanical equipment)), is described. Psychometric properties of JOIN are presented based on data from 6,988 U.S. Navy Sailors, as well as gender differences and factor structure. Preliminary evidence of JOIN's predictive validity with five service-related outcome measures is presented, with modest yet significant findings. Although the development of JOIN may be considered non-traditional, JOIN promises to have a direct impact on training, promotion, and retention.
