The use of social media in reducing professional uncertainty: an exploratory study

The born-digital youth are likely to experience substantial career uncertainty despite their apparent preference for work engagement. Today’s high unemployment rates, fierce global competition, growing labor automation, and enduring social inequalities create a somewhat uncertain and risky professional reality. How do digital natives deal with professional uncertainty during their transition from the safety of the university environment to the uncertainty of business? While a great deal of research has explored how recruiters use social media to review job applicants, less is known how digital natives use social media in seeking information to increase their employment prospects. The objective of this exploratory study is to contribute to the existing literature of critical studies on youth transitions from education to work. Primarily, a discussion of the characteristics of the new breed of job candidates who are born and raised digital is performed through a secondary literature review. Also, the current review paper provides suggestions for future research to better understand digital natives’ attitude to cope with occupational uncertainty. This paper argues that social media has the potential to reduce uncertainty and to offer unique occupational opportunities through online personal branding.