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Career Planning in the Digital Age - A Qualitative Focus Group Study Exploring Master’s Students’ Perceptions of LinkedIn

Lawesson, Ebba LU and de Iscar, Sara LU (2025) MGTN59 20251
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Digital platforms have become a crucial tool for career planning, especially for young people
in the beginning of their careers. Today’s students must navigate numerous career options while
adapting to new digital norms around personal branding and showcasing success. These
platforms provide valuable opportunities for inspiration and building a professional identity,
enhancing career planning. However, studies also show that platforms like LinkedIn contribute
to feelings of pressure and anxiety about self-presentation, success, and career trajectories.
Existing research often focuses on individual factors, such as how individuals perceive and use
digital platforms for career planning, including setting goals and developing... (More)
Digital platforms have become a crucial tool for career planning, especially for young people
in the beginning of their careers. Today’s students must navigate numerous career options while
adapting to new digital norms around personal branding and showcasing success. These
platforms provide valuable opportunities for inspiration and building a professional identity,
enhancing career planning. However, studies also show that platforms like LinkedIn contribute
to feelings of pressure and anxiety about self-presentation, success, and career trajectories.
Existing research often focuses on individual factors, such as how individuals perceive and use
digital platforms for career planning, including setting goals and developing strategies.
However, few studies combine several factors to explore how they intersect in understanding
the phenomenon.
This study aims to explore how business students perceive and experience LinkedIn in relation
to career planning, through the application of relevant theory and concepts on self-presentation,
personal branding, digital platforms, and the socio-cultural dynamics of today’s job market.
Through a focus group approach, the study seeks to capture collective insights into this
phenomenon. Additionally, the research aims to provide valuable observations for university
career services, helping students navigate and reflect on their LinkedIn usage and its emotional
and cognitive effects.
The findings reveal that LinkedIn’s influence on career planning is shaped by multiple
intersecting factors. While certain features of LinkedIn offer useful tools for career planning,
other factors can lead to feelings of demotivation, anxiety, and stress. LinkedIn encourages
strategies for personal branding and showcasing success, but these approaches can often feel
generic and inauthentic. The results highlight the complex, dual nature of LinkedIn in career planning, demonstrating both its empowering potential and the challenges it presents. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lawesson, Ebba LU and de Iscar, Sara LU
supervisor
organization
course
MGTN59 20251
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Career Planning, LinkedIn, Digital Platforms, Self-Presentation, Personal Branding, Social Comparison
language
English
id
9206342
date added to LUP
2025-06-27 14:14:20
date last changed
2025-06-27 14:14:20
@misc{9206342,
  abstract     = {{Digital platforms have become a crucial tool for career planning, especially for young people
in the beginning of their careers. Today’s students must navigate numerous career options while
adapting to new digital norms around personal branding and showcasing success. These
platforms provide valuable opportunities for inspiration and building a professional identity,
enhancing career planning. However, studies also show that platforms like LinkedIn contribute
to feelings of pressure and anxiety about self-presentation, success, and career trajectories.
Existing research often focuses on individual factors, such as how individuals perceive and use
digital platforms for career planning, including setting goals and developing strategies.
However, few studies combine several factors to explore how they intersect in understanding
the phenomenon.
This study aims to explore how business students perceive and experience LinkedIn in relation
to career planning, through the application of relevant theory and concepts on self-presentation,
personal branding, digital platforms, and the socio-cultural dynamics of today’s job market.
Through a focus group approach, the study seeks to capture collective insights into this
phenomenon. Additionally, the research aims to provide valuable observations for university
career services, helping students navigate and reflect on their LinkedIn usage and its emotional
and cognitive effects.
The findings reveal that LinkedIn’s influence on career planning is shaped by multiple
intersecting factors. While certain features of LinkedIn offer useful tools for career planning,
other factors can lead to feelings of demotivation, anxiety, and stress. LinkedIn encourages
strategies for personal branding and showcasing success, but these approaches can often feel
generic and inauthentic. The results highlight the complex, dual nature of LinkedIn in career planning, demonstrating both its empowering potential and the challenges it presents.}},
  author       = {{Lawesson, Ebba and de Iscar, Sara}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Career Planning in the Digital Age - A Qualitative Focus Group Study Exploring Master’s Students’ Perceptions of LinkedIn}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}