Social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter are often the go-to applications for career networking, but now Facebook users can contact people who have interviewed, worked, or are currently employed at the places they want to work at next with a new app called Inside Job.
Inside Job, developed by Arlington Soho, works on the premise that having a contact on the inside of a company will improve your chances of getting hired there. Here are its main features:
1. Information about a perspective employer before you interview. Before you join a new company, it’s often helpful to know what you are getting yourself into. For example, if you are interviewing for a developer position with Microsoft in Redmond you would simply search Inside Job for “developer”, “Microsoft” and “Redmond, Washington”. You can then contact the people that show up in your search results and ask them, “what is it really like to work at Microsoft?” or ask questions about the interview process. This can be valuable information to a person starting a new career.
2. “Insider” connections. Do you want to work at Microsoft, but you don’t have any connections there? With Inside Job you can search “Microsoft” and Redmond, Washington” (or any other location) and locate the company’s lead contacts that you can find on Facebook. You can then add those contacts to any of your other professional networks for future reference.
3. Be a resource for others. Both employers and employees can benefit from using Inside Job. Employers can post jobs and employees can help recruit qualified talent to their companies and possibly earn their company’s referral bonuses.
These are certainly tough times for job seekers in all markets. Using a free Facebook application like this could be a great way for people to network their way into a new career.
