Expat & International Careers: Build your Global Network on Facebook with BranchOut

Many of you may know about BranchOut, Facebook’s largest professional networking service. It’s a fantastic way to leverage your network on Facebook to expand your professional network and learn about new job opportunities that are not being shared elsewhere. Branchout has the largest job board on Facebook with well over 3 million jobs and 20,000 internships. 

The BranchOut network is global with over 50% of its 3 million users outside the U.S. Brazil, India and Europe are the most popular countries and regions, but the number of members are growing in Australia and parts of Asia. 

BranchOut has numerous features to help you grow your network and connect with people in companies for whom you’d like to work. Building your network strategically with these “inside” connections can translate into you being referred for a job by a current employee or learn about upcoming opportunities you might not have heard about otherwise.

To learn more about Branch out and its benefits for expat professionals and entrepreneurs, I caught up with Mike Del Ponte, Marketing Manager at BranchOut. 

Mike agreed to answer a few questions and I’ve shared his answers here:

• Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions Mike. So what is Branch Out and how did it get started?

BranchOut is the largest professional networking service on Facebook. It is where Facebook users go to find jobs, recruit talent, source sales leads and network with other professionals. 

The idea for BranchOut developed when founder Rick Marini was contacted by a friend who wanted an introduction for a sales lead. Rick wanted to use Facebook to see who he knew at the company in question. That search capability was not yet available, so Rick asked our Director of Engineering to build it. He did and we immediately knew we were on to something. BranchOut officially launched in July 2010. 

 

• How can the expat professional and international job seekers best use BranchOut to build their network, search for jobs and build their personal brand online?

All BranchOut users create professional profiles that include work history and education. Personal information, like photo albums and status updates, are not included in BranchOut profiles. 

Once a profile is made, you're ready to start networking. You can connect with Facebook friends and non-Facebook friends alike to start building connections that can get you access to jobs.

The most powerful way to use BranchOut is to search for connections that might lead to sales, recruitment, or job interviews. Just type in the name of any company and BranchOut shows you your 1st and 2nd degree connections.  

Users can leverage BranchOut's search to find people, companies, and jobs by searching for user name, company name, and job title.

 

• How can the expat entrepreneur - often running their business primarily online  - capitalize on what Branch Out has to offer?

In addition to finding inside connections, BranchOut also offers two products for business owners. 

The first is the ability to post job listings on our job board. The are social job posts, meaning they can easily be shared on Facebook and Twitter. BranchOut has the largest job board on Facebook and competitive prices.  

The second product is CareerConnect, which allows you to post jobs on your Facebook Page. CareerConnect also shows jobs seekers who they know at target companies, which builds a relationship between candidates the company. 

 

• What would you say are the most underutilized features on Branch Out that the expat or international job seeker should be sure to use?

BranchOut created badges and endorsements as a way for friends and colleagues to recognize each others' skills and accomplishments.  

Though already very popular and deemed high value, most people don't know that endorsements are indexed by Google, so when someone searches your name your positive endorsements appear in Google search results. 

Thanks Mike for taking the time to share about this fantastic tool for leveraging Facebook(now at 750 million users) in building our network and accessing job opportunities. 

 

To learn more about privacy, mixing personal and profesional networks on Facebook and how to best connect on BranchOut from its founder, Rick Marini, watch this interview on ABC News.

 

EXPAT CAREER AND BUSINESS SUCCESS TIP: If you are an expat looking to expand your global network or find a job overseas, visit BranchOut's youtube channel with videos on its various features and benefits. Then sign up and create your professional profile on BranchOut today.

DID YOU ENJOY AND FIND VALUE IN THIS POST?

Why not sign up to receive more like this?

Enter your email address:

Or share with others?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  career by choice can help you...become an expat and experience a global lifestyle ~ explore international career options and find work abroad ~ understand your Brand DNA and how you can perform at your best ~ clarify your personal brand to stand out and be sought after for top jobs overseas ~ develop branded tools and strategies to communicate your unique expertise in a differentiating, compelling way ~ strengthen and manage your online reputation to attract employers and clients worldwide ~ leverage your expert status to become highly visible, recognized and well compensated for the value you create ~ leverage social media to build your global online network ~ develop a global mindset ~ manage transitions and overcome challenges during international assignments ~ provide an international career coach and experienced guide to help you think, live, & work global ~ optimize your career choices and discover success abroad on your terms by being your best self ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments

[Ali Hillman]

Hi Megan,

My name is Ali and I am BranchOut's Community Manager. I wanted to thank you for using BranchOut and of course your awesome coverage. I know Mike mentioned he really enjoyed speaking with you. We'd love to continue to keep in touch, please feel free to reach out and use us as a resource. Have a great weekend.

Best,

Ali