Is social media the new employment referral?
Perceptions of early career talent
Keywords:
Referrals, Social Media, Internet, Employment, UniversitiesAbstract
Referrals are individuals’ whose employment suitability for desired roles has been validated referrers. Traditionally, referrers were individuals whom referrals know in real life (IRL). Referrers are also known to hiring authorities and can vouch for the referrals’ employment credentials. Hence, referrals’ employment applications are viewed more favorably than applicants who are not referrals. However, the internet/social media also serves as a referrer for applicants’ employment qualifications. That is, people’s employment attributes can be validated by their internet/social media activity and engagement with followers. They may not know their followers IRL and hiring authorities may not know the applicants’ followers IRL, either. Nevertheless, applicants’ internet/social media engagement can serve as a referral for their qualifications. This study investigates how early career individuals perceive internet/social media activity as evidence of applicants’ employment attributes and, thus, a referral method for employment opportunities. The study broadens research on referrals by including applicants’ internet/social media activity and provides practical strategies to enhance early career individuals’ employment strategies.
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