"Jobs You May Be Interested In”? You Bet.

In early June 2010, I logged in to LinkedIn to confirm some connection invites and I was greeted by a new site feature called “Jobs You May Be Interested In”.

As an HR professional,  I have closely followed the progress of LinkedIn and am always excited to see the rollout of new features to optimize the recruiting experience. At the time I was happily employed as a Human Resources Manager with Hewlett-Packard in San Diego, CA. I was not actively looking for a job, I found my work interesting, and I felt like I had great prospects for growth and development at HP.

At the very top of the “Jobs You May Be Interested In” tool was a listing for a Senior HR Manager at LinkedIn. I read the job description and it matched almost exactly with my experience and qualifications.  I did not think much about it, but the job posting planted a seed in my mind and I ultimately submitted a targeted cover letter and resume. A few days later I received a call from a LinkedIn recruiter and started the process. One informational dinner, one trip to Mountain View, and six interviews later, and I was offered the job. I joined LinkedIn in August of 2010.

I share this personal experience to highlight the power of LinkedIn. This is how the world now works. Millions of professionals land on our home page every month. On each visit, we now share 'Jobs You May Be Interested In', carefully matched to their skills and experience. Are they all actively looking for work? Of course not. Might they be interested in a new, relevant and exciting career with the right firm? You bet.

Every HR professional and recruiter knows that the best candidates for jobs are passive candidates. Passive candidates are the holy grail of recruiting as they are actively engaged, employed and contributing at another organization. They are also the hardest to identify and recruit as they are not actively networking or sending out resumes in search of new roles. Skilled recruiters continuously seek out methods and tools to market their open jobs to these passive job seekers. My story is just one example of how LinkedIn has the power to connect you with high-quality passive candidates, one hire at a time.

Editor’s Note: Jobs You May Be Interested In is one of many ways that LinkedIn leverages our unique matching algorithms to put your Jobs in front of relevant passive candidates.  We recently launched another product, Work With Us Ads, that use the same technology to help you reach candidates through your employees’ profiles.