Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Apply principles of psychology to personnel, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. Activities may include policy planning; employee screening, training and development; and organizational development and analysis. May work with management to reorganize the work setting to improve worker productivity.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.

• Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.

• Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.

• Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, in order to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.

• Facilitate organizational development and change.

• Assess employee performance.

• Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.

• Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, and promotion.

• Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.

• Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, and motivation in order to assess organizational functioning.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

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Knowledge

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• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

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Skills

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• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

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Abilities

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• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Originality
  The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Provide Consultation and Advice to Others
  Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
  Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
  Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

• Processing Information
  Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Analyzing Data or Information
  Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

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Work Context

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

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Interests

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• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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Work Styles

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Variety
  Workers on this job have something different to do every day.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

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