How your recruitment firm can use Facebook job postings to source quality candidates

Are you using Facebook’s job posting feature to publish your recruitment agency’s jobs?

Since its launch here in the UK in 2018, many firms have used the free feature to widen their pool of candidates. And with more people than ever spending time on social media because of coronavirus restrictions, Facebook  job postings provides recruiters with the opportunity to reach an estimated audience of 50 million UK users.

In this article, I look at how your recruitment firm can use Facebook job postings to increase the number of qualified candidates for your vacancies.

How posting a job on Facebook works

Posting jobs on Facebook is a fairly straightforward process. Here’s how to do it in four simple steps:

1. To create a Facebook job posting you need to be an admin or editor of your recruitment firm’s Facebook page
2. Visit your page and on the left-hand side menu click on ‘Manage Jobs’ and then ‘Create Job’.
3. This will open a pop-up titled ‘Create Job’ which will require you to complete all of the relevant information for your Facebook job posting
4. Once you have entered all of the information and added an image to the post, click on ‘Publish’ and it will go live and appear in the feeds of your followers, under the Jobs tab on your Facebook page, on the Facebook Jobs portal and on Facebook Marketplace. It will also give you the option to share in Facebook groups.

Tips for Facebook job postings

To help your recruitment agency source quality candidates, here are four simple and effective tips on optimising your Facebook job posts.

1. Produce eye-catching visuals
   Images are incredibly important on social media – with data showing that Facebook posts containing images receive 2.3X more engagement than those without.

   To stand out on the platform’s saturated feeds and gain the attention of users, you should produce bespoke images for your job posts. For example, you could create branded imagery which clearly displays the job title, salary and location so that these details are immediately clear to users, or you could use high quality stock images which encapsulate what the role is about so that potential candidates can help visualise what the job would be like.

2. Use application questions to filter candidates
   One of the key elements that is often overlooked by recruitment firms in their haste to publish Facebook job postings is that you can add application questions to ensure that only qualified applicants complete the process. This functionality enables you to add up to three different question formats – free text, yes/no and multiple choice – to help filter the quality of your talent pool.

   Consider implementing free text questions to gain supplementary information and to see just how interested they are in the role. Instead of simply writing a yes/no question such as ‘Do you have a degree in marketing or a related field?’ choose the free text option rewrite it so that it prompts the applicant to reveal more details e.g. ‘Do you have a degree in marketing or a related field? If so, please summarise the details of your degree.’

It is also crucial to ensure that the ‘make CV required’ option is enabled otherwise you will receive applications that feature information from applicants’ Facebook profiles.

3. Share posts in relevant Facebook groups
   Once published, Facebook allows you to share your job posting to groups that you are a member of via your personal profile or your Facebook page, as well as sharing to pages, the Jobs tab and the Facebook Jobs portal.

This feature, coupled with a boom in Facebook groups being set up for specialist fields, such as software development and digital marketing, due to the decline of LinkedIn groups has made it easier than ever for recruiters to reach their target audiences on the platform.

4. Consider boosting your job posts

To widen your talent pool beyond the organic options I’ve listed above, you should consider boosting your job post. Facebook provides a number of options that allow you to target your ideal candidates including job title, location, education and interests.

While Facebook’s job posting feature won’t work effectively for every sector or industry, it is worth trialing. Look at your candidate personas and consider whether they would be actively using the platform as part of their job search.