Welcome to Case of the Mondays, where I tell you things (from a Human Resources Manager’s perspective) that apply to you (as an employee). It’s an advice column to help you stay employed, find employment, and make more money in your career.
I’m going to help you get another dollar, baby.
What’s BranchOut?
From their website, BranchOut is the “largest professional network on Facebook”.
That’s cool and all, but let me tell you what it means to me as a Recruiter. BranchOut is helping me look at you, your friends, and their friends. I am placing people faster than ever.
When you connect with me on BranchOut, I can see your friends and where they work. And then I can see their friends and where they work.
Does that sound stalkerish? Maybe. Unless you get a Facebook message from me asking you to come in and interview for a job. And maybe it’s not even you that I am interested in. Maybe it’s your buddy that hates where he works, or maybe it’s your sister that has been unemployed for a year and could really use a J-O-B.
Recruiters Love It
Before BranchOut, we would spend a lot of time poking around Facebook (hands down, the largest social media network), trying to find the people we need for positions. BranchOut has made this tedious process much simpler.
If we’re connected to you on BranchOut, we can see the employment history that you choose share with us, and we can see who you’re connected with. We can also see your Facebook friends and their employment history.
When I click on you, I can see a basic resume for you.
For example, here is what it looks like when I click on someone’s profile in BranchOut (this is my intern):
Recruiters love it. In my case, my BranchOut network was just amplified from the 1,084 connections that I currently have, to add the 705 connections that Staci has. And even if her connections are not using BranchOut, I can still see some stuff about them through Facebook (like where they work). I then ask Staci if she thinks this person would be a good fit for the job I have open.
Badda-bing-badda-boom. I just filled a job. Someone just got a better job.
Job Seekers Love It
Here’s the REAL reason you want to join BranchOut as a job seeker. Besides the fact that it makes it easier for hiring managers to find you, they can only see what you put out there, and not what you have on Facebook.
You can pick what I get to see about you: That is NOT Staci’s profile picture on Facebook. She has picked a more professional profile picture, and now that’s what I see as a recruiter. I don’t see her with a drink in her hand at a frat party. I see her looking nice and hire-able (not that I wouldn’t hire someone that drinks… but there ARE super stuffy HR people in this world, and you don’t want to send the wrong message to someone that has a stick up their ass).
And! And! And! You do NOT have to “friend” me to be my BranchOut connection. This means, if you want to work somewhere, and you want to get to know some people there, but you don’t want them to see everything you do on Facebook (or seem creepy by asking them all to be your “friend”)… you can connect with them on BranchOut without using Facebook.
You can add a resume: Facebook does not allow Staci to put her entire job history and education on her profile. BranchOut allows you to do so.
It’s FREE for anyone that is using the Facebook application: It doesn’t cost you any money to join BranchOut. As a matter of fact, you can connect with me for free by clicking HERE.
You can also find BranchOut by searching in the search box of Facebook.
It’s better than LinkedIn: I like LinkedIn. Somewhat. But this is way more user friendly for you, the job seeker. And it’s more user friendly for me, the hiring manager.
People forget about their LinkedIn profiles. They never check them. Here, if I send you a message because I found you using BranchOut, it just goes into your Facebook messages. You probably check those more often than you check LinkedIn.
You can see job postings: BranchOut also has job boards. I can post jobs that I’m hiring for on these boards. It’s like Monster or CareerBuilder, but it’s built into Facebook. Pretty cool, right?
Everyday more companies are joining. BranchOut is a baby in the world of recruiting (they are brand-spanking new), but they are growing faster than any recruiting network ever has. So get in now, and start making connections with awesome companies (that are on the forefront of social media recruiting) while the getting is good.
It’s seriously my favorite new social media recruiting tool. And it should be yours, too.
HAPPY JOB SEEKING!
Click here to connect with me on BranchOut.
Click here to connect with me on Facebook.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article! I completely agree about linkedIn not being what it used to as a recruiting tool. Facebook is much more user friendly and more of a social network. I’m excited to use branch out and see where it takes us! Thanks for the great tips!
Great post. So helpful.
Hi Meredith,
My name is Ali and I am BranchOut’s Community Manager. I wanted to thank you for using BranchOut and of course sharing your experience! Your writing style cracks me up. I’d love to stay in touch, please feel free to use me as a resource.
Have a great holiday season,
Ali Hillman
I think it is neat, and I admit to not using it more, although I did sign up for a profile on it…perhaps after I get out of school, it will be more useful to me.
Meredith,
I love your enthusiasm and when it comes to recruiter/staffer folks that’s a great thing.
I have just added Branchout, I always wanted to keep FB personal and use everything else for networking of the business perspective. But you convinced me to give it a try, I have been searching for my next career challenge for 9 months and it’s all AC/DC songs now, look up the names for the answer. LOL
Do you have any activity here in the Hampton Roads area with your work???
Thanks !!
Dave
Meredith,
THANK YOU! After everything that is going on in my life I continue to get the “you really need a full time job” speech, even though I’ve put in close to 70 applications since Thanksgiving. I’m definitely going to be using this site as well!!!
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