Self-efficacy is a useful construct in vocational psychology because it helps us conceptualize client issues, interventions to address those issues, and instrumentation to assess vocational status and improvement. This article details two separate studies with veterans seeking vocational assistance within a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center. In both studies, the interventions themselves were designed around the strengthening of specific self-efficacy expectations. In the first study, patients' efficacy regarding general job search and decision-making behaviors was targeted using little more than traditional résumé preparation. In the second study, personality and cognitive functioning test feedback provided a platform to discuss difficult personality issues, their usual manifestation in the patient's work life, and the patient's efficacy about integrating this information in future career decision-making, job seeking, and work. In both studies, moderate to large effect sizes supported the effectiveness of our interventions.
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