It’s not surprising that social media has worked its way
into the job searching business. While I still believe that job boards like
Monster and Indeed will still have their importance, social media provides a
more familiar and comfortable environment to both recruiters and those seeking
new employment. In an article by ‘The
Wall Street Journal’, Mr. Staney, a talent acquisition Web strategy manager,
stated, “Candidates have been 50% more likely to apply to positions they found
through Facebook than through other means. "[Job boards] just blast it
out. This is much more efficient and targeted.” With popularity increasing with
using social media to find employees, job seekers can use this to their
advantage by talking up a potential employer’s product on their social media
account. If you continually post comments or photos about how much you love a
certain company, they are more willing to check you out and determine if you
have potential value as an employee. There are many benefits that can be reaped
by taking advantage of social medial. Companies are no longer looking for the “cool
kids”, instead they are looking for people who live a certain lifestyle
pertaining to their product. Recruiters are now looking for people who will
represent their product well and that can also influence others to try their
product as well. “We used to assume the best reps would be the cool kids in any
given group. But we learned that most kids are not cool. If marketers want
consumers to feel a connection to their ambassadors and to feel that an
ambassador is accessible, they have to look beyond the cool customers”
(Marketing: An Introduction pg143). Although LinkedIn still has its place, I believe
that Facebook will catchup in no time and will be tough competition to many
successful job boards and LinkedIn type websites.
