LinkedIn And It’s Role For Today’s Recruiter

Social Media continues to be the hot topic in the recruiting world, and let’s be honest- most (if not all) of today’s recruiters are utilizing this medium in some fashion. In the past couple weeks LinkedIn has really been in the news.  A quick visit to RD‘s Around the Industry section and you will see stories such as;

Job Search Technique – Find Hiring Managers on LinkedIn

Could Adding a LinkedIn Connection Land You in Legal Hot Water?

7 Ways To Find A New Job Using LinkedIn

Not only does LinkedIn make headlines, but it’s overall growth in the social media arena since 2008 is simply astonishing. There was a report two weeks ago that discussed current LinkedIn usage and how it has grown 300% in the last two years.

This growth has propelled LinkedIn into becoming a great tool for recruiters to utilize. A quick search and you can find numerous articles for techniques on sourcing candidates. However, one large advantage of LinkedIn over traditional recruitment is the fact that individuals who are not necessarily looking for work but are in demand can be identified. Things have also improved on the client side. Two months ago LinkedIn introduced the popular ‘follow’ feature for users to track companies. It is a great way for recruiters to learn about new job openings, new hire/prmotions, and organizational developments.

LinkedIn’s desire to become a real force in the Recruiting Industry is also evident in their development of LinkedIn Talent Advantage. This is a service that debuted for corporate members to recruit/staff and make better use of the network.

RD will continue to cover the advancements of LinkedIn, but we want to know- how are you using LinkedIn to grow your desk? Have you had success in making deals using this tool? Share with RD your thoughts on how LinkedIn has worked for you.

It is difficult to cover this subject and not add a shameless plug, but  a number of our Recruiting Daily readers work in the Health Care field. Noel and I manage the Physician Recruiters Network Group. The popular LinkedIn group promotes a healthy dialogue between In-house and outside recruiters. This community is made up of  hundreds of physician recruiters and grows every day. It also served as a launching pad for this site.

By Tim Spagnola