This 3-wave longitudinal study aimed to extend current understanding of the predictors and outcomes of employee proactivity (involving information seeking, feedback seeking, relationship building, and positive framing) in the socialization process. Two personality variables, extraversion and openness to experience, were associated with higher levels of proactive socialization behavior. Of the proactive behaviors studied, feedback seeking and relationship building were highlighted in their importance because of their various relationships with the work-related outcomes assessed in this study (e.g., social integration, role clarity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and actual turnover). The results also highlighted the importance of 2 control variables (opportunity to interact with others on the job and skill level of the new job) in the experience of socialization into a new job.

Organizational socialization is the process by which “a person secures relevant job skills, acquires a functional level of organizational understanding, attains supportive social interactions with coworkers, and generally accepts the established ways of a particular organization” (Taormina, 1997, p. 29). Because successful employee socialization has been linked to increased commitment, job satisfaction, intentions to remain with the organization, and job performance, researchers have generally agreed on the need to understand the socialization process. It may be argued, however, that the need to understand the process and outcomes of socialization is now at a premium as a consequence of major changes that have occurred within the workplace. For example, because of the prevalence of organizational downsizing and reorganizing, employees are now changing jobs at a higher rate than ever before. Many employees now see “job hopping” as a strategy for staying competitive in their careers, with the thought that working for different organizations will allow them to develop their skills and credentials (Hall, 1996). Employees have to adjust and adapt to new settings more than ever before, and at the same time,...