True story from one of my Facebook hires...
The last few months of my life held a lot of change, marriage, moving, and the joy of finding a new job due to the move. Luckily I was able to find ADP and ADP careers Facebook page. As I read the ADP careers Facebook page I decide to make a simple post that said, “Hey ADP! I am moving just outside of Augusta, GA soon and I am looking at you!” To be honest I did not expect much of anything to come from it and boy was I wrong, there was someone checking the Facebook page frequently! I received a response asking what positions I was interested in and then received a phone call from a recruiter. This all happened so fast and my wife, who was my fiancé at the time, was also in shock that I heard back so quickly after making a post on Facebook. After talking with the recruiter my information was passed along for my formal interviews, which I was able to do over the phone, and now I am employed by ADP in Augusta, GA as an Implementation Specialist and I could not be happier!"
How easy was that??? As the recruiter in this instance, on my end, I was monitoring my company's Facebook page (ADP Careers) and saw Grady's post. I just so happened to be knee deep in a search for someone with his skill set in Augusta, GA. Of course I called him IMMEDIATELY and he had himself a job offer in a matter of days!!
Most people use Facebook as a purely social tool, a way to interact and keep in touch with long lost friends, and let everyone know what you are up to or how you are feeling. However, Facebook is quickly becoming a professional tool where you might be able to find your next job, due to the fact that with Facebook there is increased direct connection between companies and consumers.
The last few months of my life held a lot of change, marriage, moving, and the joy of finding a new job due to the move. Luckily I was able to find ADP and ADP careers Facebook page. As I read the ADP careers Facebook page I decide to make a simple post that said, “Hey ADP! I am moving just outside of Augusta, GA soon and I am looking at you!” To be honest I did not expect much of anything to come from it and boy was I wrong, there was someone checking the Facebook page frequently! I received a response asking what positions I was interested in and then received a phone call from a recruiter. This all happened so fast and my wife, who was my fiancé at the time, was also in shock that I heard back so quickly after making a post on Facebook. After talking with the recruiter my information was passed along for my formal interviews, which I was able to do over the phone, and now I am employed by ADP in Augusta, GA as an Implementation Specialist and I could not be happier!"How easy was that??? As the recruiter in this instance, on my end, I was monitoring my company's Facebook page (ADP Careers) and saw Grady's post. I just so happened to be knee deep in a search for someone with his skill set in Augusta, GA. Of course I called him IMMEDIATELY and he had himself a job offer in a matter of days!!
Most people use Facebook as a purely social tool, a way to interact and keep in touch with long lost friends, and let everyone know what you are up to or how you are feeling. However, Facebook is quickly becoming a professional tool where you might be able to find your next job, due to the fact that with Facebook there is increased direct connection between companies and consumers.
So how can you use Facebook to find your next job:
1) Find open positions on companies’ fan pages
Most companies now have a Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, and are on Twitter. Use this to your advantage, as you as an applicant have the opportunity to get closer to someone within the company, and have a good chance of actually speaking to someone within the company.
The recession has also helped applicants out (bear with me!). Since companies are now looking for more cost effective options, many are veering away from the major job boards which charge 150 – 300 dollars per posting and are trying to find applicants on their own through social medial tools.
After conducting a thorough search of Facebook by group, interest, or keyword and zeroing in a few potential leads, reach out to them and ask them for an ‘informational discussion’ (don’t send your resume yet or you’ll scare them away) about potential job openings their organization might have that fit your skill set. Because 80% of available jobs haven’t made their way to the classifieds and many organizations have built-in referral programs, make sure to mention the potential benefits they’ll get out of talking with you. To help the conversation get going, capitalize on a shared interest such as attending the same college, supporting the same team, etc. and all of this information can be gleamed from their Facebook profile.
2) Reach out to your current Facebook network
This may seem obvious, but if you haven’t viewed Facebook as a professional job-searching tool until now, you may have overlooked all of your connections. Posting a message on your wall with a link to your website or your resume could give your job search the boost it needed. Facebook connections tend to be stronger than LinkedIn connections so they could be some of your strongest supporters, and could go out of their way to walk your resume and promote your skills to their boss or HR.
If a long-lost friend or contact happens to work for a company or in a position you’re looking for, work up the courage to send them a message to ask them if they would mind talking with you about what they think of the job/company, how they got the job, and if they have anyone in mind that you could talk with about potential job openings. Don’t feel uncomfortable; this is Facebook…everyone wants to talk about himself or herself on Facebook!
3) Use Facebook SEM to drive traffic to your personal website or online resume
Using Facebook ads to advertise ones self for a job opening is becoming more common these days, and can be surprisingly effective. Now, I have to admit this is where I get a little lost…creating a Facebook ad for yourself? But social media is changing how we work, how we connect with the rest of the world, and therefore it makes sense that it is also altering how we apply for jobs. If you want to use Facebook SEM there are two factors to keep in mind, set a budget that is reasonable and make sure the content of the ad is representative of your current skill set. Lastly, tell me if it works! People who click on your Facebook ad should be directed to either your personal website or your resume.
Social Media has had a dramatic impact on opening up additional channels for communication between the company and the candidate. Finding a job on Facebook is happening more every day, and if you take the time to market yourself and LISTEN to what's happening with your friends and with companies that interest you the next Facebook success story could be YOU!
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