Do I have to write about the Facebook job board? Well, yes, I do

Given the name of my business, I guess it is my destiny to write about the news reports that there may soon be a Facebook job board.

Why is Facebook considering a Facebook job board? Let’s lay out the pluses:

• Money. Everyone knows that job boards print money, right?
• Audience. Remember, everyone (including your  mother and your unborn children) use Facebook. So it’s a natural, right?
• Ummm…money.

Sounds pretty good – gadzooks of people + plus lots of jobs = lotsa money. What’s not to love?

Let’s lay out the minuses:

• Me too. Does the world really need another job aggregator?
• Dumb. As in, Facebook being an aggregator. Why not leverage all of that Big Brother info they have on everyone to serve up the perfect job/company/experience? Why not anticipate when you are thinking about looking for work – before you even realize it?
• Dumber. That’s right – matching candidates to jobs is a really bleeding hard thing to do – think about it. If you provide Facebook with enough info for them to figure out what you do (and do well), and if you give them permission to bombard you with job ads, and if they figure out this variation of matching technology (which a lot of matching companies are struggling with), then maybe they can give you those jobs….If they wanted to.

In case you think I’m just being my usual cynical, naysayer self, for once I’m not alone. Glen Cathey says forget Facebook – get the government to build a big job board. Raghav Singh thinks it’s a yawn. Lance Haun wonders if job seekers would even think of using Facebook. Joel Cheesman just thinks it’s a bad idea. And Anthony Ha thinks it’s all a bunch of to-do about nothing.

Bottom line? Yes, Facebook will do something to monetize jobs and recruiting. Yes, Facebook will probably get it wrong – after all, they’re a social network. Not a recruiting powerhouse. No, LinkedIn and the rest of the social recruiting world need not worry – yet. And maybe someday something will happen on Facebook that changes online recruiting in a major way. Maybe even a Facebook job board.

Just don’t hold your breath.

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