Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

The more that social networks play a role in everyday life it’s not unexpected that some employers would to turn to platforms like Facebook to look for potential candidates in open job positions. To some, social networking is an integrated part of life and seeing a job opening on their newsfeed may spark enough interest to get a person to apply for an open job, but this could also have a negative effect since most people use those networks on a personal level rather than a professional one. It is mentioned in our textbook, “marketers must be careful when tapping into online social networks. Results are difficult to measure and control. Ultimately, the users control the content, so social network marketing attempts can easily backfire.” –(Marketing: An Introduction pg. 144.) What this means is that employers must be choosy when posting a job position to an individual’s Facebook feed or it could cause a backlash from people who don’t use the network in that way. However it can be very beneficial for an employer to go this route though since posting open job positions through major job sites can be very pricey, “Some recruiters say they have all but eliminated their spending on job boards, which can charge a few hundred dollars per job posting, depending on volume.” – (Wall Street Journal: Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like). I think that companies have an idea of what type of employee they are searching for and trolling a person’s Facebook page can reveal a lot about a person, which could help the decision of whether they want that person as an employee. I can see this as a useful tool to pinpoint a great future employee since the majority of people use social networking and it reflects an individuals’ personality for the most part. There will be obstacles in the process due to privacy laws but for the most part I’m on board with a company coming directly to me in search of an employee that can handle the job.