San Francisco, Mar 1 (IANS): To help local businesses hire the right people, Facebook has expanded the ability to apply to jobs directly on its platform to more than 40 countries.

Rolled out in the US and Canada in 2017, Facebook's job application feature is different from Microsoft-owned LinkedIn as it is focused to draw in candidates for small- and medium-size businesses.

Facebook, however, did not elaborate on which 40 countries were part of this expansion.

"Local businesses strengthen our communities and create more than 60 per cent of new jobs. We want to help people find those jobs and help local businesses hire the right people," Alex Himel, Vice President of Local at Facebook, said in a blog post on Thursday.

In an online poll of 5,000 adults conducted by tech and media company Morning Consult, one in four people in the US said they searched for, or found a job using Facebook.

"Since introducing job postings on Facebook in the US and Canada, we've built new features for businesses like the ability to create job posts on mobile, manage applications, and schedule interviews," Himel said.

Job seekers can also set up job alerts for the type of roles they're interested in.

You can find jobs in the Jobs dashboard at facebook.com/jobs and the "Jobs" option in the "Explore" section on mobile, by clicking the Jobs icon in Marketplace, or visiting the Jobs tab of a business' Page.

"When you're ready to apply for a role, you can create an application, which will populate with job history and other information in your Facebook profile," the blog post read.

You can edit your application before you submit it.

Once you finish applying, a Messenger conversation will open with the business' Page so you can have direct contact with the employer and confirm when your information has been received.

According to Facebook, businesses will only be able to see information you provide them directly, and what's available publicly on your Facebook profile.

"To stay on top of the type of job you're interested in, you can also subscribe to alerts," Himel said.

Businesses can also attract the right applicants and hire quickly.

Page admins can create job posts directly from their Page with details like job title, job type (full-time, intern, part-time), salary and more.

"Job posts will appear in multiple places on Facebook, including on a business' Page, in the Jobs dashboard, in Marketplace, and in News Feed," the company said.

Since 2011, Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to help local businesses grow and help people find jobs.