Facebook is Hiring Content Moderators — But Take Caution Before Applying
Facebook is hiring 3,000 workers over the next year — but this is no ordinary job.
The company is adding an army of new content reviewers to its Community Operations Team as part of an effort to combat an uptick in gruesome live and pre-recorded videos users are posting on its site.
Videos of murders, suicides and other awful things are popping up with alarming frequency on the popular social platform, and Facebook’s content moderators are apparently having trouble keeping up with the flagged reports.
Last month, a video of a murder remained on the site for nearly two hours before it was taken down.
In response, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to hire more moderators to “review the millions of reports we get every week and improve the process for doing it quickly.”
“If we’re going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We’re working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner — whether that’s responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down,” he said.
Finding a Job as a Facebook Content Moderator
Facebook’s Community Operations Team has been around a while, but there are few concrete details about these new reviewer positions.
It’s also not clear whether these will be in-house positions or through third-party contractors.
One thing is certain — this job carries grave side effects.
It will expose you to all manner of abusive, violent and gory content.
Before you apply, know that social media content moderation jobs have a high incidence of burnout, PTSD and long-term psychological trauma.
In fact, the positions are so challenging that two members of Microsoft’s Online Safety Team who worked in content moderation are suing the company for damages. They say the job has caused them permanent psychological trauma, including social anxiety, insomnia, depression, dissociation and hallucinations.
So why on earth would anyone want to do this job?
Ellen S., Vice President of Global Developer Support and Operations at Facebook, says, “The people that make up Community Operations care about our community and take pride in being Facebook’s first line of support.”
Jobs like this often appeal to people who want to make a difference in the world.
If you’ve got a passion for making online communities safer, a thick skin and a psychiatrist on speed dial, keep your eyes open for new positions at Facebook’s Online Operations career page.
While you’re waiting for jobs to open up, learn more about what Facebook’s hiring managers look for in a candidate.
Lisa McGreevy is a former staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
