Facebook has 750 Million users and is projected to have 1 billion by 2012. With that many people on Facebook, imagine the potential for making professional connections. The majority of people find jobs through networking so imagine how social networking on Facebook could potentially boost your odds of connecting with someone at a company you love. THE professional networking tool has been LinkedIn but there are several ways to use Facebook to find a job. As apps continue to be developed, some will be useful while others won’t. However, it is still important to stay informed of any tool that might help you gain a competitive advantage in your search. Here are some ways to use Facebook to find a job.
1. Reach out to Your Network
This goes without saying but I have to mention it. If you’re looking for a job, everyone in your network should know. Don’t expect your network to get you a job, but make sure they know exactly what you’re looking for so they can be another set of eyes and ears to monitor the market, keeping you in mind when they stumble upon something. However, many job seekers ask for help when they aren’t ready to help themselves. Make sure you are on top of your game and have all your self-marketing collateral ready to go at a moments notice. Additionally, you better be putting in more work than anyone from whom you ever ask for help in finding a job!
2. Branchout
Branchout is a tool designed to allow users to leverage their social network for professional development. It works directly with Facebook and allows you to create a professional profile to focus on your “social resume.” The tool allows you to browse jobs from external sites but also allows you to find jobs posted from friends in your network and their networks leveraging the power of word-of-mouth to find unadvertised jobs. Does your company have a bonus plan that allows you to potentially get a bonus if you help recommend a candidate they end up hiring? This should give you plenty of reason to be helpful by posting an open position to your company on Branchout. By posting the job on Branchout, you are not only helping your network, you could help your company find the next great candidate and earn some extra cash at the same time. That’s a win-win-win for you, your company, and your network! Branchout uses game mechanics to incentivize users to use the tool taking a page out of Foursquare’s playbook. Will it work? We’ll have to wait and find out but I say give it a try.
3. Beknown
Beknown is the creation of Monster and has evolved from a mobile application to Facebook App as well. It also allows users to tap into Facebook to leverage their social network for professional development. Beknown has the same tools as branchout and also uses game mechanics to incentivize use. The only true difference is that Beknown generates job leads from Monster’s database rather than the Indeed engine. Just like Branchout, the usefulness of the tool to find new, unadvertised jobs depends on whether or not your network is using the tool to post jobs.
4. IntheDoor
IntheDoor is an app that allows you to see where friends in your Facebook network work and the jobs available at those companies. However, IntheDoor uses Indeed’s job search engine to find open jobs so while it can tell you if someone in your network is at a company who is hiring, it doesn’t really provide anything unique that you can’t find already through Indeed. Also, the app uses information in Facebook profiles to identify if a friend works at a hiring company or has worked in the past at the company but if the company is a large, international company, your friend may work in Arizona while a job opportunity is open in Florida. The app needs improvements but it is still worth mentioning.
5. Inside Job
Inside Job is a Facebook app that allows you to search for jobs. Additionally, you can find other people who use Inside Job who work at companies you want to work at. The app is designed to find other users in the community so others can help provide you with inside information or help you land the job you want. I mention this app because it has potential but when I tried using it, it wouldn’t allow me to actually create my profile as the video suggests. I called the company and notified them of the problem. The last time I spoke to them, they were still attempting to fix the problem. They thanked me for notifying them. I hope the problem gets fixed.
6. Facebook Marketplace
Many Facebook users don’t even realize there is a Facebook marketplace app to purchase items from other Facebook users let alone a place to find jobs. You can find jobs and set up automated searches with results sent directly to your email.
7. Cachinko
Cachinko is a great app that pulls jobs from multiple sources and allows you to create a profile indicating the type of job you want and the key words that should be used to find what you want. Cachinko sends you job recommendations based on the data you provide when you sign up as well as your Facebook profile information. The great thing about the app is that you can continue giving the app feedback indicating which recommended jobs interest you and which do not to continue refining the types of jobs that are automatically recommended to you.
8. Startwire
Startwire is an application that provides feedback on the state of your applications. Once you apply to a job, you can submit the username and password used to apply to the job and if Startwire can give you feedback on the state of your application, they will. If they need more information, they will provide feedback. Additionally, if you apply to a job and get an automated email response thanking you for your application, you can forward that response to Startwire to see if they can track the progress of your application. This is a huge differentiating feature for this app. Startwire also uses your application history, professional profile, and personal network to provide recommended jobs. The company also provides webinars providing tips to help job seekers improve their job search.
9. Simply Hired
SimplyHired has a feature that allows you to sign in using your Facebook account. You can browse jobs at your friends’ companies allowing you to leverage your connections to find available jobs at companies where friends work.
10. Bright
Bright is an app that allows you to search for jobs but the jobs are from the Careerbuilder engine so nothing unique. However, the app tells you where friends in your network work so you can identify if you have connections at companies that interest you. You can also send messages to other users and the app makes it easy to create a profile by allowing you to import your profile from LinkedIn. One downside is that the app doesn’t allow you create an RSS feed of jobs and doens’t recommend jobs based on preferences which would be cool features to see implemented.
It is yet to be seen if these other apps and social media platforms will be able to compete with LinkedIn, but it is definitely worth trying in a market where the unemployed need to use every trick in the book!
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Hello Mr. Stark,
I work for CalWORKs a “Welfare to Work” program at West Valley College in Santa Clara County, California. Our clients are adult students with children. I have read this article and would like to know if I can distribute it to our clients, I think it would be very helpful to them.
Thank you for your time,
Sue Olcott
Hello Sue,
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you feel the information will help your students. By all means – share with them. If you wish, you can subscribe to my RSS feed to get new articles as they are published. You may find many more articles that will help your students. Take care!
Dear Robert-
I just came across your article on finding a job using facebook (dated 9-4-11)through one of my Linkedin groups. As a career counselor in a college setting, I found it to be most helpful. I’m concerned, though, about the changes that may have occurred in the past 9 months and would like your feedback before sharing this information with students.
Is there anything you would change or update since you submitted this posting?
Thanks for your feedback and for your lively and helpful blog!
–Bonnie
Hello Bonnie,
Feel free to inform me of what you noticed has changed. I’d appreciate it since I have so many articles, I don’t tend to go back to review what has changed over time because it would be an overwhelming task. I rely on readers to participate and join in the conversation. If you’ve noticed something or have a question, would love your comments. Thanks.