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JOB READINESS TRAINING

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS REPORT
October 12, 2014

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Background
This paper presents the results of the audience analysis recently conducted in accordance
with the Dick and Careys (1995) ID model. In order to analyze the audience, three different
methods were used: 1) a paper-based survey questionnaire, 2) interview with an instructor who
teaches in the program, 3) the schools database.
The succeeding pages are aimed to report the data obtained from the sources mentioned
above. First a complete survey report is presented followed by a section that analysis the possible
implications for the design of instruction. Then, demographic data obtained from the schools
database and questions and answers covered in the interview are presented along with a
discussion about how this information can be utilized by the instructional designer.

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SURVEY REPORT
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to outline the results of a survey conducted among students of
an associate level vocational program. The survey aimed to collect respondents answers to the
following research questions.
1) Whether the students are currently doing a job search.
2) What do students know about job search preparation?
3) How do students perceive their current levels of knowledge and skill needed in job search
preparation?
4) How do students perceive their own role in job search preparation?
5) How much do students think a training would be helpful to them in their job search
preparation?
Participants
The population of the survey was the 80 students who were in their second semester of
the office administration program at Marmara Universitesi. All of the 80 students participated in
the survey.
Data Collection Instrument
The survey was a cross-sectional survey and a pencil and pen questionnaire was used to
collect data. The questionnaire consisted of three types of close-ended questions: dichotomous
questions that ask for a yes/no response; Likert-Type scale items that ask opinions on a 1-to-5
bipolar scale; and questions that require respondents list a certain number of items on a given
topic. Findings of the survey were presented in this report by using percentages.

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Rationale for Each Survey Question
Question 1 aims to find out how many students are currently working because it is
assumed that these students possibly have gone through a career preparation before. On the other
hand, the opposite may indicate lack of first-hand experience in job search preparation.
Question 2 aims to explore how many students are currently going through a career
preparation and look for job opportunities. We can anticipate that students in this process may
have a certain amount of knowledge about job search strategies. We can also anticipate that
students who are currently looking for a position would highly interested in gaining knowledge
about this process.
Questions 3 and 4 are aimed to understand students prior learning experiences in resume
writing and interview strategies. They may have a certain level of knowledge gained through the
previous learning events. They may also have developed a perspective of the training topics
through the previous learning. Question 5 and 6 aim to gauge current levels of students
knowledge of resume writing and job search strategies. Questions 3,4,5, and 6 will help to
understand each students prior learning in this specific area because students prior learning
may vary. (Smith&Regan, 2005)
Question 7 intends to determine how many students have had experience a job/internship
interview. Students experiences are as much important as their current level of knowledge
because according to Knowles adult learning theory, adults bring their previous experience and
knowledge to learning event (Marriem et al., 2005).
Questions 8, 9 and 10 are to be answered by the students who have had a job interview
before. These questions are aimed to explore how this group of learners perceives their own
interview performances in three areas; attitude control, verbal communication, and learning

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transfer. Their answers will guide me in understanding which of these three skills need to be
most improved in learners. Questions 11, 12 and 13 have the same intention, however, they
inquiry the students who dont have a job interview experience.
Question 14 intends to understand learners locus of control, which is a personality
characteristic. Studies show that the internal locus of control has a positive correlation with
learning, whereas external locus of control has a negative correlation with learning
(Arvind&Israrul, 2008; Broedling, 1975). The impact of external factors on job finding is usually
argued among job seekers. Therefore, I want to know how respondents perceive the role of
external factors and the role of their own performances in job finding.
Question 15 inquiries students expectations of the training. In other words, how helpful
they believe this training will be in their job search. I did want to see how much value they put
on a formal learning initiative. This information can also be compared to the result of learners
evaluation of the training.
Responses
Table 1. Answers given to the dichotomous questions
Question
1- I currently have a full-time/part time job.

Yes
22%

No
78%

2-I am searching for a job/ an internship.

