diff --git a/src/Admin/JobMetaboxes.php b/src/Admin/JobMetaboxes.php
index bf64a9b..41a6ba6 100644
--- a/src/Admin/JobMetaboxes.php
+++ b/src/Admin/JobMetaboxes.php
@@ -175,8 +175,9 @@ class JobMetaboxes {
      * @param \WP_Post $post The post object.
      */
     public function render_linked_assessment_metabox( $post ) {
+        // Use the correct meta key as defined in meta-fields.md
+        $linked_assessment_id = \get_post_meta( $post->ID, '_quiztech_associated_assessment_id', true );
         \wp_nonce_field( 'quiztech_save_linked_assessment_meta', 'quiztech_linked_assessment_nonce' );
-        $linked_assessment_id = \get_post_meta( $post->ID, '_quiztech_linked_assessment_id', true );
 
         $assessments_query = new \WP_Query( [
             'post_type'      => 'assessment',
@@ -186,23 +187,25 @@ class JobMetaboxes {
             'order'          => 'ASC',
         ] );
 
-        echo '<label for="quiztech_linked_assessment_field">';
+        // Output raw HTML, not entities
+        echo '<label for="quiztech_linked_assessment_field">';
         \esc_html_e( 'Select the assessment for this job:', 'quiztech' );
-        echo '&lt;/label&gt;&lt;br /&gt;';
+        echo '</label><br />';
 
         if ( $assessments_query->have_posts() ) {
-            echo '&lt;select name="quiztech_linked_assessment_field" id="quiztech_linked_assessment_field" class="widefat"&gt;';
-            echo '&lt;option value=""&gt;' . \esc_html__( '-- None --', 'quiztech' ) . '&lt;/option&gt;';
+            echo '<select name="quiztech_linked_assessment_field" id="quiztech_linked_assessment_field" class="widefat">';
+            echo '<option value="">' . \esc_html__( '-- None --', 'quiztech' ) . '</option>';
             while ( $assessments_query->have_posts() ) {
                 $assessments_query->the_post();
                 $assessment_id = \get_the_ID();
                 $assessment_title = \get_the_title();
-                echo '&lt;option value="' . \esc_attr( $assessment_id ) . '" ' . \selected( $linked_assessment_id, $assessment_id, false ) . '&gt;' . \esc_html( $assessment_title ) . '&lt;/option&gt;';
+                // Use selected() for cleaner attribute generation
+                echo '<option value="' . \esc_attr( $assessment_id ) . '" ' . \selected( $linked_assessment_id, $assessment_id, false ) . '>' . \esc_html( $assessment_title ) . '</option>';
             }
-            echo '&lt;/select&gt;';
+            echo '</select>';
             \wp_reset_postdata();
         } else {
-            echo '&lt;p&gt;' . \esc_html__( 'No assessments found. Please create an assessment first.', 'quiztech' ) . '&lt;/p&gt;';
+            echo '<p>' . \esc_html__( 'No assessments found. Please create an assessment first.', 'quiztech' ) . '</p>';
         }
     }
 
@@ -218,17 +221,18 @@ class JobMetaboxes {
         if ( ! \current_user_can( 'edit_post', $post_id ) ) { return; }
         // No need to check post type here, as the action is specific ('save_post_job')
 
+        // Use the correct meta key
+        $meta_key = '_quiztech_associated_assessment_id';
+
         // Field check and sanitize
         if ( isset( $_POST['quiztech_linked_assessment_field'] ) ) {
             $assessment_id = \sanitize_text_field( \wp_unslash( $_POST['quiztech_linked_assessment_field'] ) );
+            // Ensure empty string is saved if '-- None --' is selected, otherwise sanitize as integer
             $assessment_id = '' === $assessment_id ? '' : \absint( $assessment_id );
-            \update_post_meta( $post_id, '_quiztech_linked_assessment_id', $assessment_id );
+            \update_post_meta( $post_id, $meta_key, $assessment_id );
         } else {
-            // If the field isn't submitted (e.g., if the metabox wasn't rendered for some reason),
-            // we might want to delete the meta key to ensure no stale data persists.
-            // However, typically, if the field exists and is submitted empty, the above logic handles it (sets to '').
-            // Let's delete it if it's not set in POST, assuming the metabox should always be present on save.
-            \delete_post_meta( $post_id, '_quiztech_linked_assessment_id' );
+            // If the field isn't submitted, delete the meta key to ensure no stale data persists.
+            \delete_post_meta( $post_id, $meta_key );
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file