Adaptation of graduates on the labor market: the role of friendly social ties

The article considers results of the investigation of the role of friendly social ties of students and graduates from higher educational establishments in their job placement and adaptation on the labor market on the basis of data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE N = 988, 2012-2016). Employment based on social ties seems to be a common practice among students and graduates. More than 40 percent of respondents have found their jobs using friendly ties. This is way of finding job is more common for men than for women, and the frequency of using friendly ties increases with their getting older. Job placement through friends and acquaintances is more prevalent in urban areas and in economy branches connected with commercial activities. Employment by friendly social ties has no impact on objective indicators of the position of the employed on the labor market: wages and working conditions (official employment, workweek, etc.). However, the results of this study show that respondents who have got job through friendly social ties feel less satisfied with their job, working conditions and career opportunities. The author stresses that many young professionals are concerned about the possibility of losing their job. Over half of the respondents are not sure that they will retain their jobs in the future. And employees who have got their jobs through social ties are more afraid of losing their job. So, job placement based on social ties negatively affects subjective indicators of graduates’ adaptation on the labor market.