After speculating for years on when Facebook would be using its massive user base to take on LinkedIn, the company has finally delivered by creating Facebook Jobs, a tool for businesses to easily post job openings and for job seekers to search for them.
The feature is targeted at LinkedIn’s weak spot, small and midsize businesses looking to hire part-time and hourly workers; allowing companies in the United States and Canada to post job openings on their pages, as well as releasing a Facebook Jobs page. Businesses will be able to track applications and communicate directly with them through the recruiter’s Facebook page and Facebook messenger.
Businesses were already posting job openings in their own pages but now Facebook has made it easier to post and manage them. The platform has been in testing for a while now and is already being used by a few small businesses that have reported back success using it.
People can now search and consequently apply for a job by clicking on the “Apply Now” button, where Facebook then auto fills some public information taken from their profile page to make the process easier. Users can then make changes before submitting the form.
Businesses are also able to purchase boosts for their posting as they do with ads. The job listing will also show up in the news feeds of people who have liked the company’s page.
Social Media and Job Hunting
- 84% of employers are looking for new employees on social media.
- 96% of those recruiters use LinkedIn, making it the most popular recruiting social media platform.
- 66% of them use Facebook, slowly gaining ground.
- 42% of companies stated the quality of the candidates improved when using social media.
- 14.4 million people have used social media to search for jobs.
Facebook Jobs, Good Time to Hide or Erase Embarrassing Posts
People usually want to have their personal lives separate form their professional one, and that is one of the biggest challenges for Facebook.
The company’s job search feature makes it easier for recruiters to discover the applicant’s unflattering Facebook posts. A person’s profile page or news feed can greatly affect someone getting a job. According to CareerBuilder, 49% of hiring managers who screened candidates through social media stated they found out information that deterred them from hiring the applicant.
Job seekers are able to control what parts of their Facebook profile they choose to share with employers. So if you are looking for a new job, now it’s the time to review your profile security settings and also go over your public profile to see which posts you are willing to share with a future employer.