"If our recruiters have strength in their networks, then there's a connection," said Scott Morrison, director of recruiting programs and technology for Salesforce. "It's a warm call instead of a cold call, and that's so much better."
Greene, chief executive of GreeneSearch Inc., who helped place Xu in his job at Mint, has 3,000 connections on LinkedIn. When he hears of a company laying off people, he targets those employees.
"People can see my profile, who I am, that I spent my career working at companies, what I do," he said. "I always thought cold calls were a little untimely and a little offensive. LinkedIn takes that out of the equation."
Dave Stevens, 28, of Santa Clara, Calif., didn't even go the recruiter route. He lost his job at a radio station in October and posted on LinkedIn, "I'm up for grabs, who wants me?"
Someone in his network saw it and referred him to the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce. Within a week he had a new job as the chamber's programs and events manager.
He still had to land the job after using LinkedIn to secure the introduction. "But getting in the door, that's the biggest battle with the influx of people looking for opportunities right now," he said.
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dan.fost@danfost.com
