Members of Generation Z—who will comprise 30 percent of the U.S. workforce by the end of the decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—are building their careers and workplace relationships differently than previous generations, Fast Company reported.

To find out how this cohort builds social capital and connections beyond family, friends, and preexisting relationships with coworkers, classmates, and others, student employment platform Handshake surveyed more than 1,200 alumni and soon-to-be graduates and analyzed more than 2.1 million connections this year.

Networking and job seeking is done virtually, more than ever before, Handshake found, attributing the acceleration of that approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. “For Gen Z, the internet is the path to social capital—a wealth of information, resources, and network potential, facilitating access to a richer job pool and catalyzing broader professional networks than their parents,” the report read.

Nearly 7 in 10 job seekers believe that they do not need to meet in person to forge a meaningful professional connection, with 66 percent of respondents saying that they learned about jobs through online career platforms.

This normalization of virtual job seeking has opened up more opportunities to build relationships, the survey also found, reporting that women are 26 percent more likely than men to believe one does not need to meet in person to make a professional connection. This normalization allows for the bypassing of networks that historically rewarded men and disadvantaged women, the report opined.

Gen Z job seekers do not assume in-person meetings or interviews are essential, the report found, meaning that their networks can be spread across time zones and geographic locations. This is demonstrated by the finding that 87 percent of job seekers believe that messaging with an employer may lead to a job.

Overall, eight in 10 of the respondents—across ender, race, ethnicity, and first-generation student status—agreed that it is easier for them to learn about a career in which they are interested and to make a wider range of professional connections than was possible in their parents’ generation.

“With two-thirds of respondents reporting they believe professional connections can occur completely online, the ongoing question is not whether Gen Z is willing to get out from behind their screens, but rather will they even have to?” Christine Cruzvergara, Handshake’s chief education strategy officer, told Fast Company.