Many companies post their job openings on Facebook or share them on Twitter.

And social networks are also used when selecting candidates: Even in the early years of Facebook, it was good manners in application training to point out not to upload embarrassing photos, as potential employers could see them.

But even if the networks in the modern working world play a role in the search, this is mostly of secondary importance.

They are not designed to search for jobs, nor to find suitable candidates.

Social networks such as Linkedin or the German counterpart Xing, on the other hand, take a different position.

They are platforms on which professional networks can link or individuals can aggressively present themselves - such as Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of the energy company Eon, who shows pictures of his mountaineering tours on Linkedin.

However, there is always criticism of this interaction.

The comedian Max St. John, for example, posted a video on Tiktok in March that demanded "Shutting up on Linkedin" in the style of an infomercial, i.e. something like: "Shut up on Linkedin".

Instead of writing about "nonsense", users should rather use the platform again for job hunting.

As soon as you create a user account, the service shows initial suggestions for vacancies that companies have hired.

At first glance, they even seem comparatively appropriate: Anyone who enters the profession of journalist in their CV will receive offers from newspapers or marketing agencies.

On closer inspection, however, many of these offers turn out to be – often unpaid – internships.

Depending on the professional situation, this can be an advantage, but also a disadvantage.

In any case, the job offers alone do not set Linkedin and Xing apart from other job search websites.

Most scientific studies on career platforms, which mostly refer to Linkedin due to its greater international relevance, primarily consider the influence of networks - and not,

Marketplace for Vitamin B

For example, Rajiv Garg, a professor at the McCombs School of Business in Texas, concluded that having strong connections is key.

This means not only being nominally connected to others on the platform, but actually being in exchange.

In this respect, Linkedin goes beyond classic job exchanges.

Because the offers are no longer automated here, but informal.

Either because a connection posts the job offer or because users find out about it in a personal conversation.

In a way, the network becomes a marketplace for so-called vitamin B, i.e. personal relationships and recommendations.

Rajiv Garg comes to the conclusion that

that people with strong professional connections are more likely to be invited to job interviews and find work via Linkedin – in part because employers can follow up on mutual contacts.

For this reason, Garg recommends only having a small circle of contacts on Linkedin, but with whom there is regular contact.

The results of his investigation can very likely be transferred to Xing due to the functional similarity.

That personal connections can help is not surprising and is not new.

The only new thing here is the technical infrastructure, which makes it easier for job seekers and companies to identify the connections.

However, this is a disadvantage for people who are just starting their careers and have not yet built up a network.

However, an account with Linkedin or Xing is not only used for active job searches.

On the contrary, companies are increasingly searching the platforms for suitable candidates.

A research team led by Tanja Koch came to the conclusion in 2017 that Linkedin is increasingly becoming an important part of the international recruiting process.

Actively searching for candidates - instead of passively waiting for applications - is not new.

However, it is more efficient for companies due to the clarity of LinkedIn or Xing.

In addition, companies can often get a better impression of candidates.

Although recruiting, especially for higher positions, takes place primarily on specialized platforms, other social networks are also becoming increasingly important - for example when recruiting young people for entry-level positions and apprenticeships.

Here, in turn, Tiktok is apparently playing an increasingly important role.

Countless articles can be found online on how employees can be recruited effectively there – even if this is likely to be a particular challenge due to the video format.