Facebook Jumps Into Job Searches

Facebook has decided to get into the job search area where it can compete with LinkedIn.  A Social Jobs app provides users with various listings of openings they may be interested in.  It launched last week and has 1.7 million listings with more expected.  It is the result of a partnership that Facebook has with the US Department of Labor and other non-profit groups.

Competing Against LinkedIn

Two services that will be working with Facebook include Monster and BranchOut.  The company submitted a press release that said the economy was the inspiring idea behind the new Social Jobs app.  The company believes that social media has a strong impact on matching qualified candidates with available jobs. With the unemployment rate around 7.9 percent, job searchers can use any help they can get in finding the right career.  Besides Monster and BranchOut, Facebook also has listings from:

• DirectEmployers Association
• Jobvite
• Work4Labs

Applicants can find their jobs by location, keyword search, or industry.  Veterans will find a section especially for them. Facebook said that around half of employers are using Facebook as part of their hiring and many people expect social networking to play an even bigger part in getting a job in the future.

Early Reviews

Early reviews of the new job search have not been positive, citing errors and other issues.  Experts say that it is not currently a threat to LinkedIn, but also add that it is a big opportunity for Facebook if they provide much needed improvements. The biggest issue that users reported came in the location of the results of their job search.  Even when specifying a limit of miles, they would get job results from farther away.

While Facebook may not have introduced a perfect application, it does show that it is forward-thinking and looking for new ways to become valuable to users.  This attitude will likely keep it competitive for some time.

[Image via kqed]