Today’s Job seekers have never been more empowered as they are today. The sheer amount of tools, advice and sites they have at their disposal is large. This is especially true when it comes to using social networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin.
Although each of these sites are used for different purposes (personal vs professional), they do have something in common to aid the job search. They both tell jobseekers what company their friends currently work at. A relatively new tool called Jobs With Friends helps jobseekers leverage that important data so they can more easily get referred.
When it comes to getting hired, statistics prove that if a jobseeker knows someone at the company they want to work at they are much more likely to be hired.
Consider these statistics:
- Referred candidates are twice as likely to land an interview (source: NY Times)
- Referred candidates are three to four times more likely to be hired (source: CareerXRoads)
- Only 7% of applicants come from referrals, but referrals account for about 40% of hires (source: JobVite)
It is important to know someone who works at the company for which a jobseeker is applying to increase the odds of obtaining the job. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved. The employee who refers the jobseeker is likely to get a financial reward, the employer gets a new employee they trust and the jobseeker lands the job!
More job seekers need to take advantage of tools like Facebook to make their networking more personal. But remember these are just tools. It’s up to jobseekers to ask for the referral or make a connection request and it's up to Career Services professionals to teach their students how to do this and coach them through the process.
To learn more about social media usage in the career center, check out CS104 - Developing a Social Media Strategy for Career Services.
