Project MINECO DDOL

Digital inequality and job opportunities: study of the use of online platforms for job searches in Spain (DDOL)

The main purpose of this project is to test the hypotheses of the third digital divide in relation to the uses of the internet aimed at finding employment. The third gap is related to the social difference between expert knowledge and so-called social knowledge, i.e. between the contributions that exist in the network of specialists and all the information of little value that circulates on the internet, recently promoted by social networks.

Specifically, the aim is to study the relationship between the digital resources of internet users, understood in terms of digital skills and the ability to increase their online reputation, and the benefits obtained from the use of online platforms for social networks of a working nature. These benefits would be related to the possibility of finding a job or improving one is working position such as position, salary or hours. To meet the objectives of this research, it has been decided to focus on the Spanish case study and analyse LinkedIn, the well-known online platform for social networks in the workplace.

 OBJECTIVES

  • To study whether the offline resources of Internet users have an impact on their digital skills, including offline communication skills.
  • To observe the impact of offline resources and digital skills of users of online platforms for social networks for work purposes on their ability to increase their online reputation.
  • Study how the ability of users of these platforms to increase their online reputation affects the possibility of improving their job position.
  • Understand which strategies are most successful in finding work through social networking sites.
  • Analyse whether the criteria adopted by human resources technicians who use these platforms for recruitment processes are influenced by the candidates’ abilities to increase their online reputation.

Partners: Universidad de Salamanca, Universidad de Oviedo, IESE Business School, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Twente.

UNIR teams: School of Engineering and Technology (ESIT), UNIR iTED

Contract reference: RTI2018-098967-A-I00

 

Time span: 2020-2021

Funding type: National public