How peers’ updates on social media influence job search

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which social media content via social contagion may affect the job behaviors of employed individuals. Specifically, by integrating the unfolding model of voluntary turnover and social comparison theory, this paper explores whether receiving an update about a peer’s career advancement on professional social networking sites (SNSs) increases an individual’s propensity to engage in job search. Design/methodology/approach In this analysis, the authors matched individuals’ survey data (n=125) with information received from a recruiting agency on employees’ subsequent job search behavior (i.e., sending a resume to the agency). Findings The results indicate that the relationship between career advancement updates on SNSs and job search behavior was stronger for employees with higher perceived employability and, contrary to our hypothesis, for those more embedded within the organization. Practical implications More employable and more embedded individuals perceive social cues from social media, and these cues positively relate to their job search behaviors. To address this trend, organizations could develop a social media strategy and implement retention measures to prevent the job search (and thus potential turnover) of employable and embedded individuals. Originality/value This research contributes to the job search literature by examining the role of professional SNSs in driving job search behavior among employed individuals.

Corporate opinion leadership on professional social media

“…Our findings draw conclusions on corporate opinion leaders who impact not only prospective clients (Lewin et al, 2011), but also future candidates. Thanks to corporate followers, companies can improve their business performance through talent acquisition, because professional networking platforms enable them to communicate with prospective candidates, that is, not only those who are looking for a job, but also those who are employed by competitors and occasionally consider a job change (Sender and Korzynski, 2019).…”

Social Capital and Job Search Behavior in the Services Industry: Online Social Networks Perspective

“…However, studies within this perspective suggest that the greater a job-seekers' social capital is, the better information they would have, and more likely, it would lead to finding a job (Mowbray & Hall, 2021;Porter & Woo, 2015;Weiler et al, 2022). Regardless, we still need to know which job-seekers online social network activities promote their social capital accumulation and lead to job acquisition (Mowbray & Hall, 2021;Sender & Korzynski, 2020).…”

Pressure from social media: influence of social media usage on career exploration

“…Nevertheless, recent research calls for the need to explore the influence of social media on individual career management (Davis et al, 2020;Johnson and Leo, 2020;Pena et al, 2022;Ruparel et al, 2023;Sender and Korzynski, 2020). As Akkermans and Kubasch (2017) suggested, "our knowledge of the role of social media networks in career development is still very limited" (p. 603).…”

“…Career-oriented social media usage refers to the frequency of viewing career-related posts and updates of friends and acquaintances, which captures the intensity of attention paid to such issues on social media. According to Davis et al (2020), this is a kind of passive social media usage that includes consumptive behaviors, such as browsing career-related content on social media (Lee, 2014;Park and Baek, 2018;Sender and Korzynski, 2020;Wang et al, 2017). Given that platforms provide ample opportunities for impression management, social media are filled with positive representations that may be exaggerated or idealized (Davis et al, 2020;Walther, 2007;Wang et al, 2017), which are likely to evoke upward social comparison (i.e.…”

“…According to social comparison theory, upward comparison is likely to lead to anxiety (Shaw et al, 2015). As such, we expect that career-oriented social media usage might provide career information and job opportunities while also increasing career anxiety since peers' elaborate updates about career development in social media can easily become the job seekers' focus of attention and reference for upward comparisons (Sender and Korzynski, 2020).…”