Dear Facebook,
You have charmed billions. You are a daily fixture in the lives of at least hundreds of millions of people. You’ve introduced so many to the seasoning of chicken, pet adoption, polarizing politics, and fake news.
Facebook is where the people are. We are obsessed with you. You know our dirty secrets, lies, medical conditions, and family news.
You also know our career aspirations, plans, and goals – even if you don’t know our talents or training. You know our travels, but you don’t know our itineraries. We tell you the great news about our careers.
Recruiters hang out here. Employers do, too. Job seekers are active here as well – not all, but many of them. And we’ve all heard you are the next place to look for a new job, that you may be even better than a job board. That would be cool because I trust my Facebook connections collectively.
It would be great if the capabilities of a mobile job search on the Facebook app would mirror the search on your desktop/laptop page.
Read 8 Cheap Apps That’ll Make the Entire Job Search Process Easier
1. I Want to See Not Only What Companies Post, But Also the Jobs My Friends’ Friends Post
Not only would this expand my network, but it would also give me a better shot at landing the jobs I see. A company’s job post will attract thousands of fans who might share it, but I could easily contact the employer through someone I know.
2. Give Me a Longer History of Hashtags Than LinkedIn Does
Facebook hashtags have been used for many years now. Because people often use their Facebook pages to post Twitter hashtags as well, I can quickly follow postings and career conversations on both networks. Both also house unique content that is helpful to me.
Facebook, you have a variety of hashtags related to both job postings and advice. To have access to all this within an app would be glorious.
3. The Casual Environment Can Be More Comfortable for Networking
“Professional” conversations aren’t always the most comfortable for me. Facebook, you offer more casual conversational threads for me to follow and engage.
4. I Could Make Myself More Personable to Recruiters
I know recruiters and employers lurk to see how employable I am. Years ago, this was taboo because Facebook was for family and friends only. Now, I want to lead employers and recruiters to my page so I can show some personality and professional acumen. It’s the best of both worlds.
5. I Could See If Recruiters Were Human!
I could use your mobile app to see who recruiters are – to see if they’re a “fit” for me. Is he friendly? Does she have a friendly personality? Values are important to me, too! Integrity matters just as much to me as it does to them!
Read 16 Ways to Enchant Job Seekers to Use Your Job Search Mobile App
6. I Could View Company Culture Through the Lens of an Employee – Without Anyone Knowing
Sometimes, I want to see how employees feel without the branding filter. I can do this more on Facebook than on LinkedIn. I can also find other employees who may feel the same and gather intel on culture both positive and negative.
7. My Friends and Intimate Connections Could Be More Transparent With Job Postings
I appreciate job postings from contacts, but when there is no contact person to whom I can direct communication, it’s just as challenging as applying through a job board. Since my connections on Facebook are more intimate and natural, I can gain much more information and better present myself to employers.
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Overall, Facebook, your mobile experience is king – except for when it comes to job search right now. Most of us have dropped the desktop and laptop for the mobile phone when it comes to you. You can make the mobile job search much more fun than it is now!
And Facebook, you can also help make the job search a little more comfortable, thanks to your casual environment that attracts employers who value personality. I can be fun within reason and attractive to like-minded companies. That’s what we all want, right?
This article was originally published on Recruiter.com!
About Mark Anthony Dyson
My name is Mark Anthony Dyson, and I am the Founder of The Voice of Job Seekers. I am a career advice writer, but more importantly, I hack and re-imagine the job search process.. I've worked with hundreds of job seekers one-on-one helping them to construct a narrative and strategy that appeals to hiring managers and recruiters. I present at colleges and organizations, and facilitated many workshops including my volunteer effort through a Job Lab. I write and create useful job search content on this blog and write career and workplace advice for blogs such as Glassdoor, Payscale, Job-Hunt.org, Prezi and more. Media Feature highlights: Forbes, Business Insider, NBC News, Glassdoor, LinkedIn's #GetHired, and NPR Freelance writer and content contributor: Glassdoor, Payscale, job-hunt.org, The Financial Diet, RippleMatch.com and more. Contact me to contribute career, job search, or workplace advice for your site at markanthonydyson@gmail.com.