73%

27%

3- I have taken a formal training or assistance in resume writing.

5%

95%

4- I have taken a formal training or assistance in interview techniques.

5%

95%

7- I have had a job/internship interview before.

46%

54%

We see in Table 1 that only 22% of the students are currently working, and almost threefourths of the students are looking for a job/internship position.
Very small portion of the students have a formal learning experience on job search.

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Almost one half of the students have had at least once job/internship interview.
Table 2. Items listed by respondents
Question
5- Please list three of the most important
information your resume should cover.

6- Please list three job search strategies.

Answers
Contact information
Diplomas and
certificates
Education background
Using a career website
Job fairs
Networking

Listed by
%100
%79
%100
%100
%89
%83

The majority of students listed 3 items for both questions shown in Table 2. In question
5, two items were repeated by all of the students. In question 6, one item was repeated by all of
the students.
Table 3. Opinions on Likert-scale items.
Question
8- When I reflect on my previous
interview(s), I believe that I was able to
control and reduce my stress during the
interview.
9- When I reflect on my previous
interview(s), I believe that I was able to
express myself clearly during the
interview.
10- When I reflect on my previous
interview(s), I believe that I was able to
put my knowledge about interview
techniques and strategies to use.
11- I believe I would be able to control
and reduce my stress during an interview.
12- I believe I would be able to express
myself clearly in an interview.
13- I believe I would be able to put my
current knowledge about interview
techniques and strategies to use in a job
interview.
14- I believe that preparing well before a
job application strongly affects the
possibility of getting a job offer.

Strongly agree
agree

neutral disagree Strongly

disagree

11%

0%

73%

16%

10%

16%

60%

14%

8%

13%

68%

11%

5%

14%

37%

35%

9%

7%

28%

30%

30%

5%

5%

30%

33%

26%

6%

30%

53%

10%

7%

0%

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15- I believe that a training on job search
preparation would provide me with the
necessary knowledge and skills that I can
utilize in my job search journey.

40%

60%

0%

0%

0%

As Table 3 indicates, the majority of students (73%) with interview experience did not
agree that they were able to manage their interview anxiety. A significant percentage of students
(16%) in this group was strongly of the same opinion as the majority. On the other hand,
opinions of the students without interview experience varied. Proportions of students who
remained neutral (37%) and who disagreed (%35) with the statement were very close. Unlike the
experienced group, in this group there were students who strongly believed that they would be
able to manage their stress (5%).
The majority of students (60%) with interview experience believed that they had hard
time expressing themselves in previous interviews. On the other hand, 30% of students without
interview experience also believed that they would not be able to express themselves clearly in a
possible interview, as 28% believed the opposite. %30 of students chose the neutral option.
Most than half of students (68%) with interview experience believed that they could not
put their knowledge to use in previous interviews. However, only 26% of the students without
interview experience had the same belief. The majority of students (%30) in this group chose the
neutral option.
A large portion of the participants (53% agree and 30% strongly agree) believed that
preparing well before a job application strongly affects the possibility of getting a job offer.
All of the participants (40% agree and 60% strongly agree) expressed that they believe a
training on job search preparation would provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills
required in a job search.

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Discussion
The findings of this survey show that the majority of students in the program are
currently in job/interview search period, and all of the respondents believe that an instructional
event on job search strategies would be helpful. These two facts can be regarded as factors that
would motivate students to participate in the workshops to learn about the training subject.
According to Ryan & Deci, (2000) intrinsically motivated learners are more engaged in the
classroom because they understand the essential benefit of education.
The survey also aimed at discovering the students current level of knowledge. The
results show that there are very few students who previously involved in a structured learning
event on jobs search strategies. However, it was also revealed that almost all of the students have
a significant level of knowledge about job search strategies. This finding confirms the fact we
found out as doing the needs assessment. We know from previously done surveys that students
utilize informal sources, such as friends, relatives and the Internet in order to gain knowledge of
a job search process.
The survey asked respondents to do a self-evaluation on their previous job interviews.
The results indicate that a large proportion of students are dissatisfied with their overall interview
performances. Even though the students who have not had a job interview yet seem to be more
optimistic, they are also worried about their future interview performances. A remarkable finding
is that there are some students in this group who are strongly confidant to have a successful job
interview. It is important to remember that the related section of the survey aims to explore
respondents perceptions of their interview skill. The respondents might have
underestimated/overestimated their actual past/future performances. Students self-evaluations
provide a meaningful information about in which areas they think they need to be supported.

