Abstract
Social media are powerful networking platforms that provide users with significant information opportunities. Despite this, little is known about their impact on job search behaviour. Here, interview (participants = 7), focus group (participants = 6) and survey ( n = 558) data supplied by young jobseekers in Scotland were analysed to investigate the role of social media in job search. The findings show that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the most popular platforms for this purpose, and that the type of job sought influences the direction of user behaviour. Frequent social media use for job search is linked with interview invitations. The study also reveals that although most jobseekers use social media for job search sparingly, they are much more likely to do so if advised by a professional. Combined, the findings represent a crucial base of knowledge which can inform careers policy and be used as a platform for further research.
Highlights
It has been argued that social media platforms facilitate membership of multiple social networks and that these – coupled with widespread access to mobile devices – provide access to ‘information gathering capacities that dwarf those of the past’ [1]
Despite the widespread use of social media use in the United Kingdom, and the belief that it has greatly expanded our capacity for networking and information pooling, few academic studies have previously addressed its impact on the process of job search
In terms of key findings, this study has established that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the most popular social media platforms for job search among 16–24 year olds in Scotland and that they are mostly used as supplementary information sources during job search
Summary
It has been argued that social media platforms facilitate membership of multiple social networks and that these – coupled with widespread access to mobile devices – provide access to ‘information gathering capacities that dwarf those of the past’ [1]. This claim is well-grounded in the UK context, where the most recent figures show that 100% of 16–24 year olds access the Internet ‘on the go’, and 98% use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter [2]. Prominent contributors to the job search literature have called for a deeper understanding of the specific information sources people use when they seek access to the labour market [5,6]
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