Facebook Rolls Out Job Posts To Become the Blue-Collar LinkedIn

An anonymous reader shares a report: LinkedIn wasn't built for low-skilled job seekers, so Facebook is barging in. Today Facebook is rolling out job posts to 40 more countries to make itself more meaningful to people's lives while laying the foundation for a lucrative business. Businesses will be able to post job openings to a Jobs tab on their Page, Jobs dashboard, Facebook Marketplace, and the News Feed that they can promote with ads. Meanwhile, job seekers can discover openings, auto-fill applications with their Facebook profile information, edit and submit their application, and communicate via Messenger to schedule interviews.

Somehow this feels like a bad idea

[foxalopex]

I'm not sure but this doesn't seem like a good idea. I imagine most folks would prefer to keep their fun social life away from their work social life. Usually getting the two mixed up might not pass as the smartest move.

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[xxxJonBoyxxx]

You haven't seen the fitness center receptionists live-blogging the fat people walking through the door, or the sales floor help tweeting complaints about their customers then.

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[ShanghaiBill]

Well, it's probably better than making LinkedIn even worse by filling it with McJob listings.

Currently, blue collar and entry level job listings are on Craigslist, not LinkedIn.

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[BLToday]

That’s my thought too. Facebook is trying to kill Craigslist again. They have the Facebook Marketplace and now going after the core of Craigslist revenue.

But if Craigslist is gone, where will I read ads by “hot young women looking for older men”? Or ads for “willing to give up sold-out concert ticket for 1/2 hour of....”

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[forkfail]

I'm not sure but this doesn't seem like a good idea. I imagine most folks would prefer to keep their trolling, rabid political arguments, drunk posts, and family drama away from their pretending to enjoy the company of those they work with.. Usually getting the two mixed up might not pass as the smartest move.

FTFY

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[nospam007]

But OTOH the complete lower classes hang out there.

Political beliefs

[lucasnate1]

People like to post their political opinions on facebook. Could this be the formalization of opinion based hiring?

Re: Political beliefs

[DogDude]

Informally, it's already here. I don't know where Trump people are finding jobs these days. I don't know anybody who hires them.

In America

[Okian Warrior]

Informally, it's already here. I don't know where Trump people are finding jobs these days. I don't know anybody who hires them.

In America, obviously. Check out the economy.

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[lucasnate1]

Considering the tons of job offers that James Damore got, I'm not worried about them. I am worried about a society where people are not hired for their skills but for their connections, I prefer US to not end up like Italy.

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[cascadingstylesheet]

Informally, it's already here. I don't know where Trump people are finding jobs these days. I don't know anybody who hires them.

Reminds me of the famous lady who "didn't know" anybody who voted for Nixon.

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[helpfulcorn]

Interestingly, a long time ago (50s and prior) people did hire often along political lines, or at least let it heavily weigh on whether or not the person is hired; it was surprisingly often more divisive then than now.

Like Craigslist

[bengoerz]

I call BS. Craigslist has job posts, and Facebook Marketplace has already copied everything else about their platform.

The only reason to draw the LinkedIn comparison is because it has an attractive valuation.

Facebook is desperate to find more users

[Hal_Porter]

Look at it from their point of view. Conservatives hate them because FB bans them for no reason. The left blames them for OMGRUSSIAFAKENEWSSTOLETHEELECTION. Kids won't use FB because they think their parents use it and all their friends are on Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. Their parents don't actually use FB because they only wanted to use it to see if their kids were up to no good. Retired people don't actually use any social media. There are few troll/meme groups left, but FB hates them and is trying t

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[Frederic54]

It's true, FB became lame, I never post on FB, I browsed it from time to time to see what's new for my extended family around the world, but it's all ads everywhere now, it's annoying. My kids (15 to 33) don't use it anymore and it's been months they went on it, they use Instagram instead.
But I use Messenger a lot as about my only IM.

This will do nicely...

[AmazingRuss]

... to document exactly when Facebook jumped the shark.

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[rnturn]

On a similar note, LinkedIn jumped the shark shortly after falling under Microsoft's control and it began turning it into something Facebook-like. Ever notice how the default selection for your LI feed is "Top" posts (i.e., "popular")? Oh, you can change that to "Recent" but you cannot make that your default setting.

IMHO, LI stopped being a great place for finding jobs several years ago. But it's not bad if you don't mind your feed being inundated with useless crap that's somehow "Trending in Information T

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[helpfulcorn]

I think the rule states they also need to do email for that to be the case.

So... I guess that was years ago.

Where is the line?

[jellomizer]

Where is the line between a blue collar job and a white collar job now a days?

