Pembentukan Identitas Profesional Mahasiswa Tingkat Akhir melalui Budaya Citra Digital di LinkedIn

Abstract

The rise of LinkedIn as a professional social media platform has encouraged senior students to shape their professional identities through image-building practices in the digital space. This study aims to analyze the process of professional identity formation among students at Indonesia University of Education through Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective. A qualitative approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied through in-depth interviews with eight informants, comprising four senior students as primary informants, two alumni, and two Human Resources practitioners as supporting informants, selected using purposive sampling. The results indicate that students actively construct their professional identities through front-stage and back-stage practices, including the selection of experiences, the construction of self-narratives, and the management of profile presentations tailored to the expectations of professional audiences. The audience, particularly recruiters, acts as a shaping factor that determines the direction of identity construction. External validation from recruiters was found to reinforce and encourage the continuous enhancement of students’ self-representation. The findings also indicate a potential gap between reality and the displayed identity; however, these practices are understood as a form of contextual adaptation to digital professional norms, rather than identity manipulation. Thus, the formation of professional identity on LinkedIn is performative, contextual, and relational.