December 21, 2011

We’ve discussed how useful technology and access to high-speed Internet is to help college students succeed and to also create jobs, but now a recent Jobvite survey shows how vital high-speed Internet access is to bridging the two into the next step in every college grad’s life — finding a job.

According to a recent Jobvite survey, 15% of those surveyed (22 million people) used social networking tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to land their current jobs. Furthermore, 54% of those surveyed have utilized social media in their current search. In fact, 18.4 million Americans alone found their current jobs through Facebook.

The Digital Divide Prevents Some Jobseekers From Job Opportunities

However, this has negative implications for those who, due to the digital divide, do not have ready access to high-speed Internet. How can they search Craigslist, post resumes to Monster.com or email completed applications?

Without ready access to high-speed Internet, many prospective job seekers are at a major disadvantage due to employers’ ever-increasing reliance on social networks for hiring. Even access to dial-up Internet service puts jobseekers a step behind because of the high-speed Internet-reliant features that social networks like Facebook and Twitter require.

While the technological world is making great strides with connecting people — including in this case employers to potential applicants — we still need to address the issue of guaranteed access to high-speed Internet to ensure that the Internet have-nots in San Francisco and also all across the nation are not left behind.