Network and Networking in Job Seeking: A Comparative Study on College Seniors in the United States and China (2015)
Undergraduate: Ashelee Yang
Faculty Advisor: Yong Cai
Department: Sociology
It has been well observed that patterns of social network utilization are very different in China than those in the United States. Previous research explains this difference by addressing structural distinctions, while a few scholars point out that culture may also be an important factor. However, the way how culture functions remains largely unexplained. With a more process-based approach, this study explores the role of culture by comparing how college seniors in the United States and in China utilize social networks when they are looking for jobs. In-depth interviews are conducted respectively with college seniors from two elite public universities in the U.S. and China (n=15 for the U.S. and n=20 for China). Data is also collected from 62 job-seeking related posts written by Chinese college seniors who posted on the university¿¿¿s online forum from 2010 to 2014. Interview transcripts and online posts are analyzed using software MAXQDA11. The results suggest that the observed disparity may be explained by the nuanced influence culture exerts in networking practices: their definition and interpretation of network, networking and network utilization are very different. Therefore, even if Chinese respondents report more utilization of intimate and influential ties, it can be explained by the finding that weak and informational connections are not considered as a part of the networking process.