How to optimise your profile to apply for work on Facebook
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Whether or not this was part of Mark Zuckerberg’s vision, back in the day, he and the other minds behind Facebook have certainly been trying to make it the go-to platform for finding work. As it stands though, and as you are no doubt well aware of, at the moment it’s merely one of many such, free job-finding tools available. And it’s still very new to the online world of work.

Unfortunately then, it’s not quite perfected the way it works. Neither for people looking for work, nor employers looking for people. Nonetheless, it remains a great way to connect people, and can become an almost instant method of communication between job-promoter, and job-seeker. And if you fall into this second category, here are several tips for making your profile officially application ready!

Making your profile matter

Once you’ve spotted the right opportunity, and clicked ‘Apply’, you’ll be presented with one of the screens, below. On the left, is the desktop version of a Facebook job application, while on the right is the mobile version. As you can see, the exact same information is recorded – and this would usually be pre-populated from your Facebook profile.

And so begins the biggest problem with applying for a job on Facebook. If your profile doesn’t contain all the usual information you’d usually include in a CV, neither will your application. Plus, with the mobile version of the page not clearly encouraging you to fill in any blanks – with the ‘Send‘ button temptingly right in front of you – it can became very easy to apply for a role without including any salient details about… well… you.

So, the first step to take is to check that your basic details are correct. Does your location need updating? Has the email address or the phone number linked to your Facebook account changed since you set the page up? Have you used a nickname or pseudonym on your profile?  Facebook will ‘conveniently’, automatically pull all these details into the form for you, so be sure to check each one before submitting the form.

The platform will also populate your application with any employment or education information it holds on you, which, again, may not always be up to date. Unless you’ve been rigorous with updating your Facebook profile with where you’ve worked and studied, not to mention when, you could once again end up submitting an incomplete, or information-light job application.

Update and make an impression

Returning to the image above, for a moment, you’ll notice that Facebook does give you the opportunity to add to your experience and education, including deleting any incorrect or outdated information – and this is where you need to treat it like any other job application.

Given that close to 80% of Facebook users usually access the platform via a mobile device – and never via a desktop or laptop – unless you’re comfortable typing out an entire CV with your thumbs, you may wish to grab something with a keyboard while you update your profile.

In fact, if you have an up-to-date CV handy, the most efficient way of ensuring your details are correct on Facebook might be to simply copy and paste the information across, as best you can. Make sure that every element, including the dates of your employment and education, are correct, and you can even use the Experience section to include a short bio. As you are unable to include any form of covering letter with a Facebook application, at least for the moment, this is where you can include extra details that could make your profile stand out.

Using your profile to plan for the future

At this moment in time, Facebook isn’t as practical as LinkedIn, nor specific jobsites such as Indeed, or dedicated recruitment websites like ours, when applying for jobs. And as such, employers are still likely to ask for a more detailed CV, after your initial application. But this doesn’t mean that Zuckerberg and Co won’t continue to improve this part of their platform, in order to become more competitive within this area of the social media market.

And ultimately, it’s becoming more competitive that perfecting your profile is all about. With an updated, fully optimised Facebook profile, you not only stand a greater chance of standing out when applying for work, but also when employers are looking to headhunt for applicants themselves. (Yes, this is possible). And finally, should Facebook success in its quest to become the ‘the go-to platform for finding work’, getting into the habit, now, of maintaining your profile, is a great habit to get into for the future.

For more information on best practice when it comes to applying for work, drop the team a message via out Contact Page, or call us on 01325 285033.