Job Recruiters Turn to LinkedIn, Social Media Startups

In his more than 15 years as a headhunter, Jeff Vijungco has tried Monster, Craigslist, CareerBuilder, and other online job boards. Lately the head of recruitment at Adobe Systems has scrapped most of them. “I think job postings are such old news,” Vijungco says. “Social is the hot new industry.”

Recruiters are filling openings faster by relying on new tools that scour social networks and target workers who aren’t necessarily looking for jobs. LinkedIn got into the field early, launching Recruiter in 2008. It lets headhunters search its more than 187 million profiles and contact potential candidates. Since last year, Adobe has found more than half its new hires through LinkedIn, using job boards to fill only about 5 percent of openings.