UK 
United States
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll know that Facebook is currently rolling out Facebook Jobs in the US and Canada, with a view to driving these worldwide next year.
Facebook Jobs is an extension of the Facebook Company Pages, and it allows candidates to log in and apply for jobs with their Facebook profile. Given the seemingly omnipotent reach of Facebook, this is likely to be the biggest shake-up in the recruitment industry this year.
The blurring of social and professional lines
Facebook introduced company pages in its earliest iteration, Brand Pages, in 2007. This change represented the beginning of blended content on Facebook, where corporate content started mixing with content from contacts. A typical 2017 Facebook feed is probably made up of content from friends, news outlets and organisations you relate to either professionally or personally. As Facebook Jobs becomes more popular, we could see suggested jobs creeping into your timeline, similar to your LinkedIn feed.
Facebook Jobs could ultimately become the next level of integration between your social and professional life.
Is Facebook the right platform for your jobs?
Facebook Jobs is likely to appeal to organisations that already use Facebook’s platform to promote their products or services. In their announcement on February 15th, 2017, Facebook cites helping small businesses hire staff as their primary motivation for Facebook Jobs.
Ease of posting is one of the key features Facebook are promoting, which is likely to appeal to less digitally savvy small business owners. There also seems to be little to filter out unsuitable candidates, with employers receiving a Messenger message with a candidate’s application. Again, this is likely to appeal to organisations that attract low numbers of job applicants, or that have low entry criteria.
Given Facebook’s track record of developing world-class applications, this iteration of Facebook Jobs is likely just to be the start. We could see additional functionality for employers and candidates akin to basic applicant tracking systems.
In reality, it is conceivable that Facebook’s broad appeal could result in it overtaking LinkedIn as the best place to attract candidates on social networks. As Facebook have proven time again, their ability to reach huge audiences makes Facebook Jobs a potentially appealing prospect for many employers. The world of recruitment will certainly be watching the developments with a keen interest!
