Poke friend, tell about job: Facebook helps hiring

Job portals are passe. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are changing the way companies are hiring.

According to the latest job seeker survey by job portal, Shine.com, part of HT Media, 60% of India's online job seekers are only on Facebook and not on other sites.

The Facebook network reaches applicants by making members alert their friends and flag jobs that may be of interest to them.

More than a third of those surveyed believe that over 25% of their Facebook contacts can help them move ahead in their careers. What used to be a process of physical contact can now happen through social media.

Accenture, RPG Group and Woodland are among those harnessing social media to fill important positions. 'We are actively using social recruitment to find extrovert, friendly and creative employees with an active thought process,' said Amol Dhillon, vice-president, strategy & planning, Woodland, which makes shoes and fashion gear.

Shine.com has launched a fancy software tool called MyParichay Social Bar to help hiring from Facebook.

'The tool allows one to see which of their Facebook friends and friends of friends work in the company that posted the open job on Shine.com,' said Amit Garg, business head, Internet Business at HT Media. 'On an average, a network of

200 Facebook friends translates to 30,000 professional connections.'