Kontakter – Nyckeln till arbetslivet? -En kvalitativ fallstudie om sociologistudenters användning av ett socialt nätverk företablering på arbetsmarknaden

• Main Authors: Ekström, Linnea, Strand, Alexander
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap 2020
• Subjects: Social network; social capital; gender; sociology; labor market; contacts; newly graduated; establish; Sociology; Sociologi
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-89555

In the year of 2035, it is expected that Sweden will have a surplus of 10 000 people educatedwithin human resources and behavioral sciences as a result of an increase in popularity for nonvocationaleducations. As a result, many graduates will not have the opportunity to work intheir area of competence. Studies show that contacts often are crucial for newly graduatedstudents to find work. The aims of this study are to find an understanding of how newlygraduated sociology students experience the importance of contacts; which parts of the socialnetwork that are used; and how they use their social network to establish themselves in the labormarket. Differences in how males and females use their social network are also examined.Previous findings show that social network and social capital are critical components of anindividual’s job search in a saturated labor market. Using qualitative semi-structured interviewsand analysis with theories about social network, social capital, and gender, this study finds thata majority of the respondent’s social network comes from previous workplaces and contactsfrom the university. This study shows that social network is important for gaining access to andestablishing oneself in the labor market; that social capital differs during the respondent career;and that women and men use their social network in gender differentiated ways.