A new study shows us that Generation Y members on Facebook have on average 16 colleagues as friends. The fact that 18 to 29-year olds use Facebook both socially and professionally is hardly surprising but it does give HR departments and recruiters a great way to leverage Facebook as a platform to hire new talent.
Dan Schawbel of Millennial Branding says “When they go home [generation Y], they are still connected to the workplace… Their co-workers are their friends. And because people change jobs so often and have so many friends, their friends become co-workers.” (Quote from ERE.net.)
Some interesting stats from this study are that most Generation Y members on Facebook list their education (80%), whilst only about a third (36%) list their current job on their profile. The fifth most common job title happens to be “owner” – perhaps a sign of the current economic climate where many people are freelancing or managing a portfolio career.
In terms of friend count, yes the Gen Y users on Facebook are friends with an average of 16 workmates but that is a very little number in proportion to their total number of friends which is a staggering 696 on average. If anything, this proves that young professionals are ‘open networkers’ on Facebook and connect with most people they know, not just friends. The question is really: Will they connect with recruiters?
RELATED: How To Search for Jobs on Facebook
Source: Millennial Branding
