Facebook to introduce job-hunting features, set to rival social media network LinkedIn

Facebook is preparing to foray into the employment market. The social media giant is developing tools that will help companies and businesses post job openings and people looking for jobs look for new opportunities.

Although the social media website had businesses posting job openings on their respective Facebook pages earlier, the new tool will enable an easier method.

According to Facebook’s vice president of ads and business platform Andrew Bosworth, this new feature has been designed keeping in mind small and midsized businesses that find it difficult to hire the right people for the job – especially part-time and hourly workers, as noted by USA Today.

While presenting the pitch deck to Mashable, Bosworth said businesses in the US and Canada will be able to post job openings on Facebook as one would post “a photo or a cat video.” Candidates can log onto Facebook.com/jobs and browse through a list of job openings. The tab will be available on the mobile app or directly on pages. One can apply filters based on the kind of jobs they are looking for.

Job hunters will be able to apply to a particular opportunity by clicking the “Apply Now” button. Facebook will automatically fetch some of the public information – like name and location – from the particular Facebook user’s profile and filled in the application form. The information can be reviewed by the user before submitting it. Subsequently, the new tool will launch a conversation between the job seeker and the business on Facebook Messenger.

Normally, several businesses link to other employment related social network platforms like LinkedIn. However, Facebook’s new feature will not only remove those steps but will allow the user to remain inside Facebook.

According to a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly 85 percent companies have posted job openings on social media. Currently, LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform among companies (at 96 percent). Facebook, which stands at 65 percent, is lagging in this regard, but it is expected to pick up speed in the near future. Microblogging platform Twitter is used by more than 50 percent recruiters.

However, the biggest hurdle Facebook can face is the reluctance of people to bring their personal and professional lives on the same platform. "It's an interesting space for Facebook to get into, but I think most users would find it awkward to apply for jobs through a personal social network rather than LinkedIn," Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson said. "That's LinkedIn's great strength when it comes to applying for jobs: It already has your resume and it's a social network tailor made and sanitized for work and job applications."