REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
After seeing businesses and employers post ad hoc job openings on their Facebook pages, the massive social network is finally experimenting with job recruitment tools in earnest. As TechCrunch reports today, Facebook is testing out a new "Jobs" tab for business pages alongside an "Apply Now" button for applicants that will start filling out a job application with information from the user's Facebook profile.
That Jobs tab acts as a landing page where businesses can send potential new hires and interested folks rather than directing them to a jobs page on their own website or a third-party job board. Users looking to get their foot in the door at a specific company could also subscribed to that company's Facebook page to get notified about future openings. Businesses will also be able to pay to post their openings in the News Feed for additional reach or laser-focused targeting to reach people with the right credentials.
From the job applicant's side, the "Apply Now" button will save users the trouble of entering resumé details and job history information, similar to how other job board sites already use Facebook Connect. On the other hand, that feature might be less appealing to users who like to keep their professional and personal lives separate on social media. When a user does apply, the application is sent in to the business in the same way as a normal Facebook message, which could get a little messy for companies that handle a large volume of customer support requests through Facebook. With nearly four times as many users as LinkedIn, Facebook offers a much larger pool of potential applicants -- many of whom might not even know their next job was out there looking for them.