Last month, on February 22nd, Facebook hit staffing firms, recruiters, and candidates alike in the proverbial gut by taking away the Facebook Jobs feature. This easy tool where employers could post jobs and candidates could apply directly through the social platform is no more. Taking with it a low-cost and convenient way to reach job seekers where they were already spending time every day.
If you’re not yet up to date on the changes, you can find full details here on Facebook’s Business Help Center. But to sum up:
- Job Groups have become General Groups
- Partner Integrations have disappeared
- The Jobs on Facebook browser can no longer be accessed
The Facebook Jobs feature has been a prominent tool in every recruiter’s toolbox since 2017 so the loss of it came as a big shock for many. But now that the initial sting is over, it’s time to take a look at what to do now that Facebook Jobs is gone and adjust those recruiting strategies!
How Has the Loss of Facebook Jobs Affected Employers?
Facebook’s change has had a dramatic impact on the visibility of every company’s job postings. Especially since candidates can no longer search for and find jobs within the Marketplace. Now, to show an opening in your organization, you’ll need to manually post your jobs on your Facebook wall and view the applications in your messenger app. For candidates, the process of locating a position within your company will require them to navigate to your business Facebook Page, scroll through your wall, find a job post and apply. Suffice it to say, most job seekers probably aren’t taking all of these steps resulting in fewer applicants coming in from the channel. But not all is lost. Let’s dive in to moving on!
How Can You Effectively Get Your Jobs in Front of Candidates Without Facebook Jobs?
Facebook’s new changes aren’t fun for anyone. But what it comes down to now, is visibility, and there are plenty of ways to achieve this like Employer Branding and Targeted ad Campaigns.
Pay to Play
You can still post jobs to your page for free. But unless a job seeker likes and follows your page, they may not see it. The solution? Pay to play moving forward, you will need an aggressive ad campaign strategy to drive traffic to your job postings. When done correctly, this type of strategy can be very effective and with Facebook’s detailed targeting algorithm it is relatively easy to get your job ads in front of your ideal candidates. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of Facebook advertising, it’s one of the things that Work4 does best!
Grow Your Reach With Employer Branding
If you don’t have a large following on Facebook, it’s not likely that top candidates will find your job posts organically. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to invest in your employer brand. In the past, it’s possible your entire Facebook strategy involved posting new job openings, and not much more. In the “after Facebook Jobs (AFJ) world, employers need to drive interest in their brand as an employer and focus on selling candidates on careers in their organization.
A good employer brand campaign should outline why your company is better to work for than the competition, showcase the amazing opportunities working for you presents, and create a referral stream. Unless your followers engage with your content regularly, Facebook’s algorithm will limit your reach by only showing your post to a fraction of your followers. However, if those followers like and engage with your post, Facebook will show that post to another fraction of your followers. Engagement fuels organic reach, and it’s what makes employer branding so effective. For more on Employer Branding check out this related article:
Shift Your Focus to Other Recruitment Channels
With more than 307 million Facebook users in the US alone, it is likely the platform will always be a heavy hitter in the recruitment world, and while you should not abandon the social giant, you may need to lean more heavily on other channels. In recent surveys done by Work4, we found that Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube are becoming increasingly popular for both job seekers and recruiters.
Don’t Forget to Leverage Your ATS
Chances are that after years of Facebook feeding candidates into your ATS you may just have an existing talent pool at your disposal. Oftentimes, recruitment marketing focuses on driving new candidates through the door, but overlooking your ATS could sell your company short. Consider launching a re-engagement campaign to wake up that audience. When done through a messaging campaign you can ask previous applicants to update their contact information, their job preferences, or even their interest in speaking with you. You may just find that your ideal candidate was already in your system and waiting to hear from you.
Bonus Round, Contact Work4
Change is hard, especially in the recruiting industry, however, with a little effort you can adapt and overcome this challenge. And, Work4 is here to help. From Facebook, YouTube and TikTok marketing to messaging campaigns and employer branding Work4 has a solution that’s right for your organization. Contact us today to see how we can help you reach your recruiting goals beyond Facebook Jobs.
