Mediaboss Marketing

More and more recruiters in the country are taking the social networking route to ascertain the credentials of prospective candidates. The trend could well be a sign for active job-seekers to spruce-up their dormant accounts on professional networking sites.

Social networking sites have transformed the way companies in India and elsewhere are recruiting talent. Its not just active job-seekers, companies even keep track of talented passive candidates, who are doing well and are not likely to move. Close to 40 per cent of quality talent is recruited through social and professional networks, which have become a key source to find quality, says LinkedIns head of communications (India, Korea and Singapore), Deepa Sapatnekar.

Maintaining a proper and complete profile has its bonuses, Ms. Sapatnekar told reporters on Wednesday.

A good profile reflects how rounded the person is. Such profiles enable individuals to build their own independent brand in the networking sites. Sites like LinkedIn do provide a lot of insights and help its members get a pulse of whats happening in their respective are of expertise, she said.

While encouraging everyone to make proper use of professional networking sites, the top LinkedIn official had a word of caution.

Dont just blindly keep on adding people. Accept invites and endorse people who add value to your profile. The recruiters will be able to see through in case users are endorsed by peers only and not by bosses. Adding value to the profile should be the main aim, she added.

For students

Earlier this month, LinkedIn launched University Pages, which is specially tailored for higher education students.

Students can interact directly with the school management, current students, parents and alumni. We have also rolled-out this service to youngsters above 13 years age. The idea is to encourage young people to build their own professional network and enable them to make their own choices, she said.

Excerpt from:
Spruce up your LinkedIn profile