Social media is a part of almost everybody’s life. We live in a world where Facebook is used actively by 2.91 billion people worldwide. Consider that 81% of job seekers say they want to see job opportunities posted on Facebook career pages, and you quickly understand that it’s not something you can - or should - hide from. So, let’s face the hard-hitting questions, shall we? Is Facebook good for recruitment? Why should you use Facebook in your recruitment strategy? And, most importantly, how do you recruit on Facebook?
But first, let’s take a look at how Facebook has pivoted to help recruiters use their service.
Facebook’s job opening feature
Since February 15th, 2020, Facebook’s job opening feature has become available to all business pages. When you choose ‘Create New Page Post’, you’ll see a dropdown list. One of the options, now that the job opening feature has been launched, is ‘Create a job post to hire someone.’
You’ll then have a digital form to fill in, with fields such as an introduction, a photo, a job title, the location, the salary, the job type, and the details (ie, the job description).
Interested candidates can use a simple ‘Apply Now’ button from the page, and make use of the auto-fill feature to save time. It’s a straightforward process for both recruiter and applicant.
Not to mention, tracking and managing any applications is simple. You’ll do this from inside Facebook’s Business Manager page. The applications are also exported to your business page via Facebook Messenger.
So, we’ve established that it’s easy to use. But is Facebook’s job opening feature worth your time? Let’s dive into the benefits of using Facebook’s job opening feature.
What Facebook jobs feature can do for you
1—A bigger talent pool with 2.91 billion active users.
Facebook has continued to dominate the social media world. It has the most active users over any other social media platform. Not to mention that #2 and #3 also belong to Facebook.
It’s just too big to be ignored. Many users spend many hours on the social network. In fact, Americans spend an average of 58 minutes per day on Facebook. That’s a whole lot of time, especially when it’s added up across the year, making a grand total of 325 hours over 365 days.
Users meticulously fill out all their work, education, and sometimes personal details on their profiles (because, hey, isn’t it great to be congratulated or get an anniversary reminder from Facebook that you otherwise would forget?). They are adept at using the platform. Liking, commenting, sharing, messaging, looking at ads, and filling out lead forms are like their second nature.
Applying for your jobs on Facebook would be no different from writing a thoughtful comment. Besides, if Facebook users like your job post (which can be decided by the cover image in a split second), they will ‘like’ or share the post. By doing this, all their Facebook friends can see the job post that they just liked or shared, and they might also like or share the post because it’s from someone they know. This domino effect could easily get your job posting to the right eyeballs.
2—A more flexible way to communicate with the new global workforce.
With all the hype about text recruiting and whether it is intrusive, now it’s actually coming with Facebook’s jobs feature. What’s even better? It’s happening the other way around: candidates text their applications to you.
Because they are the ones making the first move, they would ease into the rest of the communication effortlessly. Another perk: they won’t be so “in the dark” anymore. They will know when their application is delivered and when you read it. All thanks to Facebook’s wide range of icons, especially made to reflect the subtleness of this means of communication.
Knowing that the candidates would be aware of this, you might be even more motivated to reply to their applications and do so in a timely manner. Plus, assuming that everything goes well with a particular candidate, you can call them (audio & video) right from Facebook Messenger for an interview. A handy feature to say the least. You won’t need to lift a finger to switch to other tools, in case you still have them (Skype, anyone?). In short, Facebook Jobs will make everything easier for you.
3—An effortless way to improve the candidate experience.
Applying for a role through Facebook Jobs is easy. Candidates are already logged in to Facebook. When they choose to apply, all their contact information and work history will be pre-populated (based on what they have on their Facebook profiles). If there is nothing embarrassing to be edited out, candidates can just write a short cover letter and tap “send.” That’s it. It takes no more effort than commenting.
