Expectancy Violations Theory tries to explain why people react differently to unforeseen conduct. Social norms and particular qualities of communicators are the basis for expectations and Expectancy Violations Theory is often applied in real-life situations like when individuals are searching for employment.
In the modern world, when looking for a job one must have the courage to act in their own style if they want to find a job like mine. I was a bundle of butterflies the entire interview since I wanted to leave a good impression. So, after my interview, I wrote cards to each of them, thanking them for their time and mentioning a specific subject we had discussed. When I went up to drop the cards, I was worried I would run into one of them. Moreover, I had never done it before, and I was also uncertain about how I did in the interview and how they perceived me. With a wide grin on the receptionist’s face, she accepted the cards and announced that she would put in a good word for me which made me feel so brave. This real-life situation is an excellent example of how the Expectancy Violations Theory affects job seekers during the job searching process.
While searching for employment, the Expectancy Violations theory induces arousal and requires the recipient to begin several cognitive appraisals of the violation. In accordance with the theory, expectancy will have an impact on the communication’s outcome, either favorably or unfavorably, and decent violations will make the violator more appealing, while negative violations will make them less desirable (Griffin et al., 2012). The Expectancy Violations Theory is essential for comprehending the job search process. According to surveys, job seekers have specific expectations linked to their employment, such as the demand for significant work experience, flexible work schedules, and incentives for quick promotion.
The expectation violations theory of communication explains how individuals respond to expectations being violated during communication encounters, which makes it an excellent fit for examining how job seekers communicate regarding expectations being violated during job hunting. Any discrepancy from a held expectation is regarded as an expectation violation, and the expectation violations theory asserts that in the context of job searching, violations should intrigue the job seeker’s interest or attention and trigger defensive or coping mechanisms to cope with the variance, causing a distraction, before evaluating the violation. Often job searchers, those with high expectations for their job search, devote less time searching for work than those with lower expectations. This is presumably because they assume they will be successful in getting employment. However, a person’s job-searching techniques change when an expectancy violation occurs, such as when they don’t find a job as quickly as expected.
In general, human beings need affiliation, which reflects the need to be acknowledged and appreciated in social interactions, such as impressions made during interview sessions, which are essential when trying to find employment that fits the organizational culture and societal expectations of job candidates (White, 2021). The need for the association may be magnified by the presence of rewards within the communication context. Therefore, in job searching, the possibilities for rewards are high throughout the entire job search process, as the job applicant is trying to get hired, which would translate to a reward when perceived through the perspective of the Expectancy Violation Theory.
The behaviors appropriate for a situation and relevant instances of what a person knows to be expected are tied to expectations, which is vital to keep in mind. It is conventional to receive confirmation that an application has been filed successfully when applying for jobs; failing to do so could be seen as a violation by the job applicant under the Expectancy Violation Theory. Feedback in the context of job searching can be interpreted positively or negatively, and feedback in this context includes appointments to interviews, comments regarding the level of experience, and acceptance or rejection for a job. Job seekers may become disheartened and feel like a failure when their career expectations do not correspond to reality, which may stop them from continuing their search for employment (Griffin et al., 2012). This illustrates the expectancy violations theory’s influence on the job-seeking process.
The Expectancy Violation Theory suggests that recipients will react favorably to attempts by the communicator to increase contact in high-reward interactions, such as between a hiring manager and a job applicant. On the other hand, if the hiring manager fails to respond to or talk to the job candidate, the candidate may compensate for the lack of communication by modifying their communication tactics (Smith, 2017). To add to the knowledge base already written about job-searching, expectancy violation theory offers a theoretical framework that can assist in interpreting the different types of communicative violations that occur throughout the process.
Inexperienced job seekers might not have had the time or expertise to develop realistic expectations, resulting in more violations throughout the hiring process. Positive feedback from prospective employers is classified as a positive expectancy violation because participants said they were “pleasantly surprised” and “happy” to receive this kind of feedback from employers, who are perceived as extremely rewarding people in this context, in line with Expectancy Violations Theory. Participants frequently use compensatory communication techniques to address negative expectancy breaches to correct the violation. When job seekers’ rights are directly infringed, they either give up looking for work by accepting a position or spend less time looking. Receiving good feedback encourages job searchers to believe that what they are doing is effective, and as a result, they spend less time looking for chances that might not pan out and more time following up on their employment leads. Overall, it is crucial to comprehend how the Expectancy Violations Theory functions to completely comprehend the evolution of how expectations are established, the violations that occur throughout the job search, and how job seekers should modify their communication after a violation.
References
Griffin, E. M., Ledbetter, Andrew., & Sparks, Glenn. (2012). A first look at communication Theory. (11th). McGraw-Hill Education
Smith, S. A. (2017). Job-searching expectations, expectancy violations, and communication strategies of recent college graduates. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 80(3), 296–320. Web.
White, C. H. (2021). Expectancy violations theory and interaction adaptation theory. Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication, 158–170. Web.