過去幾年中，越來越多研究人員廣泛討論關於人與人間的網絡如何在找工作這個議題上提供助益。關於在求職過程中使用社交聯繫的文獻著重求在職者如何從他們的社交網絡獲取信息，哪些信息對他們最有利以及從誰身上獲得的訊息是最有益的。然而，給予和接收以及解釋有用資訊取決於個人及其聯繫人的背景。利用大學畢業生個人網絡的定量數據，分析了這些畢業生與他們在求職過程中使用的聯繫人之間相似的教育和職業背景的影響。為了有效地做到這一點，提出了固定效應模型，但由於經驗限制，進行了另外的二元邏輯回歸分析。調查結果表明，獲得面試或工作機會的最有效方式是通過實習。儘管受到經驗限制的影響及不顯著的統計，但結果進一步表明，聯繫人的職業背景對求職者的求職結果是有影響的。使用奧地利 - 加拿大 - 台灣（ACT）全球商業碩士課程的聯繫人，成功搜索了所有表示此類聯繫的受訪者。然而，無法用已獲得的數據分析聯繫人的教育背景及其的影響，因此需要進一步研究。

How networks have helped people to find a job is a question which has been discussed extensively by researchers throughout the past years. Literature on the usage of social contacts in the job-search process has focused on how egos get information from their social network, which information is most beneficial to them and from whom it is most beneficial. However, giving and receiving as well as interpreting useful information depends on the background of an individual and their contact person. Using quantitative data on personal networks of university graduates, the impact of similar educational and occupational backgrounds between these graduates and the contacts which they use during their job-search process is analysed. In order to effectively do this, a fixed-effects model is suggested but due to empirical limitations an additional binary logistic regression analysis is conducted. Findings suggest that the most effective way to obtain an interview or a job offer is through an internship. Despite suffering from empirical limitations, results further indicate that there is an effect of the occupational background of alter on the job-search outcomes of ego, although not statistically significantly so. Using a contact who did the Austria-Canada-Taiwan (ACT) Global Business Master’s Program, led to a successful search of all the respondents who indicated such a contact. However, the impact of the educational background of alters could not be analysed with the data available and is thus subject to further research.

Statutory Declaration i
Abstract (Chinese) iii
Abstract (English) iv
Table of Contents v
Table of Tables vii
1 Introduction 1
2 Social Network and Job-Search Literature Review 3
2.1 The Job-Search Process and the Role of Social Contact Characteristics 6
2.1.1 Selecting the Types of Jobs for which to Apply and Important Social Contact Characteristics 7
2.1.2 Applying for Jobs and Important Social Contact Characteristics 8
2.1.3 Preparing for Interviews and Important Social Contact Characteristics 10
3 Methodology 13
3.1 Data Collection 13
3.2 Research Design 14
3.3 Measures 15
3.3.1 Dependent Variables 15
3.3.2 Independent Variables 16
3.3.3 Control Variables 18
3.4 Sample 19
3.5 Statistical Approach and Models 20
4 Analysis and Results 22
4.1 Descriptive Results 22
4.2 Obtaining Interviews 25
4.3 Receiving Job Offers 28
5 Discussion 32
5.1 Research Implications 33
5.2 Limitations and Future Research 34
5.3 Conclusion 36
6 References 37
Appendix 1: Questionnaire Structure 41

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