Before they know it, candidates will already have submitted their application. The fact that they will know when you, as a recruiter, view their application gives them a sense of relief. They do not have to worry about you not receiving the application. No more ‘I’m just checking my application was received?’ emails that go back and forth. Now that is how Facebook jobs helps you improve the candidate experience!
4—A better candidate profile than LinkedIn
One of the advantages of Facebook Jobs is that it automatically fills in the work and education history of the applicant in the application form. This information can then be edited before sending it.
This is a big difference compared to LinkedIn, where everything on a candidate’s profile will be sent to the employer. Candidates don’t have a chance to add elaborate on individual parts of their CV at all. This is particularly important, because there may have been experiences that are more relevant to the role they’re applying for, with others being irrelevant. As such, candidates may want to elaborate on relevant areas and shorten areas that don’t matter quite so much.
Even though Linkedin does allow you to upload a separate CV, it is double the work. In the long run, Facebook Jobs feature will be the one stimulating candidates to fill out more relevant details about their work history. It’s one step ahead in the candidate experience that Facebook Jobs has rightfully made.
5—A better way to spend your job ad money
Have we already mentioned that the whole job posting to Facebook process is free? Not only will your page’s followers see your jobs, anyone who visits the Facebook Jobs website will also see all the jobs posted near their location by default (this only works for jobs in the U.S. and Canada at the moment).
And sometimes, it’s not even about the money. Before Facebook Jobs, many companies have made do with running ads campaigns for open jobs because it was the only way to get their job ads to the right people. No other platform allows them to target as specifically as Facebook does.
This is the super effective targeting methods that Facebook has built up after years of cashing in on ads as their main source of revenue. Now you can choose to “boost” your job posting in the same way you run Facebook ads.
It’s money well spent: you choose a budget, you target your audience and you only pay when candidates click on your job posting. So, you are in full control of who you are targeting and how many of them you want. Doesn’t it make much more sense than paying a huge amount of money upfront and having no idea who views your post? It may be time to kiss some job boards goodbye and say ‘hello’ to Facebook jobs.
6—A chance to supercharge referrals and collaborative hiring
If there’s a site that can turbo boost referrals and spread news to billions of people, it’s Facebook. The distribution power of the social network shouldn’t be underestimated. Pew Research Center has found that two-thirds of U.S. adults get news on Facebook, much more than YouTube, Twitter, or LinkedIn. And a majority (64%) of people who get news on social media get it from only one site – Facebook itself. Without a doubt, Facebook is the place where job openings get seen by the right people and Facebook Jobs can only improve and capitalize on this.
Here is how it works: It’s easier and more common to have ‘friends’ on Facebook than ‘connections’ on LinkedIn. Facebook’s smart suggestions make it super easy to find friends and friends of friends. When you are friends with each other, whatever your friends like, share, or comment, it’ll all appears on your newsfeed. Even when the liked/shared/commented post belongs to someone who is not your ‘friend,’ you will still see them.
Let’s take that logic and apply it to Facebook Jobs, and what it can do for you. Imagine your job posting is liked by one single person. That small action can get the job listing to the newsfeed of that person’s entire first-degree network and, at least, second-degree network, which can amount to more than 300 people and counting.
Now multiply that with all the actions that can occur: people share the job posting on their own timeline, people send private messages about the job posting via Facebook Messenger to their friends, people tag friends who are interested in the job posting. Now multiply that again with the number of your employees who have (and will have) a Facebook account. From one single like, there’s a tremendous amount of growth at your very fingertips It’s nothing short of incredible.
With that in mind, Facebook’s Jobs feature is a good enough reason to start building your recruitment strategy around Facebook. Or, at the least, to include it in your strategy.
The next question, of course, is how?
How to recruit on Facebook
The statistics speak for themselves. And after jumping into Facebook’s Job feature, it’s abundantly clear that recruiters can make smart moves with the biggest social media platform in the world.
Regardless of your social recruitment expertise, pinning down how to maximize your reach on a certain social channel is crucial. Put your time and effort into something that will bring in results.
