Watch out LinkedIn, Facebook is rolling out job postings

16 Feb 2017

Image: Kite_rin/Shutterstock

Facebook is entering the jobs business, striking at the heart of LinkedIn’s business model.

Social media giant Facebook is taking on LinkedIn by enabling employers to post jobs for free.

In what could be a gripping new front in the talent wars, Facebook intends for its Messenger platform to play a pivotal role in the recruitment process, whereby prospective employers could woo future workers using the instant messaging service.

‘Businesses and people already use Facebook to fill and find jobs, so we’re rolling out new features that allow job posting and application directly on Facebook’
– FACEBOOK

From today, businesses in the US and Canada will be able to post job openings, and their future employees will be able to easily find those posts on their Page or in the new jobs bookmark.

Jobs postings are Facebook’s next big thing

Facebook will allow employers to post jobs directly to their page and users can apply for those jobs via the social network.

Posting a job will be free for employer and the number of posts will be unlimited.

For applicants, job posts may appear in their News Feed, in the new bookmark for jobs, and alongside other posts on a business Page.

When users click on the ‘Apply Now’ button, a form will open that is pre-populated with information from their profile on Facebook. Applicants can review and edit their information before submitting it.

“We know that finding the right talent can be a challenge,” Facebook said. “40pc of US small businesses report that filling jobs was more difficult than they expected, which is surprising when you consider that these small businesses also employ nearly half of the country’s workforce.

“We’re focused on building new ways to help make it easier for businesses to interact with the over 1bn people visiting Pages every month. Businesses and people already use Facebook to fill and find jobs, so we’re rolling out new features that allow job posting and application directly on Facebook.”

A new chapter in the war for talent

The move strikes at the heart of the social network for professionals, LinkedIn.

LinkedIn charges recruiters to post and promote jobs on its platform.

While Facebook mightn’t be the first place people think of when they look for jobs, that could change due to its largely captive audience of daily mobile users.

LinkedIn, which recently took on a design overhaul of its desktop page, has more than 470m users worldwide and claims to be the biggest professional network on the planet.

The move puts Dublin on the front line of this new chapter in the war for talent.

Facebook employs 1,500 people in Dublin and it has been suggested it could add 1,100 more, while LinkedIn employs 1,200 and is opening a new corporate headquarters in the city.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com