The Duel – Facebook vs. LinkedIN

Which is better for your job search, Facebook or LinkedIN?

The case for LinkedIN:


Strengths:

• LinkedIN allows you to build a massive network, and allows you to limited contact with any other user directly through its InMail feature
• You see 3 degrees of separation
• LinkedIN has a widget that allows you to superimpose your network over Monster and CareerBuilder ads – so you can reach line managers and bypass HR.
• LinkedIN has a similar widget to superimpose mini profiles over Outlook emails
• The LinkedIN Answers is a great way to find your audience, and participate in discussions

Weaknesses:

• It’s tough to broadcast messages to groups in LinkedIN, or to make messages viral
• Facebook groups are stronger and more functional than LinkedIN groups
  
• LinkedIN is built to acquire a network, more than for communicating with a network
• Communication with LinkedIN contacts are best done through good old email, after initial LinkedIN introduction
• LinkedIN doesn’t coordinate well as well with blogs, and has few customizable apps

The case for FaceBook:

Strengths:

• FaceBook is built for better communication within FaceBook. It’s easy to stay in contact with your network without jumping to outside email apps
• On Facebook, you can directly email anyone, even if you aren’t connected to them
• FaceBook has thousands of customizable apps, allowing recommendations, 2nd degree of separation, CRM like features, business cards
• FaceBook has customizable control to allow (or block) access to your information by group or individual (so you can block all your job search information from people within your company)
• FaceBook has viral messaging features, which is great for spreading the word
• FaceBook is excellent in blog integration, photo sharing and tagging, video sharing, and groups. Facebook integrates well with Flickr & YouTube
• 250 million members and growing…fast. It’s 6x the size of LinkedIN

Weaknesses:

• FaceBook is over-sensitive to spam, to the point of being ridiculous. If you template introductions, your account gets flagged after a few intro emails per a day. However, if you send friend requests without a note, it’s not considered spam. Go figure…
• FaceBook recommendations, questions/answers are still weak, due to low adoption rates
• FaceBook still has a social atmosphere, which means you’ll have friends that send cutsey messages to all of their friends…3 times a day. But you can block this feature
• FaceBook really only gives you 1 level of separation, you can get to a second level with heavy lifting through a FaceBook app, but the app only has a small user base.
  
• Others can send you pictures, or add pics to your photo album. This means you have to regularly manage your online reputation, especially your public profile and photo album.

Common to Both:

• Both LinkedIN & Facebook have solid job boards
• Both have a status feature that lets you broadcast one-line status texts, like a built in Twitter
• Both have voice integration with Skype and Jaxtr
• Both are great for catching up with old classmates, or co-workers from past lives.
• Both have introduction features
• Neither has an easy integration of multiple social networks, phone or email lists, or contact management. Everything has to be exported and manipulated in Outlook, so it’s very limited, time consuming, & tricky
  

Summary:

Both are winners, and a winning strategy is to use both, because they each have their strengths in helping you build your network and subject matter expertise. I invite my contacts to both LinkedIN (http://www.linkedin.com/in/philrosenberg) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/philrosenberg) …feel free to invite me to your networks on both.

Executives exploring Career Change: For a free 30 minute resume consultation, or career advice for executives, email your resume confidentially to reCareered (phil.reCareered@gmail.com), and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Staff, Managers, Entrepreneurs, and career changers outside the US: Send your resume to phil.reCareered@gmail.com to enroll in a free group teleseminar "Accelerate Your Job Search - tools you can use".