By Bob McIntosh

One Facebook announcement tells me a friend is eating dinner in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Another announcement let’s me know that a friend is taking a cruise from Seattle to Alaska and back. And one more shows how a friend is using his pressure cooker to cook baby-back ribs. Yum.

This is all nice and good. After all, Facebook is a true social media site, where people share their personal life; maybe too personal. Every once in awhile you’ll come across political and religious musings which might offend your senses. But if you understand the purpose of Facebook, you won’t be too offended.

According to the Guardian.com, “Facebook was developed back in “February 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg launched ‘The facebook,’ as it was originally known; the name taken from the sheets of paper distributed to freshmen, profiling students and staff.

Then it took off from there, enticing people from all over the globe to sign up for this free platform, where they could tell their stories, play games, donate to charities, record videos, and many other activities too numerous to mention here.

Ironically, very few people (who I know of) don’t use Facebook to announce they’re looking for work. “Ironically,” I say because who can be some of your strongest allies than your friends? A friend tells me he needs to find a job, I do my best to keep my ears to the pavement for him.

LinkedIn is where 78%-90% recruiters look for talent, but…

We all know that recruiters hang out on LinkedIn to find talent. Many of them will tell you that it’s their go-to source for finding talent, but a recent Jobvite study found that 60% of recruiters also use Facebook to find talent.

Still, we associate LinkedIn as the “professional network,” where business and the job search are conducted. Tis true but would it hurt job seekers to employ both, cover all bases?

In a long-post I wrote, I mentioned a conversation Hannah Morgan and I had in which we agreed that Facebook and LinkedIn would be great platforms to announce job seekers are looking for work. Why not use both? To use Facebook, you need to do it correctly. Here are six pointers.

How to use Facebook to announce you’re looking for work

1. Post a friendly, upbeat message. This doesn’t have to be a novel. Remember that people like to read concise informative word blocks. You might want to begin your message with something like: “Hi friends and family! I’m currently in transition and looking for my next great opportunity.”

2. Tell your friends the type of work your pursuing. It’s important to be clear on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for something in project management but your friends misconstrue your message and think you’re pursuing program management jobs, they’ll be of little help.

3. Provide some brief, recent accomplishments so connections and friends can spread around. Because you’re addressing friends, you don’t want to come across as bragging, but you also don’t want to let opportunities to slip away because your friends don’t know how great you are.

4. Reiterate your appreciation for help in advance. These are one of the things you learned in kindergarten, right. Thank people for their help.

5. List your LinkedIn URL in the message. Some of your friends might not know you’re on LinkedIn. Hell, they might not even know what LinkedIn is.

6. End by asking them to be safe. In these times, it only makes sense to show gratitude, as well as concern.

The old saying that everyone can be a part of your network is true. Remember that friends, relatives, and associates can be your strongest allies. Even if they’re not in your industry, they might hear of opportunities you’re not aware of.

Another option is to send a direct message (DM) to your Facebook friends. A close friend who commented on my post suggested this approach rather than sharing a blanket post.

Let’s look at some reasons why Facebook might be a better platform to use when announcing you’re looking for a new job.

Reach out to recruiters on Facebook

Go where the recruiters hang out. Recruiters Online has more than 20,000 members. This group is strictly for recruiters, states group administrator Mike Kelemen; so, if you want to find recruiters to approach, go where they graze.

But make sure you have you deliver a strong message when approaching a recruiter on Facebook. Of course it will start with a friendly introduction, but the gist of your message needs to highlight your top skills and relevant accomplishments. Bottom line, recruiters don’t have a lot of time to waste on a weak intro.

While some recruiters might not consider Facebook to be a pool of talented job seekers, there are plenty who do. Recruiters have one goal in mind, and that is to fill positions. So, if they are presented with an opportunity to present a quality candidate to their employer, they’ll take it.

Recruiter David M. Marr keeps an open mind: “Facebook groups are way more active and useful now than LI Groups are. You can post jobs on Facebook now. You can search inside Facebook and XRay Facebook for Talent.

“Their jobs and skills section are not as advanced as LinkedIn, but considering they have 2.3 Billion users globally and the global population is 7.7 Billion, and you compare that against LI’s 200+ Million profiles. It’s really a no brainer based upon the data alone.

“That and EVERY recruiter is sourcing for the same talent from this channel and it’s over saturated. If you want to find new talent that your competitors aren’t, take the time to source from Facebook.

“You can even message someone not in your network. And you have the personal touch of actually getting to know about them as a person vs a professional Profile on LI.

“I cross reference against all of their social media profiles I can find and try to craft a customized email template with at least 3, but ideally 7 touch points that shows I read their profile. Videos and Gifs and humor work great.”

What others say about announcing you’re looking for work on FB

Emily Lawson: One thing to keep in mind with your Facebook community is to communicate level, industry and types of companies to help your network zero in on what’s ideal. Many of those connections are not familiar with your career history or LinkedIn profile.

If I was looking for HR work, and shared it with my Facebook network, I’d likely get all kinds of responses since I’ve lived in many different areas and have friends all over. Here’s an example: “I’m looking for a senior level HR Manager or HR Business Partner role in the technology or medical industry. Preferably, within a mid to large company with an established positive culture. It may seem like a lot up front, but it would actually save them time so they don’t share information that isn’t the right fit.

I think a more tailored approach would work better. There are likely many job seekers who could say the exact same thing. The key to differentiating yourself as a candidate is to focus in on value and alignment. For example… If the message is regarding an existing opening, I would focus on your value and how it relates to that specific role.

I would highlight experience based on major requirements from the job description. If the message is regarding your interest in working at that specific company, then I would focus on alignment with their values or culture.

I would expand on “why” and what’s driving your interest. Both provide great storytelling opportunity that holds far more interest and relevancy for a reader who needs to build confidence in your ability to provide solutions and fit where they need it most.

Paula Christensen: Years ago when I changed industries I found that my Facebook friends were my biggest supporters. In some instances, these people knew me the longest and trusted me immediately because of that tenure and my reputation in previous jobs.

Sarah Johnston: I’ve relocated a number of times for my husband’s job. I’ve posted an update on FB every time letting my friends and acquaintances know about my relocation. My FB community never disappoints me. I’ve made many real connections through friends of friends… online social networking sites were designed to help you stay in touch with more people and are great for building “friend of friend” connections

Jayne Mattson: If you are want to broadcast, then do it with 2 things in mind, which are giving and receiving. In the broadcast ask 3 even 5 questions or advice that will help you in your search. More than likely you will get responses with information that will benefit you. Telling people you are in the market could lead you to advertised jobs and maybe ones that aren’t posted. However, I believe it is unlikely. Now the major part of your message, thank everyone in advance and with a “please do not hesitate to reach out to me for help if there is information you are seeking.”

Erin Hutchinson: I tell people that the more they can get their brand/value across in the message, the better chance they are of having a friend/connection reach out to help! As a workforce professional, I even hate it when people ask me to help them find a job, but have no direction or understanding of what they bring to the table! Help me help you!

Jean Avery: I’d add: if there’s a specific company of interest, it’s worth mentioning. “I’m looking for a data analyst role, and would love a connection at Salesforce or Amazon here in Seattle.” This is a good way for people who don’t have a lead to help, by tagging friends at a specific organization. If it’s not clear, I’d mention whether it’s a local or national search (or clarify onsite vs. remote work). I also explicitly say ‘comment or message me’ so people are less intimidated to follow up with a general question or inquiry/lead.

Read what others have to say in the long post that inspired this article.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com