When looking into how to recruit on Facebook, there are a few preliminary steps that need to be taken by you, the employer, or the recruiter. Ask yourself (and your team) the following questions:
- Is your target candidate pool active on Facebook?
- What demographics will you need to target to be most successful?
- What is your job advertisement budget?
- Do you have the time and resources to commit to making a quality post on Facebook?
The answer to the last question should always be “yes”. You can create a quality job posting on Facebook if that’s the end result you are after. Regardless of expertise, Facebook makes it simple to post jobs to the platform.
Posting jobs to Facebook
Now that you’ve decided that Facebook has the potential to garner positive hiring results, it’s time to get the basics down. Jobs on Facebook is the title of the site that you will need to access in order to post a job to Facebook. Note that Meta Careers, previously known as Facebook Careers, is their employer careers site to hire companies for Facebook, itself.
Let’s go through how to post a job to Facebook, step by step:
Step 1. Access Facebook.
First, you’ll need to launch Facebook Jobs. There are three ways to do this as a recruiter or employer: head to https://facebook.com/jobs, your company page, or your ATS.
Step 2. Decide which avenue to take to create your job post
When you visit Jobs on Facebook, you should see something like this pop-up, asking if you’d like to post a job:
Things to note here:
- The default page for job seekers displays jobs within a 60-mile radius of their location. This can be adjusted. Think about this carefully - specifically if the role is remote.
- Potential talent can also subscribe to the RSS feed with updates on job openings.
- Talent can filter by Job Type and Industry, so make sure these are accurate and optimized when posting.
- At the time of this article, there is a video on the right-hand side of the page with employers telling their stories about recruiting on Facebook. This may be a worthwhile watch. Grab some popcorn and get going!
You can also create a job from your company's Facebook page. You will need to have administrator access to this to proceed. Your business page should already be set up and reflect your company well in order to attract the right talent. Then, creating a job can be done just like writing a regular post or status update.
Open the text box and click “Job” with the briefcase symbol on the top right. This will bring up a window that allows you to fill in the necessary details. If you choose to create a job from the Jobs on Facebook page, you will see a similar window. Instead, you will simply choose the business page that you would like to post the job from.
Alternatively, your ATS or talent acquisition software (like Recruitee) may offer job promotion with one click from within the platform. Read more about how to access this feature for job promotion on Facebook.
Step 3. Create a job
For this step, you need to simply fill in the details in the Facebook form to create a job. This includes:
Job Title
- This should be consistent with the job title on your careers site and other job ads. Follow guidelines for SEO and job title best practices. In short, keep it simple, sweet, and searchable (with no buzzwords).
Job Location
- Make sure this is accurate. Remember that potential talent will most likely search by location. This may be where they live currently or want to move, but it is crucial to pin down the right location in order to get the right applicants. Again, consider remote working.
Salary Range (optional)
- This is not required. If you include the salary range elsewhere, include it here. This is generally up to your discretion, but always ensure you can follow through with salary claims if made.
Job Type
- Remember that this is also one of the filters that job seekers can use when perusing Facebook’s jobs site. Make sure the type (full-time, part-time, contract, internship, or volunteer) is accurate. If the job is remote, say so in the title and/or description.
Job Description
- You’ll need to optimize your job description, as well. You can use job description templates to speed up the process, but always adjust them to fit your needs (and the 1000-character limit on Facebook for jobs).
Application Questions (optional)
- This may be included in your ATS or talent acquisition software, which would be a better option if you need to keep these consistent (which you should for HR metrics!).
Photos (optional)
- This can be your cover photo for your business page, or it can be customized to reflect the job opening. Make sure to keep Facebook image ad specs in mind for the best quality , and if it needs resizing, you can use a photo editor to quickly edit image online. Viewers are more likely to engage with posts that include photos.
