Move over, LinkedIn, Facebook may steal the spotlight for recruitment efforts. Last Thursday, Facebook officially announced a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association (DE), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) for what is called the “Social Jobs Partnership.” According to the official press release issued by Facebook, the main goal of the project will be to “…facilitate employment for America’s jobless through the use of social networks.”
Specific initiatives as listed on the Social Jobs Partnership Facebook page include:
• Conducting in-depth survey research about the ways in which job seekers, college career centers, and workforce recruiters are using the social web
• Developing and launching a central page on Facebook that will host specialized resources, and content designed to help job seekers and employers
• Exploring and developing systems where new job postings can be delivered virally through the Facebook site at no charge
• Promoting existing employment programs and resources offered by government agencies for job hunters
• Distributing educational materials about leveraging the power of the social web to recruiters, government agencies and job seekers
Jobvite’s 2011 data about employers’ and job candidates’ social media habits may suggest how Facebook’s partnership may dominate LinkedIn and job boards sites like Monster.com. While LinkedIn is the most used social media network for employers, job seekers prefer Facebook. One explanation is that people are using their personal contacts in lieu of their professional contacts for finding employment, as referrals are the number one source for candidate quality and 43% of social referral hires on Jobvite came from Facebook.
The social and personal aspects of Facebook, as well as being the largest social network in the world, may prove to be an interactive and easy-to-use resource for finding and recruiting talent.
Do you think Facebook’s Social Jobs Partnership will help decrease unemployment and revolutionize recruiting efforts? Will this platform be more popular than LinkedIn?