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However, in addition to self-evaluation questions, the survey could have asked some direct
questions to understand the knowledge and skills the students want to gain, such as what
knowledge and skills do you want to gain through this instruction? Or what do think is the
most challenging aspect of a job search? I would add these two questions if I administrated the
survey again.
One of the research questions (Q14) aimed to explore how students perceive their own
roles in job search preparation. The findings of the survey indicate that the majority of students
have internal locus of control because students believe that their effort would strongly affect the
chance of finding a job. A study by Broedling (1975) showed that workers with internal locus of
control are more motivated to work, and perform better. Arvind & Israrul (2008) applied this
theory to a training situation and concluded that learners with internal locus of control may exert
greater effort toward collecting relevant knowledge and skills in a training situation than the
externals, and they are more likely to exhibit high levels of motivation to learn. Therefore, it is
expected that the respondents of our survey will likely be exerting effort to gain knowledge and
skills through this instructional event.
The information obtained through question 14 can also be linked to job finding strategies.
In their explorative study, Semejin, Velden and Boone (2000) investigated the effect of locus of
control as a personality on job finding and found out that the locus of control construct affects
the fastness of finding a job and having tenure. As they also annotated, the study was conducted
with a sample of graduates, therefore the findings cannot be simply generalized.
Impacts on the instruction
The survey findings provide meaningful implications for the design of instruction. Some
of these implications as follow:

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1) Because the majority of students are currently looking for job/internship
opportunities, the instruction should provide them with knowledge and skills that they can
immediately utilize in their job search activities. I think, what students need to know should be
given directly, such as a list of what are the common mistakes that job speakers do? Dos and
donts lists can be shared with students, and they can be provided with good and bad
examples. For example, the instructor may have them to analyze a good written and also a bad
written resume. Since, the survey revealed that almost all students have a certain level of
knowledge about the training subject, the instruction will not be looking into the very basics of
the job search strategies. The basics will be given briefly to outline the content.
2) The survey responses indicate that interview anxiety is very common among the
students. Therefore, I believe a classroom discussion would be beneficial to uncover more about
this challenge. The survey could have asked the basic causes of this anxiety, however during the
discussion session the class and instructor can make a list of these causes. I know from my
interview with the instructor that students like having discussions. So that, in a discussion, the
instructor may have the opportunity to address the specific anxiety reasons pointed out by the
students.
3) The majority of students indicated that they have concerns about expressing
themselves and utilizing their knowledge and skills in interviews. Therefore, the instruction
should be designed in a way that allows the students demonstrate learned knowledge and skills.
Interview simulations will be an important component of this training. So that, the learners will
gain a better understanding of their actual skill level with the constructive feedback they receive
from the instructor.

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4) Survey results show that the majority of students have internal locus of control.
According to Arvind & Israrul (2008) learners with an internal locus of control are more likely to
act upon feedback in regard to their strengths and weakness than the learners with the external
locus of control. Therefore, the instruction will make sure that learners will be given sufficient
amount of written and verbal feedback.
5) The survey also provided us with an important information which was actually not
addressed by the questions. We understand from the information provided by participants in
class-section field on the form that most of the students with interview experience are in the
evening education. The initial idea was to have the students trained within their own sections.
However, I now think that it would be better to mix the sections and then split the students into
two groups in order to distribute the experienced students to each group. Thus, students in each
group may benefit from these students experiences. The instructor also has the opportunity to
address their experiences and utilize real-life scenarios. Teaching learners using their own
examples would also make the learning experience more relevant, and keep the interest high.
Information obtained from the Schools database
Number of the students in the program: 80 (40 of them in evening education)
Gender: 68 female (85%), 12 male (%15).
Age: 17-19 (75%), 20-22 (%16) over 22 (%4).
Absence rates: %2 in morning education, %6 in evening education. Even though participation in
workshops will not be mandatory, absence rates in other classes may give an idea of expected
attendance.

