Is Facebook overtaking LinkedIn for recruitment?

Date: 15th August 2011

Social media site Facebook is playing an increasingly vital role in the recruitment sector, it has been suggested.

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal has claimed that Facebook is now overtaking LinkedIn as the go-to source for both jobseekers and businesses looking for new workers.

IT services firm VMware confirmed to the news provider than in light of the new trend it has entered the development stages of designing a new talent acquisition application for Facebook.

Will Staney, the firm's talent acquisition web strategy manager, explained: "Candidates have been 50 per cent more likely to apply to positions they found through Facebook than through other means. [Job boards] just blast it out. This is much more efficient and targeted."

It follows the recent comments of Mike Seddon, founder of KKSmarts.com, who claimed that each social media platform has features that appeal to different types of enterprise, saying Facebook is regularly used by a "younger and hipper" business crowd.

Posted by Emily Smith