Someone sent me a Forbes article about the success of LinkedIn being tied to the popularity of social recruiting. It’s an interesting read and you can check it out here.
However, I’m not really convinced that LinkedIn’s success is directly proportional to the popularity of social recruiting. In fact, there are some that argue LinkedIn isn’t really a social recruiting site – it’s a job board. Hmmm…not sure about that either.
But, we do know LinkedIn is popular. Their traffic numbers prove that. Some of their popularity can be directly attributed to the downturn in the economy and the large number of unemployed and underemployed individuals. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can comfortably say my LinkedIn account has definitely seen more activity since the start of the Great Recession.
This has me wondering. Has the purpose of LinkedIn changed? I always thought of it as an online professional networking site. Maybe it’s migrated to more of a recruiting site. It’s interesting to note that LinkedIn’s “About” page doesn’t really say what it is – they just list a variety of stats for the site.
If the Forbes article is right and LinkedIn’s success is based on the rise in social recruiting, is that a sound business strategy? First, there’s a lot of competition in terms of recruiting phone apps, Facebook apps, and web communities. Then there’s the whole chicken and egg argument about what drives the success of a social recruiting site – the recruiters who have the jobs or the job seekers who have the skills.
There’s gotta be a reason LinkedIn remains so darn popular. Let me know your thoughts on this. POLL: Primarily, what do you use LinkedIn for?
Recruiting Animal says
LI has always been primarily a recruiting site or perhaps a site sales people use for lead gen as well. Yes it has a lively Q&A section but the core business is being a resume database and now they are developing into a full fledged job board as well. So I wd never call LI social recruiting altho when people claim to do social recruiting 99% of the time they are referring to searching Linkedin. But #Dummies don’t define the truth, do they?
Jen Turi says
Hi Sharlyn,
Interesting post. What I use it for depends mainly on what I am working on, but then I have a very unusual job. I definitely use it for recruiting, for research and information, for sales lead generation and networking, and for our social media strategy as well. I do have to say though that the use for which LI is most effective for me is definitely recruiting. That’s not to say it isn’t effective in other areas but the time I notice the biggest impact of LI as a tool is when I recruit.
Andy Stanczyk says
I think we need to ask the question in two parts.
1)What is LinkedIn? – Without complicating things, LinkedIn is a database of professional profiles. This can range from general business information to a fully developed resume.
2) What is Linkedin used for? – The reason it is so popular is because we still consider there to be fresh information on LinkedIn. There are lead databases and job boards aplenty but they are getting ditched for LinkedIn because of stale, picked through, and often outdated content. Whether it is networking, sales leads, candidates, or searching for a job, there is still a high degree of confidence in the reliability of the data available in this database.
When the information starts to get stale, the use and value will too.
debbiejbrown says
Great post- I answered “networking” in your survey, and was not surprised at all to see the results so far. When I meet business contacts , instead of storing and collecting business cards, I prefer to “Link”, and sort my connections and work with LinkedIn frequently to connect with my contacts and connect people to each other. There is no question the economy has increased the “connecting” going on. In addition, I cannot imagine why a professional recruiter would not be using the tool.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@Animal – Thanks for commenting. Not sure I agree that LI has always been a recruiting site, but then I’m not a full-time recruiter. I do believe that LinkedIn will need to figure out what’s that one big thing they want to be known for and start marketing it. They can offer other stuff too…but as evidenced by our conversation, there’s some question about their primary purpose.
@Jen –I like your approach about effectiveness. LI might do many things, but it’s what gives us the ROI that matters. Thanks for the comment.
@Andy – Thanks for the comment. Your point about current information is so true. I have found people are better about keeping their profile up to date. Not perfect, but better.
@Debbie – I’m doing exactly the same. LinkedIn is becoming a place to maintain contacts (versus Outlook.) Thanks for sharing!
Chris Marshall says
Great post. I think it is interesting to look at the evolution of social networking sites. I feel that the importance of using social media networks to grow ones “personal brand” is stronger than ever. Linked In was just that when it started, a way to develop a positive image of what people see when they see your name. I feel that capabilities of Linked In has developed it into an easy platform for the new social recruiting craze. Whatever the case, Linked In is a hub for personal branding whether someone uses it as a networking site or a job board. Thanks for the read!
Ryan Lehtonen says
I use link-in in ways that develop my marketability. I have been out of work for 12 months. I am no longer even looking for work, right now I am concentrating on honing my message for when thinks turn around. Right now I have basically thrown everything up in the profile. I continue to edit it (Shutting off all my setting that say “Ryan updated his profile”). I also use Link-in to bounce ideas around in groups. I am a VP of a condo board here in Florida and come across stuff that I need other views on. Linked-in groups give me this ability to gather other views.
Mary Muniz-Pellicer says
This is an interesting post. As someone that has been using LinkedIN for quite a while building my own network, I find that it has evolved to satisfy many different professional needs; definitely one of them being recruiting. But once you have developed a sizable appropiate and targeted network, it can assist with marketability of many initiatives, needs, and referrals.
I also think that choosing the right groups to belong to can make a difference.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@Chris – Totally agree…social networking sites are evolving. It’s an exciting time. And if someone is recruiting for a position or looking for a job, it’s important to understand what each site does (and doesn’t do). Thanks for sharing!
@Ryan – Thanks for the comment and sharing your approach. There are lots of different schools of thought about what kind of information and how much information to display on your LinkedIn profile. I’ve always tried to put myself in another person’s shoes…what would they want to know about me?
@Mary – I enjoy the groups too. Although some groups would benefit from having better moderation. Thanks for the comment!