Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

In this day and age, where computers are everywhere and used by just about everyone, it isn’t hard to believe that social media is taking over. Digital solutions are now replacing things that used to be the “norm.” One example I’d like to talk about in particular is instead of going to a job fair at school or looking for a job posting on a job board like in the old days, more and more people are turning to social media sites, like Facebook, to find jobs.

The World Wide Web has allowed us to connect to people from all over, and social media sites have made it even easier to find and communicate with one another. It’s no wonder why employers are using these tools to their advantage. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, “More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena.” (“Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like”, Joe Light) Although LinkedIn is known as a professional networking site, I believe that job recruiters and employers are turning more towards Facebook simply because it is more well-known. In addition, Facebook is more easily accessible and easier for the average person to navigate than LinkedIn, which also makes it more popular. “While VMware still relies on LinkedIn to recruit higher-level executive talent, Mr. Staney said that Facebook users tend to spend more time on the service and are easier to reach than LinkedIn users. Since February, the number of monthly active users on its Facebook page more than tripled to 11,000, he said.” (“Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like”, Joe Light)

Not only job recruiters and employers have started to utilize social media to their advantage, but popular brands as well. “Companies such as JetBlue, Sony, Microsoft, and McDonald’s, among others, are now developing a new breed of brand ambassador programs that organize and supercharge consumer-to-consumer interactions about their brands.” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong and Kotler, p. 143) These companies have employed regular people who love their brand and are social media site savvy to act as a hybrid mix of a PR rep, sales rep, and brand enthusiast. For their work on promoting the brand, these ambassadors product samples, gifts, discounts, and cash payments. Some even receive insider access to new products and services. Not a pretty bad deal for promoting something you love if you ask me.

In conclusion, social media is now being used by both job hunters and recruiters. Social sites like Facebook are rivaling traditional job boards, and I would say that pretty soon traditional job boards are going to become obsolete.