An Email Address to receive applications (optional)
You will then see a desktop and mobile preview of your job ad. You’ll be presented with two options:
- Boost Post
- Post Job
The boosted job will allow you to put ad money behind the post. Recruitment ads for Facebook can be run for any number of days, and the minimum daily spend is $10. You can also target certain demographics and preview your ad that will be shown to your target audience. This will give you a leg up on the competition. You’ll want to configure your company page settings accordingly to make this as effective as possible.
A regular post will appear as a normal post on your company page and the Jobs on Facebook feed. For whichever option you choose, it’s best to keep the post or ad up no longer than necessary. If you’ve found the right hire, close it! If it has been up for too long but you haven’t found the right person for the job, close it and post it again. Reevaluate and optimize your job post for next time. It will look far better in search results when it is posted more recently.
Facebook recruiting strategy
You now know the basics of posting a job on Facebook! But is that all you need to know about how to recruit on the platform?
To ensure that you are optimizing your recruitment ads and posts to their full potential, you should identify and track metrics, using data-driven recruitment tactics. However, this is virtually impossible if you haven’t used the platform (or a similar one) yet.
To get started with optimizing for job ads on Facebook, there are some recruiting strategies to consider. Your job post will appear on and link to your company page, so potential talent will likely check you out there.
Employer branding
- What is employer branding? From your careers site to your company Facebook page, everything you are putting out there should be consistent. This includes the impression that talent gets when viewing your company online and visiting it in person. Don’t break expectations (unless you’re positively exceeding them).
Inbound recruiting
- Content curation on your social pages, including Facebook, can be key to giving talent the right impression of your company. Are you posting content that the right hire would feel excited and enthusiastic about? Sell your company by posting innovative content that reflects your company’s vision and ethos. Plus, this works a treat for harvesting a strong cultural fit for applicant’s impressions.
Automated responses on Messenger
- You can receive applications via email and/or Facebook Messenger. Make sure your Messenger application is set up to answer basic questions about the company candidates may have automatically. Further, don’t forget to check your messages. It will help immensely to promote your jobs through recruitment software. That way, no applications will be missed.
Personal outreach on Messenger
- This could be effective if you find particularly promising potential talent. Craft a message that asks them to apply. But be careful: Facebook cracks down on too many duplicate messages at a time to different users. If we’re honest, you should be creating messages that are tailored to the recipient anyway. A little copying and pasting is fine, but ensure you personalize everything.
Creative recruitment media
- This can be anything from funny GIFS of the team to virtual reality tours of the office. Think outside the box with this one. Creativity is highly valued by jobseekers, and showing that your company doesn’t take themselves too seriously and can embrace enjoyment will make it all the more tempting when you post a job vacancy.
Employee testimonials
- Humans like to hear insights from other humans on similar levels. This would include their (hopefully) future peers! Get employees to talk (honestly) about their experiences within the company and share them on Facebook.
Employee networks and referrals
- Facebook is a social network, so use that to your advantage. Expand your job post’s reach by asking team members to share it to their personal pages or even relevant groups that they manage.
Benefits of recruiting via Facebook
Facebook is crucial to marketing strategies, and recruitment marketing should be no different. It’s a great way to build your employer brand while promoting open jobs that are easily applied to by candidates. An easy application is part of a positive candidate experience!
You also may reach more passive candidates this way, as they are more likely to be perusing Facebook over, say, Indeed. However, you will also reach job seekers, as they are likely to look at Facebook’s jobs feature to find the closest jobs to them, as well.
The top thing to remember is that not every recruitment strategy is created equal for every company. Just because a social platform works well for one company doesn’t mean it will work well for yours (and vice versa!). Make sure to track your recruitment campaign statistics in your talent acquisition software and adjust accordingly.
Facebook for recruiters can be an intimidating place, but it doesn’t have to be. Think of it as a job board, but one that can be molded and shaped into a creative piece of socially shared content. Once you know how to recruit on Facebook, your talent pools will start to grow.
Talent oceans, here we come!
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