Facebook has recently launched a new feature on their already-vast platform: A job search tab for company pages that will allow employers to post available positions and job seekers to find opportunities for work.

This addition feels like a tentative entry into the recruitment field for Facebook - perhaps the most appropriate approach, considering the results of the sudden introduction and consequently anticlimactic result of their “marketplace” feature.

There is debate within online recruitment circles as to whether Facebook, with its 1.79 billion users, will become a contender for LinkedIn. While it’s understandable that these sort of concerns have arisen, it’s highly unlikely that LinkedIn’s user-base will deteriorate because of Facebook’s move onto the recruitment scene. This is down to the fact that Facebook’s addition appears to be more similar to job boards such as Indeed or Reed than LinkedIn, a platform centred round forming professional connections.

Furthermore, the majority of users that will gain from Facebook’s new job tabs are part of a different audience to the one that uses LinkedIn – for the most part because the LinkedIn users are already satisfied with their current platform. As with all new technology, there will be a percentage that will convert but there LinkedIn’s core user-base will remain. One of the most likely reasons for new users utilising Facebook’s addition will be its signature user-friendly format. Many online job boards require users to sign up, or follow complex procedures in order to apply for positions, however it seems Facebook’s job tabs are simple and easy.

The key factor that is likely to convert employers to include Facebook’s job tabs as an integral part of their recruitment process is the opportunity for B2B and B2C targeting. Facebook will not only be able to provide more data, but more comprehensive data on the potential candidates businesses are engaging with, their current job, location, demographic and interests.

Industria may even begin using Facebook’s job tabs in the near future. Wait and see!