Employer/Facebook: Contact potential employer on Facebook?

[Carebear]

Should I contact a potential employer via Facebook? I use LinkedIn, but no one seems to be active on there the way they are on Facebook. I was just wanting to contact them with questions regarding making a career move into their particular career field. (ie. what are some steps to take to make that career move, what do they look for in a potential employee without any experience in said field) Would that be inappropriate since we are not Facebook friends?

[scenebysusan]

I wouldn't do it - especially if you think there's a real shot at getting hired there.

Instead, ask your Facebook friends if they know anyone at that particular company to send you a private message. If you don't want to mention the name of the company, ask your friends if they know anyone who works in that industry.

See if you can get a name and a personal recommendation so you can write to that direct business contact to get your questions answered.

I used a similar system to get my dream jobs. It definitely works.

All the best...

[Alex]

Hey there,

When you say "no one seems to be active on there the way they are on Facebook" are you talking about someone specifically you want to contact for a role? If Yes then by all means I would send them a PM with a link to your CV (you can upload ot to certain sites that will hold it for you) and apologise for connecting their Facebook’s but you wanted to ensure they got the message as you would really like the role.

If you are talking about people in general using Facebook and you would have to try and track someone down then it's a massive no. Facebook is for personal use and unless it's an online media company that would have Facebook and use Facebook accounts as part of their marketing strategy and in the office (they may also have twitter as well) then Facebook would be ok but otherwise it's a massive breech of privacy and would not be viewed as professional.

If you are failing with LinkedIn then your profile may not be up to scratch. Have you made lots of connections? If your connections are people you have worked with/for then make sure you send them recommendations! Also send your CV to a recruitment agency and ask them if they can recommend any changes? They can not legally change your CV but they can give you advice on what to do. (Recruitment staff are very busy though so to get this help you may have to pretend you want to be on their books or go for one of their jobs).

Don’t be disheartened by me saying no to contacting via Facebook, depending on the company and the employer they may like you thinking “outside the box” but it will depend on individual company and employer circumstances. So just use your common sense, if it’s an accounting job then the answer would be no, if it’s an online add campaign manager or similar then it may be a possibility!

Good luck with finding your new role!