Job Seekers Flocking to Facebook for Professional Networking
November 10, 2009 – While LinkedIn is known as a place for job seekers to make professional connections, Facebook is growing faster as a significant online tool for business networking and personal brand management. To help job hunters and career changers use Facebook for professional purposes, Jump Start Social Media is making the Facebook section of its popular e-book, Jump Start Social Media for Your Career, available for free via download from its parent company website at http://www.digitalbrandexpressions.com/contact-us/FacebookOffer.asp through December 31. Many Facebook users are working professionals, business owners, and other influential people who make hiring decisions. And businesses are using Facebook as part of their hiring process. According to a CareerBuilder survey from August, 45 percent of employers use social networking sites during the hiring process, with 29 percent saying they use Facebook to conduct background checks and research candidates. With the development of new career applications, such as job search agents, CV creation, job interview preparation tools, and the job marketplace on Facebook, people can expand their reach to over 300 million users. “Many positions are unadvertised,” said Veronica Fielding, president of Digital Brand Expressions, Jump Start’s parent company. “Facebook users are connecting with old friends, friends of friends, former colleagues and others who might tip them off that their dream job is available. That’s why job hunters on Facebook need to post a professional profile and our free guide helps them do so.”