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English literacy: Speaking: Beginner. Listening: Intermediate. Reading: Intermediate. Writing:
Beginner. The office administration is a program that is facilitated fully in Turkish, and English
literacy is not an admission requirement.
Information obtained from the program instructor
Q1) Is it a culturally homogenous learner group? What would you say about the cultural
backgrounds of the students?
Rationale: With this question, I wanted to know the level of cultural diversity in the
classroom because I want the learning materials relate to all students. I believe the more
they relate to learning materials the more they engage in it.
Information:

It can be considered as a homogenous learner group. However, at a closer look it may be

observed that students reflect their families cultural beliefs and values which are more
traditional and diverse.

Ethnic backgrounds are not noticeable at first sight but may become visible in classroom
discussions. The students respect these kinds of cultural differences in the classroom.

Most of the students are unmarried and live with their families.

Students income levels may vary.

Q2) What instructional methods do you use in classes, and which method do you think
works best for the majority of students?
Rationale: I asked this question because I wanted to check if the instructional methods I
plan to use would work for the students. I also wanted to find out whether I will be
exposing the students to a completely new method.
Information:

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The instructor mostly uses the lecture technique. She also benefits from narrative learning
as the topic and time allow. Students like learning by listening to the instructor instead of
reading long text chapters.

Discussions are also preferred by the students. However, time constrict doesnt allow to
have discussion sessions very often. Discussions are needed to be carefully facilitated
because they can easily can go off topic.

Students also enjoy learning in groups.

Q3) What would you say about students participations in classroom activities? All
students show the willingness to participate in classroom activities.
Rationale: This question intended to determine students attitudes toward the learning
activities that require their active participations.
Information:

There are few students who exhibit shyness or lack of confidence to participate in
activities. In the evening classes willingness to participate in activities is particularly
observed because some students in this group have a full-time or part-time job.
Additionally, class hours dont help student to be vibrant.

Overall, the instructor finds student participation sufficient, especially in the daytime
classes.

Q4) What motivate the students to study or complete assignments?

Rationale: This question was asked to get an understanding of major factors that
motivate this group of students.
Information:

Grades have a motivational influence on students.

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The teachers support and care also helpful in keeping students motivated.

Q5) How do you assess learning?

Rationale: With this question, I wanted to determine the assessment methods that
students are familiar with
Information:

Learning is assessed through the mid-term and final exams (summative assessment).

The instructor also uses formative assessment techniques to monitor student learning. She
asks reflective questions to check students understanding and sometimes assigns
homework.

Q6) What specific mistakes do students regularly make in exams or assignments?

Rationale: I thought knowing what types of mistakes students make in their learning
would be beneficial in order to design the instruction in a way that helps students to stay
away from these mistakes.
Information:

Students sometimes hurry to finish the exam or complete the assignment, or answer the
questions without fully understanding it.

Q7) Any specific points you want to highlight?

Rationale: With this question, I wanted to learn if there is any specific factor that would
impact students learning.
Information:

Since Office Administration is a female dominant profession, there are very less male
students. Some male students may feel uncomfortable for being in minority group.

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Most of the students are good at using the technology.

