We reported not long ago on Facebook Jobs and the pros and cons of it during its testing in contrast with LinkedIn. There have been new reports on it as it has since gone live in the US and Canada, and we’ve got the latest updates in addition to how we anticipate it might impact online recruitment.
Job Posting Made Easy
A wonderful and comprehensive piece by Recruitee runs through the Facebook Jobs platform in detail now that it is live in the US and Canada.
The main benefits as listed are as follows;
- Ease of use: Jobs can be posted in mere minutes on the online recruiter side and on the candidate side, application details are autofilled meaning the repetitive filling out of application forms is no more! In addition – in contrast to LinkedIn where entire profiles can be sent off as applications but not edited – with Facebook, editing of these autofilled profiles has been made possible to allow valuable and intuitive customisation of job applications on the candidate side.
- Facebook messenger: Auto responders and scheduling can be set up using Facebook messenger meaning recruiters can better prioritise their time and candidates can know when to expect a response if application numbers for a position are high. Communication is efficient.
- Location: Facebook will automatically set itself to close to your location when you are searching so job search results are even more tailored. This setting is of course changeable if you are looking to go further afield.
Preliminary Performance
People seem happy with the results too! Take a look at this promotional video: https://youtu.be/ie76r7HImxU
Colossal Reach and Targeting
When we consider the six degrees of separation factor Facebook can deliver a colossal reach for recruiters. Recruitee showed that Facebook owns the top three most popular social networks in the world when ordered by active users; Facebook itself, WhatsApp and FB Messenger. It has billions of people logging into it daily, and when we consider the native sharing applications such as likes, shares and follows – the ability for a post to be seen by huge numbers of eyeballs is considerable.
Simplicity
In terms of advertising dollars, Facebook’s platform is known for its clever algorithms and targeting that take a lot of the thinking from advertiser’s jobs. For example the “boost” feature for posts already receiving high levels of interaction helps to reduce wasted budget and maximise efficiency. This is no different for the jobs feature live in the US and Canada as paid advertising has been made easy and highly targeted.
The Darker Side
There is of course a darker side to consider for all this openness and that is the amount of information made available about ourselves. With internet privacy a constant issue where will this next step take us? We have a right to be forgotten, but is it a realistic pursuit?
In addition, it might be a certain type of job that’s filled on Facebook – senior positions as an example might be better placed on a platform such as LinkedIn where comprehensive job history and recommendations are shown.
Conclusion
Facebook seems to be able to offer something somewhat illusive that online recruiters are constantly chasing – and that is a close-to-ideal candidate experience. From the ease of filling in numerous applications, to reach and targeting it seems to be excelling in making the process of finding and filling jobs easier for all involved.
Castle Hill House