Facebook job search expands to more than 40 countries

Facebook wants to hire more people — not just for itself but for businesses all over the world.

On Wednesday, Facebook expanded the job search and application tool it released almost a year ago in the U.S. and Canada to now serve more than 40 countries. It's kind of like LinkedIn, but applied to your Facebook network. Facebook users can look for and apply to jobs directly on the mobile app and on the web. Businesses with Facebook Pages can create new job posts, see applications, and schedule interviews.

For Facebook, the update is a way to formalize something they already saw happening on the site. Now, the process is easier for both sides — job seeker and creator — to see. Facebook also can bolster its message of community by at least taking partial credit in helping people find jobs.

"We saw a lot of organic activity of businesses trying to hire," Alex Himel, VP of Local at Facebook, told Mashable. He cited a Morning Consult poll of 5,000 adults, commissioned by Facebook, that found that one in four people in the U.S. had search for or found a job on Facebook.

"We looked at our internal data to make sure that's true. Some of that is existing organic activity is in posts and in paid ads," Himel added. The company declined to share those internal metrics.

Job seekers and creators don't need to pay Facebook for any access to the tool. Jobs are viewable on Facebook's Marketplace, on News Feed, and in Facebook Pages. Businesses are welcomed to pay for Facebook ads to boost their job applications and target to specific candidates, but it's not necessary to use the feature.

Here's how Facebook's tool works for a job seeker:

Facebook users can filter down by local jobs, job categories, and job type. The job creator does not have access to any other information about your Facebook account besides what is publicly available, a.k.a. make sure your privacy settings are on.

"Once you find [a job] that looks good, it's a couple simple steps to apply. The person is in completely [sic] control over the information that gets submitted to the business," Himel said.

As of Wednesday, businesses on Facebook from about 40 countries have access to the tool to create jobs. Himel said the company chose those locations based on where they already saw "strength with active businesses on the platform" -- as in, what countries were businesses already seeking job candidates via Facebook Pages.

Here's how Facebook's tool works for a job creator:

When asked if Facebook posts about jobs would rank better on News Feed than links from LinkedIn, Himel didn't deny it and added that links from a third-party site like Facebook wouldn't surface on the Jobs portal.

Facebook is "optimizing for user experience. We're helping them find a job that they're looking for. Right now the only jobs that are available in the Jobs browser are the ones that a Page is posting. My advice is a business that is looking to hire post a job directly on Facebook and work with their partners," Himel said.

Beyond this tool, Facebook is looking to invest more in local businesses in 2018. Himel noted that Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to help local businesses since 2011 and said that this year it plans to invest the same amount in teams at Facebook, more technology, and programs for business leaders to attend.