How have online recruiting and social networking changed employee recruitment?

"Online recruiting is among the top internet success stories of the past decade. LinkedIn, Monster, and CareerBuilder are hot spots for job hunters and recruiters seeking to establish a working relationship. The internet, social media, and specialized software have completely changed the employee recruitment process. Dozens of companies such as Monster.com, Indeed, StartWire, and Glassdoor enable applicants to search for job openings, post their résumés, and apply for jobs that companies have posted. Most companies provide links to their company website and to the career page on their site so applicants can learn about the company culture, listen to or read testimonials from employees about what it is like to work for the company, and search for additional openings that may interest them. Large firms may receive thousands of online applications per month. To review and evaluate thousands of online résumés and job applications, firms depend on software to scan and track applicant materials using key words to match skills or other requirements for a particular job. Social media has also changed how companies search for applicants and verify applicant information. Referrals and professional networking are commonly used methods of identifying job prospects, particularity for managerial, professional, and technical positions. Several software applications and social networks facilitate employee referrals, reference checking, and hiring based on networks of personal relationships. ExecuNet and ExecRank are just two of the many career sites that allow members to search for contacts and network with other professionals in their fields. LinkedIn is the most popular social network for professionals. It is a giant database of contacts with profiles that provide an overview of a person’s past and present professional experience, skills, professional referrals, and affiliations with business and professional associations. A member can search through an extended network of contacts based on his or her professional acquaintances. The basis for a search can be job, job title, company, geography, zip code, or membership in a professional organization. LinkedIn uses the concept that there are no more than six degrees of separation between two people, or one person can be linked to any other individual through no more than six other people. With more than 530 million members worldwide, LinkedIn’s extensive platform is an ideal network for both recruiters and those looking to make their next career move. LinkedIn, like other social networks, is based on voluntary participation, and members consent to being networked. Nevertheless, important questions can be raised regarding privacy concerns and use of one’s social network."