It isn't pay, as many Blue collar jobs may pay just as well if not higher then some white collar jobs.
It isn't education, as Some blue collar jobs requires more training and education then some white collar jobs.
It isn't physical activity, as a blue collar job may require you to just sit in front of a machine all day watching and correcting for faults, while a white collar job sits in front of a different machine finding and correcting faults.

There really isn't as much of a difference today. It is just the old stereotypes that stick around.

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[Gilgaron]

Salary versus wages+overtime is probably the last vestige of the old system.

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[jellomizer]

There are a lot of hourly jobs that are considered White Collar.

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[Opportunist]

Yes, they're called consultants.

But then again, we're basically a lot like prostitutes anyway.

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[Gilgaron]

Yes, that's why I described it as vestigial. The types of jobs that they map current jobs to in order to decide on exempt/non-exempt are all circa WWII, if I recall correctly. The ultimate origins of white vs blue collar probably go back to classism of some kind.

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[EvilSS]

The line is pretty much where it's always been: White color jobs are generally jobs that can be performed in an office setting while blue collar jobs are jobs that are not. Blue collar jobs are mostly made up of jobs in the manufacturing or service industries. The names come from the time when the phrases were coined. "blue collar" referring to the blue work shirts or overalls often worn in manufacturing, white collar referring to dress shirts. Then there is healthcare which, outside of physicians, has

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[jellomizer]

The question where does IT jobs fit in?
I can be working in an Office Setting, then you may see me in a cherry picker testing a network connection in the ceiling, or in a manufacturing location or construction site, where I will need to look at the situation in real time.

I have been in situations where I start the day in the office, then somethings falls apart and here I am in my dress shirt, under a dusty desk, or hanging on the rafters having to fix something.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[EvilSS]

It depends on the job. If you spend your time running cable or installing access points, for example, then it's traditionally a blue collar job, working at a terminal in an office, white collar.

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[jellomizer]

Autonomy doesn't seem to match up either.
A job such as construction may require you to think on your feet, and work at your schedule. While a white collar job may be operationalized where you have to do the job that one way.

The using of the passive qualifiers is the point of the argument, There are many exceptions to the rules 49% is still an exception, however it is really big to be notices, that the rule isn't that good.

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[fred6666]

It isn't education, as Some blue collar jobs requires more training and education then some white collar jobs.

While I agree you can have a job in an office (white collar) without any education (you can even be CEO), what are the examples of blue collar jobs requiring a college degree?

Globalization

[zifn4b]

Well, this is a neat service to offer but it's not going to help America. The majority of blue collar jobs were shipped overseas. Is this a diversification strategy to get into more global markets? :P

Do they really think that's clever?

[Opportunist]

Do you want to be known as the "Craigslist for the working-poor"?

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[ponraul]

I thought Craigslist was the Craigslist for the working poor?

Blue Collar?

[lgordon]

Is someone with an MA in Sociology applying for a job at Starbucks still considered "blue collar?"

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[Hal_Porter]

America seems to be heading to the place that the UK has been in for some time where class isn't defined by your salary or your job but your education and cultural attitudes.

So went to trade school and have a business you're 'blue collar'. Meanwhile if you went to an expensive liberal arts college and work as a barista you're 'white collar'.

I.e. it's like the UK model where you can be poor but middle class or rich but working class. Class is about attitudes not income. In the US I bet you'd find a massive

Skills

[DontBeAMoran]

LinkedIn wasn't built for low-skilled job seekers.

If you equate white-collar with skills and blue-collar with no skills, you're sadly mistaken. Look up the definition of skill [wikipedia.org].

FB LI

[schematix]

My Facebook account is only for friends and family. I do not accept your friend request unless we've socialized outside of work, and work events don't count. My LinkedIn account is only for work. It's the opposite - i don't accept friends or family.

This has been happening for years...

[jedrek]

I sometimes forget how out of touch with reality the users on sites like Slashdot and HN are. Facebook has been a place to find work for years now, with massive groups centered around all sorts of jobs. I'm on a local group for people working/hiring in food production (restaurants, catering, etc) and there are 36 thousand(!) members. I got a friend who does prep work and bartending, said she hasn't found a job outside of Facebook in 2 years.

stupid summary and headline

[Goldsmith]

The (bad) headline is from TechCrunch, but nothing that Facebook is putting out there seems to say "blue collar." As noted by everyone here, that's a stupid distinction that is not helpful in looking for employees or jobs.

Facebook instead is trying to help low-skilled people with limited professional experience find local jobs. That's still a strange business goal for Facebook, but at least it's a well defined group of people they have a chance to engage with.