TRANSFER OF TRAINING: WRITTEN SELF-GUIDANCE TO INCREASE SELF-EFFICACY AND INTERVIEWING PERFORMANCE OF JOB SEEKERS AMANDA SHANTZ AND GARY P. LATHAM Subsequent to training IT professionals (n = 35) in skills for performing ef- fectively in a selection interview, 16 were randomly assigned to a transfer of training intervention, written self-guidance (WSG). This methodology is based on social cognitive and self-persuasion theories. The results showed that WSG resulted in significantly higher ratings from an interviewer than did those in the control group. Self-efficacy for interviewing skill mediated the relationship between WSG and performance. A content analysis of the WSG letters showed that the use of self-affirming and self-relevant statements was positively related to performance in the selection interview. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: training and development, self-efficacy A perennial issue facing organiza- tions is the transfer of training problem (Baldwin & Ford, 1988). Specifically, employees frequently fail to apply the knowledge and skills they learned during training to their jobs (Blume, Ford, Baldwin, & Huang, 2010; Latham, 1988; Latham & Crandall, 1991). Consequently, monetary investments in train- ees frequently yield deficient results. Thus, transfer of training continues to be an impor- tant concern for human resource managers in the twenty-first century (Baldwin, Ford, & Blume, 2009; Saks & Belcourt, 2006). At least two theories suggest frame- works for designing an intervention that overcomes the transfer of training problem. Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory stresses the importance of self-efficacy for effectively applying the skills acquired in a training program on the job. Perceived self- efficacy refers to “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to manage prospective situations. Correspondence to: Amanda Shantz, School of Human Resource Management, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Phone: 416.736.5806, Fax: 416.736.5188, E-mail: shantza@yorku.ca Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management, September–October 2012, Vol. 51, No. 5. Pp. 733–746 © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI:10.1002/hrm.21497 HRM21497.indd 733 HRM21497.indd 733 13/08/12 6:03 PM 13/08/12 6:03 PM