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January 30, 2008
Are you LinkedIn?
I recently attended a LinkedIn conference in Palo Alto and had the pleasure of learing more about what makes the company tick and their plans for the future. In case you aren't familiar, LinkedIn is an online networking tool focused on connecting the professional audience.
LinkedIn was one of the first social networks I personally engaged with, long before I had the courage to create my Facebook page. The tool offers functionality to create and manage your network, communicate through "Inmail", endorse your colleagues, request introductions through a mutual contact, as well as other user friendly features designed to keep you engaged. While the number of friends you have defines your existence on MySpace, LinkedIn advises to only accept invitations from people you know and selectively build your network.
What is interesting about LinkedIn is the network was built from the CEO down. When the site was founded, investors invited their influential friends to "connect" and it grew from there to include people at various levels within organizations. That said, the demographic profile of LinkedIn users is more senior level than other social networking sites, making it an ideal tool for management staffing.
LinkedIn offers job postings, and they recently introduced LinkedIn Recruiter which is a premier level of access that allows recruiters to better manage their networks and communication with candidates. Of course the success of using LinkedIn will depend on how much effort a recruiter puts into using the tools available, but LinkedIn has certainly made it easy to get started and even provides training to ensure you get the most out of your investment.
Many companies have found success in using LinkedIn as a sourcing strategy, which begs the question--what does this mean for Executive Search? Millions of dollars are spent each year on search services, but it's highly likely a company could find a CFO using a site like LinkedIn. Something to think about, with search budgets being one of the most common expenses companies wish they could minimize.
I encourage you to explore LinkedIn if you haven't already. The tool has influenced the way we recruit candidates in today's market and holds a lot of promise as more and more companies continue to adopt networking strategies.
Posted by courtneyhub at January 30, 2008 12:04 PM