The new partnership brings formal job hunting content to Facebook -- which some recruiters already prefer over LinkedIn -- for the first time.
As part of the initiative, Facebook has launched a new "Social Jobs" portal that makes easily accessible educational content and tools from its partners at the Department of Labor, National Association of Colleges and Employers, DirectEmployers Association, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. It plans to promote this page in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates and Puerto Rico.
Facebook has also promised to conduct surveys about how job hunters, recruiters and college career departments use social media.
The most interesting aspect of the new partnership, however, is a plan to inch Facebook into job listings territory. Facebook's statement announcing the partnership mentioned "systems where new job postings can be delivered virally through the Facebook site at no charge."
What shape such a job posting system would take, and whether Facebook has any solid plans beyond research to pursue one, are still not clear. A job board that lives on Facebook could put the social network in direct competition with sites like LinkedIn and Monster.com.
"We’re not going to limit ourselves to what’s possible today," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. "Instead, we’re going to devote resources to develop the innovations that are going to help the job seekers of tomorrow. We’re going to invest in research in new technologies that will deliver jobs virally at no charge and expand opportunities for people to create social job searching experiences online."