What recession?

News hit recently that Facebook is planning to go on a hiring spree this year, scooping up unemployed or under-employed engineers as it looks to deepen its talent pool. According to CNET news:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to increase the company’s head count by as much as 50 percent this year. The young founder said in an interview with Bloomberg that since there are a significant number of engineers and developers looking for work, Facebook–still flush with venture funding, and with revenues on the rise–can scoop them up.

Impressive. I guess I underestimated just how big Facebook really is…

Facebook has big expectations for this year’s revenue. Board member Marc Andreessen said the revenue for 2009 should reach $500 million; COO Sheryl Sandberg said it should grow 70 percent compared to 2008. Since Facebook’s financials aren’t public, we can’t be sure what the numbers for 2008 really were (Facebook’s own projections from January 2008. were at 300 – 350 million dollars).

I still find it baffling that Facebook can employ so many people. I’m even more astounded at its current and projected revenues (which are stellar for a company its age).

So what does this mean for your job hunt? If you are interested in technology and social networking, you may be able to land a spot at one of technology’s hottest companies.

But better still, nothing inspires creativity more than strong competition. Dozens of competitors (both large and small) will be gunning for a piece of the space that Facebook currently occupies. This means more jobs are likely on their way soon, a definite plus for anyone looking for a position with a tech startup.

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