It’s been a banner year so far for LinkedIn, with its stock up an amazing 46% since January 1 — a big jump in its revenue accounts for much of this new sexiness to investors.
For the Forbes contributor Josh Bersin, though, the “real story” is the fact that LinkedIn is now the “fastest growing public provider of corporate recruiting solutions.” So if there’s anyone out there who still thinks that LinkedIn is just a more-boring Facebook for suits, it’s time to get with the program.
As Bersin explains, LinkedIn has tapped into a pipeline of passive candidates, who were just about impossible to reach until it arrived. And this is transforming the way that HR, recruiters, and hiring managers do their job, whether or not they use LinkedIn much themselves. By this time next year, LinkedIn’s revenue from recruiting may actually be higher than Monster’s. (Monster.com made $250 million from recruiting last quarter, but its revenue is basically flat.)
What’s next? Look for job boards to continue to shrink, “talent management” software companies to continue to consolidate, and for potential new employees to be easier and easier to reach, whether or not they’re actually looking, and whether or not they’ve even bothered to send out their resume.