Implications
The data gathered from the schools database and the program instructor offer some

valuable implications:
1) The examples and language used in the instruction will be suitable for the college level
students, and also related to the shared cultural value and beliefs.
2) The instruction will make sure to address male students who are the minority group in
the program. For example, if the instructor has the class to watch an interview video to analyze,
the interviewee can be male.
3) Absence rates are high and engagement level is low in the evening class. Therefore,
the workshops should be scheduled for the best time for this group of learners.
4) Students English proficiency levels dont support using materials in English. I think,
it is okay to use some related terminology in English, however, the content and resources should
be in Turkish.
5) Since the students enjoy listening to lectures and having discussions, the instruction
will benefit from these two methods. Classroom activities that require pair/group work will also
be added into the workshops. The activities will be carefully designed to create a safe learning
environment to encourage shy students to participate.
6) I learned that instructors care is an important motivational tool for the students and
they are used to be assessed formatively. Instruction will have quick learning check sheets and
questions and answer time at the end of each learning section in order to assess learning and
foster retention. The instructor will also be checking learning verbally during the workshops and

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provide feedback. At the end of each learning module, the students will demonstrate knowledge
or skill they have gained.
7) Learning activities will be instructed both verbally and written to make sure that the
learners fully understand what they are expected to do. Students will be given sufficient time to
complete learning activities.
Conclusion

The audience analysis provided me with valuable information that will guide me in
developing the instruction. Briefly, the survey results showed me that an instruction that allows
students active participation along with generous amount of feedback would meet students both
articulated and implied expectations of a training about job search preparation.

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References
Arvind, H. & Israrul, M. (2008). Impact of locus of control, trainer's effectiveness & training
design on learning. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations. 44(1)
Broedling, L.A. (1975), "Relationship of Internal-External Control to Work Motivation and
Performance in an Expectancy Model", Journal of Applied Psychology, 60: 65-70.
Dick, W., Carey, L.,& Carey, J.O. (2009). The Systematic Design of Instruction. Upper Saddle
River, N.J: Merrill/Pearson.
Merriam, S.B., Cafferalla, R.S., & Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood: A
Comprehensive Guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions and new
directions. Contemporary educational Psychology, 25, 5467.
Semeijn, J., Velden, R.,& Boone, C. (2000). Personality Characteristics and Labour Market
Entry an exploration. Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. Faculty of
Economics and Business Administration Maastricht University.
Smith, P.L.& Ragan, T.J. (2005). Instructional Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Willey & Sons.

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APPENDIX

JOB SEARCH PREPARATION SURVEY

1-

I currently have a full-time/part time job.

Yes
No

2-

I am searching for a job/ an internship.

Yes
No

3-

I have taken a formal training or assistance in resume writing.

Yes
No

4-

I have taken a formal training or assistance in interview techniques.

Yes
No

5-

Please list three of the most important information your resume should cover.
a)
b)
c)

6-

Please list three job search strategies.

a)
b)
c)

7-

I have had a job/internship interview before.

(If your answer is yes, please answer question 8, 9 and 10 and then go to question 14. If
your answer is no, please skip to question 11.)
Yes

No

Question
8- When I reflect on my previous
interview(s), I believe that I was able to
control and reduce my stress during the
interview.
9- When I reflect on my previous
interview(s), I believe that I was able to
express myself clearly during the
interview.

1
Strongly
agree

2
agree

3
4
5
neutral disagree strongly
disagree

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Question

1
Strongly
agree

2
agree

3
4
5
neutral disagree strongly
disagree

10- When I reflect on my previous

interview(s), I believe that I was able to
put my knowledge about interview
techniques and strategies to use.
11- I believe I would be able to control
and reduce my stress during an interview.
12- I believe I would be able to express
myself clearly in an interview.
13- I believe I would be able to put my
current knowledge about interview
techniques and strategies to use in a job
interview.
14- I believe that preparing well before a
job application strongly affects the
possibility of getting a job offer.
15- I believe that a training on job search
preparation would provide me with the
necessary knowledge and skills that I can
utilize in my job search journey.

Note (optional): If you have any additional comments, please write them here.

Name (optional):
Class-section:
Date:
Thanks for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.