Two-thirds of Facebook users between 18 and 29 do not include a single employer's name on their profiles, thwarting several big companies' efforts to use the network as a recruiting tool.
FORTUNE -- If you didn't think your job said all that much about who you are or who you want to be, would you put it on your Facebook profile? As many members of Generation Y struggle to develop their professional careers, most do not feel ready to share their current employer's name with their legions of Facebook friends.
Two-thirds of those ages 18 to 29 do not list their employer's name on their Facebook profiles, and those who do share that information are more likely to work for the U.S. Army than AT&T (T) or Apple (AAPL), according to a recent study of Facebook profiles by Millennial Branding and Identified.com. By comparison, 20% of the 4 million profiles examined in the study did not include a school.
This reluctance to share professional information among the younger set might spring from a sense that their jobs don't measure up, that they haven't really established solid careers yet, or perhaps they've not yet bought into the evolution of Facebook as a job search and professional tool.
"A lot of them cannot even get a professional type job…. If they're a manager, it's at Abercrombie and Fitch," says Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and a Gen Y workplace expert. "It's not a career-type role."
Servers, CEOs, and lifeguards
When young users do identify their job on Facebook, common titles include server, intern, sales associate, or cashier, though "owner" was among the top five titles, according to the study. Slightly more 18 to 29-year olds said that they were working as lifeguards and receptionists than as chief executives on Facebook, according to the Millennial Branding - Identified research.
These...