25 Aug

BranchOut – Meaningful Networking on Facebook

A staggering 80% of jobs are secured through networking. However, popular professional networks such as LinkedIn have very little success on Facebook – the world’s largest social network.

BranchOut is a brand new Facebook application that aims to connect individuals with their established network in a more professional setting. The application, like many other career sites, focuses on members’ work histories and positions currently held thus allowing for the unemployed to easily connect with their more fortunate friends.

Users create professional profiles on networking sites. Conversely, user profiles on Facebook are more likely to include references to risqué behaviors and social interactions between close friends. Therefore, it is to be expected that the same individual, with profiles on both LinkedIn and Facebook, will accept a “Friend” request on LinkedIn before he/she would on Facebook.

An individual may not feel comfortable granting others access to information reflecting a less than stellar reputation, but will happily allow others to view a LinkedIn profile that portrays him or her as an exemplary job candidate. However, our Facebook network is much more motivated to aid friends in need of gainful employment.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned circumstance results in a network of close friends on Facebook being ill informed as to an individual’s employment status (past and present) – rendering them useless. This is where BranchOut steps in.

BranchOut allows for Facebook users to discover where their “true” friends work. The primary function of the service is the ability to search for an organization and view all of your friends who list that they’ve worked there.

“BranchOut allows you to expand your career network through all of your friends on Facebook.”

Create a more valuable network of your peers by installing the BranchOut application and inviting your friends to do the same. You can friend me on Facebook, here.

Links

–        Facebook – Link
–        LinkedIn – Link
–        BranchOut App – Link
–        Keith Petri Facebook – Link