Handlar det om vad du kan – eller vem du känner? : En kvalitativ studie om det sociala nätverkets betydelse vid jobbsökande

Sammanfattning

This study examines how university students perceive the significance of social networks in the search for part-time jobs, and how access to these networks is shaped by power and social background. The study is based on the assumption that part-time jobs during the study period constitute an important entry into working life, but that the possibility of obtaining such jobs is determined not only by merits but also by who one knows. The study is theoretically grounded in Bourdieu’s concept of social capital and Elias and Scotson’s theory of the established and the outsiders. The empirical material is based on semi-structured interviews with ten university students. The results show how social networks function as a central resource in the job search and how access is unequally distributed. In the analysis, three empirically emerging subthemes are identified that make visible different positions in relation to social networks: inside, between, and outside. Students in the inside position have strong, inherited social networks that provide direct access to part-time jobs, the between position is characterised by more limited and context-bound networks, while the outside position consists of students who lack relevant contacts and to a greater extent rely on formal application channels and previous work experience. The study shows that social networks in this life phase are to a large extent inherited, context-bound, and function as a power resource that affects both opportunities for part-time jobs and experiences of justice. This contributes to a deeper understanding of how inequality in access to social networks is shaped early in the establishment process and how these can function as an informal power structure in the search for part-time jobs.