8 tips to use Facebook groups for job search and networking

In terms of social media for professional networking, the go-to site that most think of is LinkedIn. However, it’s not the only option to support you in searching for jobs and expanding your professional network—Facebook groups could also prove to be highly beneficial.

We generally think of Facebook as a virtual place where people post about their personal lives. However, if you think about it, Facebook users also post about work. Not to mention, many businesses—over 200 million—have Facebook business pages where they post about business-related topics, including open jobs. The social media platform is also the most used around the world, with more than 2.9 billion active users with whom you can connect.

How to get the most out of Facebook as a job search tool

With the right strategy, you can use Facebook efficiently and successfully to land your next job. Here are eight tips to help you get the most out of Facebook for your job search and next career move:

Make sure you don’t post inappropriate items on your personal page

First, if you want to use Facebook to network professionally, make sure you don’t have anything inappropriate listed on your profile. Additionally, don’t post things that would be deemed offensive or vulgar. Go back through your profile and clean up any such posts, including pictures of you drunk or overly provocative. It can be best to avoid highly opinionated posts about a company, politics, and religion that could be perceived unfavorably when it comes to you working for an organization.

Pro tip: When seeking employment or a new job, it’s wise to make sure all your social media platforms, including Facebook, represent you in the best positive light.

Join groups of professional Interest

There are over 10 million Facebook groups, where 1.8 billion users access them monthly. Find a handful of groups that align with your interests and career goals and join them.

Expand your facebook network through connections

You tend to have common interests with others in a group you participate in. As a result, you might find that you hit it off with people within groups, allowing the possibility of new friendships that can lead to referrals and stronger professional connections. Use caution when utilizing Facebook Messenger to interact with others, though. Since many associate Facebook with friendships and family connections vs. professional ones, you don’t want to be accused of abusing the connection or Facebook functionality.

Online networking is becoming the first point of contact among professionals.

Follow business pages

Identify the companies where you’d like to work, and see if they have business pages—most reputable companies do. Follow the companies so that you receive notifications of when they post and what they’re posting about. You can also peruse and check their pages regularly to see if they have any posts about open positions.

Participate and respond

Joining groups and following business pages are great initial steps. Though to make the most out of your Facebook networking venture, share, respond, and interact in those groups and on those pages. When participating in groups:

• Follow the group rules. Many groups have rules around self-promotion and the type of posts permitted, so be sure to know the group rules before posting or responding.

• Ask questions to engage. If you have a question that you don’t see has been previously addressed, consider asking it to engage with the group. If members are active, they tend to respond to questions seeking information or guidance.

• Request support with your search. Ask questions specific to your job query. For example, if you’re seeking a job within a certain city, you can ask if anyone knows of open positions in your field in that location.

• Share a relevant news story or post. One of the easiest ways to participate in groups is to post relevant news stories or share another’s relevant post. Given the myriad of fake news online, however, be sure to vet any news story before posting to ensure it’s legit.

• Comment on and like posts requesting advice. Another easy way to participate in groups is to interact with group posts. Respond with a comment or react to the post with a like to garner attention from group members, moderators, and administrators.

When interacting with business pages, it’s most important to interact professionally with the page and comment on and like posts that interest you.

Attend in-person events

If you see people posting about local in-person social networking events, consider going. When we meet people in person, it tends to create a stronger bond or connection than when only meeting virtually. With that said, virtual professional networking groups can also add value to your social media job search.

Be selective when joining groups

There are literally thousands of groups that might be of interest to you, making it easy to become bombarded with notifications. It’s a good idea to begin with three to five groups of interest and go from there. If you find you can easily manage the current groups you’re participating in without getting overwhelmed or being unable to fully participate in them, you might choose to add one or two more groups to your list.

Exit inactive professional Facebook groups

There is no shame in exiting a group; if you find that it’s inactive or unhelpful to you, exit them. Once you exit one group, you can research other groups that might prove more worthwhile or beneficial and join them to amplify your Facebook job search efforts.

Recruiters and hiring managers use Facebook

According to Jobvite, 68% of employers use Facebook for their hiring efforts. Employers also indicate that Facebook is the second-highest ranked source for quality candidates behind LinkedIn, with YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram lagging by over 10%. Some 60% of companies also review a candidate’s Facebook profile before hiring them.

These statistics highlight that Facebook is a viable job search resource to support your next career move. Use the tips above to add Facebook to your list of tools to help you successfully land your next job through social media.