In today’s technology heavy society, it will comes as no surprise to many of you that Facebook has now become one of many ways to advertise and apply for jobs both online and in your local area. While it was probably inevitable – with fan pages and business pages having been a part of Facebook for a few years now – using Facebook as a means of advertising a position within your company is not yet a pain free process.

However it is not all doom and gloom as there are a number of benefits to advertising through Facebook. Whatever means you choose to take in getting your advertisement out there, it doesn’t hurt to cover all bases; Facebook included.

Pros of Facebook Recruitment

• Instant Platform with a lot of Reach

Facebook is a social media platform and like many social media platforms everything that happens there happens very fast. When you post an advertisement on Facebook, it can sometimes have an effect similar to when you shout ‘free cake!’ in a crowded office environment. It generates a lot of interest in a very short space of time.

This is of course entirely dependent on your advertisement being what people want to see, but if you know where to post the Ad (Local listings, Job groups etc.) you can almost guarantee you’ll reach a wider audience than if you simply advertise on the Radio or in the local Paper.

• Advertising to Like-minded people

When you advertise on Facebook, particularly if you’re looking for potential recruits for a position that requires heavy use of technology, email, the internet and all its sub-species, you’re more likely to find like-minded people who are keen to start working in an associated field.

You may be looking for a young person with a moderate level of experience who can easily work their way around a computer and if so, chances are they’ll be on Facebook. More and more people are turning to online advertisements in favour of the old newspaper when looking for employment and it is important for companies looking for new recruits to realise this and take action.

Cons of Facebook Recruitment

• Requires an Account to Sign Up

Many websites where you engage in discussion and respond to other people’s posts now require you to ‘Sign Up’ before you can post anything. For those people who are not planning on using Facebook outside of business hours, or for people who (and we all know at least one) practically abhor Facebook, the idea of creating an account solely to post job advertisements may be a bit too much.

If you’re the owner of a larger company you can get an employee to post the advertisement on your behalf, but this would make the potential applicants hard to moderate. You can always provide your own contact details at the end of the advertisement but this could also open up the floodgates for spammers and every off the street Tom, Dick and Harry that ever fancied working for you. 

• Advertisements may get bogged down or completely ignored

Although there are groups solely dedicated to advertising job positions, these generally do tend to exist within their own ‘genre’ (retail, modelling etc.) and your advertisement may quickly get lost in the slew of upcoming posts. Some groups have a ‘three strikes’ policy, meaning that you cannot post your job ad more than three times without success.

This does limit your options, although it gives you an incentive to ensure that your advert is catchy and informative. Try not to be too cryptic with your job description as this may be putting people off. On the other hand it is not wise to go plastering the exact salary of the job described all over Facebook. Provide enough information to entice applicants, while ending with a simple contact number or email so that they can easily request more information about the position.

Using LinkedIn as an Alternative
LinkedIn has widely been considered as ‘The Facebook for businesses’ and it is severely limiting in what is allowed to be shared on LinkedIn. However, members with a profile will have their work experience, volunteering experience and specific skills listed as well as how long they have been employed at their previous jobs.

People can ‘endorse’ other people for their skills, which is a way of having people recommend you on your behalf. For example if you have 50 endorsements from different people on your ‘Time Management’ Skills, it becomes pretty clear to any outsider viewing your profile that you are very efficient at time management. This is perfect for looking for potential job candidates and for seeing who has a lot of experience and who may have a good capacity for learning – depending on the type of position you want to be advertising.

Whether you choose to advertise on Facebook or not, there is no denying that it is a useful form of media for getting word out there. However if you’re looking for something a little more straightforward in terms of manoeuvrability, LinkedIn really is the way to go. Plus it is also easy to see your candidates’ previous employment statistics, which makes obtaining references a lot simpler!

Mike James

Content Editor

www.axcis.co.uk