I just finished reading Steven Woods’ Blog (CTO of Eloqua) regarding the merits of using Facebook as a B2B marketing tool. He argues that even though his organization is specialized in B2B e- marketing, his isn’t sure whether Facebook is an effective marketing tool.

At a personal level, I have been resistant to add anyone from my professional circles as a friend on Facebook. With access to pictures of baby cousins, nephews, and nieces, as well as other personal information, I cannot help but be concerned about privacy. Regardless of the need to build personal relationships with potential clients and candidates, I fear that introducing them to my Facebook community is a violation of my family’s trust.

And so I ask, if you use Facebook as a business development tool, how do you use it? Where do you draw the line between family and work?

I would like to follow Frank’s advice and use Facebook more aggressively for recruitment business development, I just don’t know how to do it without violating the privacy of my community. Your insights are welcome, and actively encouraged.

Facebook has hit the big time – It’s a fact. It’s not going away, and it will only get bigger (at least for the next couple of years). I know this because many companies haven’t realized that they need to have a presence on it, and they will. Once that happens, users will be overwhelmed with uses for the site. Also, the number of unique visitors per month keeps getting higher and higher. Check out the graph below to see what I mean.

Number of users on Facebook continues to grow.

During my recent job search I’ve been using many tools to assist my efforts including Facebook. I thought that since many people out there are in the same situation as I am in, I would share some of my tips with you all.

So here are some tips on how to use Facebook to help find a job:

Research Companies

Currently, there are over 21, 000 companies that have some type of presence on Facebook. The smart ones have created information pages targeted to Generation Y, as a means of promoting a product or the company itself. Ernst & Young came up with a brilliant idea and created an actual ‘careers’ page for Facebook. It simply promotes the benefits of working there as well as showing some of the human aspects of the company. You can view the page and its 28,000 fans here- Ernst & Young Careers. More companies should be doing this.

Searching For Jobs on Facebook

Both Monster and CareerBuilder have a presence on Facebook. Monster does this in the form of an application, where you are able to receive job feeds of relevant positions directly to your home page news feed.

CareerBuilder did things a bit different. They have a pimped out page where you are able to conduct job searches and use some of their other site tools, like salary calculator, resume writing tips, etc. The page has over 36,000 fans. Check it out.

Using Facebook To Find The Right Contact

This was taken directly from a blog post on JobMob:

I saw an ad for a job and I *almost* fit the job description but they wanted a certain requirement. I did not have it and to be honest, I didn’t think it was needed for the job. I took the contact’s e-mail address and Googled it in order to get the contact’s full name, which I then plugged into Facebook and LinkedIn. It turns out we have a few common friends on Facebook and we even attended a barbecue together at a common friend’s house. I called the common friend of ours and asked her to see if I could get my CV through despite not having all of the requirements.

My CV got through and after a few interviews, I got the job.

Use Facebook To Promote Yourself

Every Facebook account has an Info tab. Use it. Fill out all of your work experience and education and change your settings to make this section of your profile searchable by everyone. Recruiters search Facebook for candidates too, the same way candidates use it to look for a job.

Also, be sure to join groups that are related to your profession and contribute to them often. Add relevant bits of content and keep an eye out for information that may help you land a gig.

That should get you started. I’m sure once you get going, you will think of others ways to utilize Facebook’s services. If you have other tips regarding this topic, please leave a comment and share it with the group.

Cheers and best of luck.

As promised in my last post, here are some general tips for those looking to use Facebook as a tool to aid your recruitment efforts. Some of these may apply to you and your company, some may not. It really depends on your industry, your product, and your target market. Regardless, these notes will help point you in the right direction.

1.       Create a Page for your company (Your page gives candidates a way to find you and learn about your company on Facebook)

• Add your friends, email lists, coworkers, etc. as fans to get the ball rolling
• Add relevant content about your company and industry and make it interesting.
• Update your page constantly, at least once a day
• Personalize your team. Have staff members write content, add photos, etc.

Here is a great example of a company page – IKEA

Here’s another example. This one is a recruitment company – Kelly Services

2.       Get your jobs posted on Facebook (to your page or through an application program)

• Set up job feeds so that they are going directly to users’ home page (this is done with a little coding through a page or an application program $$$)
• Use third parties (i.e. jobvite) to help promote your jobs on Facebook
• Add job search functionality to your page- CareerBuilder does this really well

3.       Create a Facebook Ad

• Purchasing targeted ads will help your page gain popularity
• Write a blurb about your company and ask your staff to add it to their personal pages as a note

4.       Join Relevant Groups and Pages

• Be genuine – have a go to guy from your company for this. Your company needs a face.
• Add relevant, interesting content to the group(s) on a regular basis
• Email the creator to let them know who you are and what you are about (be honest)
• Once trust is established, you will be able to promote contests, campaigns, jobs, etc through these groups/pages.

Please remember that this is not a substitute for the hard work that goes with being a recruiter, nor is it the be all and end all of recruitment solutions. You will still have to make your cold calls (recruiters), post openings online, and search those resume databases.

If you have any questions regarding the tips mentioned, please leave a comment. If you would like to discuss your company’s options specifically in greater detail, please email me.