In its earlier incarnations, LinkedIn, far and away the leader in business networking sites, took the slow road in developing its internal content. Most user-to-user interaction was relegated to either connection invitations or their Answers section. Job postings were still a work in progress, either as a paid direct posting or through job search engine SimplyHired. At the time, LinkedIn Groups was a non-searchable entity, with very little interaction between group members.
Over the past couple, of years, however, the dynamic of LinkedIn Groups has changed dramatically, to the extent that it, if it hasn’t already, will overtake the traditional job board as a primary source for employment.
In its explosive evolution LinkedIn Groups has expanded to allow its members a great deal of interaction. This has included, among other things, the inclusion of a news section, in which group members may add their own content (A TOG Solutions favorite feature), the ability to e-mail fellow group members, regardless of connection, and subgroups for more specific interaction.
Most of all, LinkedIn has added to Groups a Jobs section, which both gives employers a chance to post their jobs for free, as well as allows job seekers an opportunity to announce their own needs.
For employers, this is an excellent tool for sourcing, as it provides both a free platform to advertise jobs in a relatively spam-free environment, which an open system such as Craigslist may not be able to provide.
Job seekers benefit even more. With LinkedIn Groups, the jobs section is a viable source for legitimate positions, the news section contains information that is relevant to them. Most of all, group members themselves are excellent job seeker resources, with the potential to provide a great deal of knowledge.
While it’s true that in a tough economic environment, there’s no true fail-safe job-search tool. But all things being equal, LinkedIn Groups has emerged as one of the most comprehensible and reliable hubs job seekers can turn to.
