LinkedIn Ranking
LinkedIn has been on the social media rise since its launch in early 2003. The website connects users from various backgrounds including: employment, education, and other professional activities. Using a ranking system that resembles the PageRank topic discussed in class, LinkedIn finds those who are suitable professional links. These links are possibilities that one should add and what their degree of connection is to that user. Recently the company added a new ranking system that tracks recent college students aimed towards employment. This ranking system included the users major in college and what suitable jobs they would be looking for. In a recent statement from LinkedIn: “We define a desirable job to be a job at a desirable company for the relevant profession” which shows that the company’s path on finding new connections is getting more complex over time.
This new ranking system has close principles to the PageRank topic which was recently discussed in class. Taking a single user with many connections which include interests that are similar to their major, recent jobs, and prospective goals, LinkedIn can find connections to that user and find company that resembles that user. This method will allow the user to find their “ideal job” in a sense that the employment opportunity is everything that the user is asking for. The more similar interests a user has that relates to a company will increase that company’s rank to that user. Each college graduate has eight broad career paths, each adding weight for jobs that seem more desirable. This method doesn’t just work well for the graduate student but the company them self. Companies will soon be able to find employment within a crowd of people that actually have an interest in the company. Using the PageRank method, graduates with greater interest in the company would be ranked higher to the company.
This method can also relate to the strong triadic closure property which was also discussed in class. Company X that has close resemblance to Company Y in various degrees may become a possibility to a user using this principle. Let’s say the user has never heard about Company Y but is looking forward to working with Company X. Using the strong tradic closure property, a new link may open up between that user and Company Y which is opening a lot of doors for the user them self and the company. This process can allow an even stronger employment process.
Ranking institutions may not always be a great idea because of opinions formed, but with this process many doors can be open. Instead of companies hiring graduated based on GPA, companies can now have a process which has a deeper connection to the graduate. This is a great idea because the ideal situation of finding ones “dream job” may actually come true. This process works the same way for graduates. Some students may be confused on which direction to head after college but with a system using a closer connection, graduates may be finding possible employment at companies that they would never expect to work at.
Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/02/new-rankings-system-linkedin-based-employment-outcomes-huge-sample