LINKEDIN BLUE PROFESSIONAL

'Perhaps this research is not seen as 'sexy',' they wrote. In a 2001 paper on the increasing use of mobile phones, Jacqueline Brodie, an associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University, and Mark Perry, a professor at Brunel University, wrote that research into what tools blue-collar workers need in the digital age 'is strange in its absence.'

LINKEDIN BLUE PROFESSIONAL

Professional networking and job searching looks different in the age of the internet, and as Silicon Valley develops more sites and apps for workers to connect online, blue-collar workers have not always been the target audience. He found little success on Monster, which he says recommended jobs that were completely outside his skill set like working for the post office.įortunately, Indeed turned out to be a gold mine for his job hunt: 'Within three days, I had four or five people calling me.' Indeed, he says, was more sensitive to his skills and showed him more jobs that aligned with his qualifications. Upon moving to Florida, Rambo also signed up for Monster Jobs and Indeed. Rodney Brock, a 49-year-old pipefitter, says he has a LinkedIn account but rarely uses it: 'To me, it's just something different than what I'm used to as far as the hot sheets or something that feels more construction-y to me.' Hot sheets are physical lists of jobs and projects that construction workers have historically used to find open work. Sonja Wiltz, a 54-year-old construction safety coordinator, says, 'All the years I've been on LinkedIn, I've never gotten a job on there.' But as far as finding employment, it's never done anything for me like that.' He's not alone. Rambo says he uses LinkedIn 'to read or as something to look at when I'm bored. The term 'blue-collar' is sometimes applied with derogatory connotations, but Rambo says, 'To be quite honest with you, I'm proud of that label.' LinkedIn? 'Never gotten a job on there' In 2015, LinkedIn cofounder Allen Blue told The Financial Times there was 'a growing number of blue-collar workers on the site.'Įven so, blue-collar workers - those in trade sectors like construction who work outside of office settings - say they're not yet seeing the benefits in their job hunts. The company has been trying to grow that segment for a while. He says that LinkedIn has been making intentional investments over the past couple of years to become more inclusive for all kinds of workers: 'For example, if you are a fry cook and you come to LinkedIn, 'fry cook' should be available as a title for you to put on your profile.' Currently, 'Fry Cook,' 'Short Order Fry Cook' and 'Fast Food Fry Cook' are all available as job titles on the platform.Īccording to Somasundaram, 155 million of the platform's 900 million users today are 'first-line workers,' which LinkedIn defines as any job that requires less than a four-year degree: 'It's a growing segment for us.' LinkedIn's stated vision is to 'create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.' Lakshman Somasundaram, the company's director of product management, says the operative word in that sentence 'is very much 'every.'' But for him, it was to no avail: 'To be quite honest with you, I've had a LinkedIn account and I've never had any success with it,' Rambo tells CNBC Make It.

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