Can the use of social media be useful in Universities' Career Centers? An overview of five European Countries

Social media tools are becoming an important presence in recruitment processes, transforming them. They allow an instant sharing of ideas, opinions, knowledge and experiences, creating a new “space- time” dimension that could be translated in a new way (additional) to “recruit” workers. Although there are many benefits and promises from social media, however several risks are associated with their use. The ambiguity related to legal and ethical issues of social media, at the same time, contains the enthusiasm related to the potentialities that social media offer. In particular, this chapter aims at analysing the perceived risks and benefits of social media by students to understand if it can be useful for University Career Services (referred to UCS) to use these tools in job placement. The analysis is conducted in five countries: Netherlands, Sweden, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Croatia. It can be useful for managers of universities and firms to understand whether the presence of Universities on social media by students and firms is positive or not.