Who would have thought one day Facebook would be more useful to job seekers than LinkedIn?

Am I going to have to be the one to say it in public? LinkedIn's tally of your connections is some crazy inflated number. Don't get me wrong: LinkedIn has many virtues, but who takes those numbers at face value? There is no way, for instance, that my 113 contacts can hook me up with or even know more than 20,800 people combined. I know this because I can't tell you how many times I've called someone because, according to the site, he or she was somehow connected to someone I wanted to meet. More often than not, the conversation follows the general arc of this exchange:

"Hey, Bill, it's Lisa."

"Oh, hey, Lisa. How are things in Boston? I heard there was a tornado watch."

"There was, but nothing happened. How are Hillary and Chelsea?"

"Oh, they're great. Chelsea won't help me with my lemonade stand, but I guess I just need to learn to let go. So what's up?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew The Situation, from Jersey Shore. I noticed on LinkedIn that you're connected to him?"

"HA! From TV, right? I love that show! I love Snooki! But sorry, Lisa, I don't actually know the guy. Never met him."

"Huh. OK. It's says right here he's two degrees away from me, through you."

"All I know is he's got abs of steel, that Sitch."

LinkedIn is, however, host to a job board powered by SimplyHired, a top job-board aggregator. And SimplyHired has made Facebook something more than a huge time suck by allowing you to integrate your Facebook account into your SH job search. You can now see all the jobs that are open at your friends' companies. It's pretty inspired. Facebook, after all, is where your buddies are, right? Doesn't networking seems less of a chore when you're doing it with actual friends instead of professional contacts, however great the rapport is?

It works this way: Go to SimplyHired.com, where you'll see a Facebook logo and "log in to Facebook." Allow SH to access your profile (including your friend lists). Go back to SH and click your profile picture to check out who works where and where the jobs. On the left is a list of various browsing options. Click "Fun Fact." You'll land on a page that arranges the jobs by top employers, top cities, and even jobs at companies you like. (In-N-Out Burger has three openings.)

Watch a YouTube how-to here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmQqlxn_yWE