The diverging effects of social network sites on receiving job information for students and professionals

An increasing number of students, professionals and job-recruiters are using Social Network Sites (SNSs) for sharing information. Limited research has been done in order to assess the role of individuals seeking a job and receiving information about job openings in SNSs. To what extent do students, non-managers, and managers benefit from job offers when they are member of SNSs like Facebook or LinkedIn? How can differences in receiving information about job openings be explained by the strength-of-weak-ties and structural holes theorems? The results of an online survey among 386 respondents indicate that users of SNSs with more contacts are more likely to receive information about job openings than others. Most information about job openings was transmitted via LinkedIn to professionals. Regression analyses indicate that LinkedIn professionals with more links are more likely to information about a job opening. In contrast, the structural holes theory is not supported in our setting. Higher education should actively encourage and train students to use LinkedIn to enhance their employability. Furthermore, organisations should consider that new generation graduates use technology for different tasks and with different people than professionals