LinkedIn Tweaks Jobs Tool To Better Tap Users' Connections
(CNET) – LinkedIn has redesigned its LinkedIn Jobs tool in an effort to show job seekers positions they can actually get.
The professional social network today announced the launch of the new tool, which now showcases open positions at companies where a person has allies, or "first degree connections" in LinkedIn speak, who can get the candidate noticed.
The new jobs tool, which will be rolled out to all 200 million members over the next few weeks, also features added search and management tools. For instance, LinkedIn Jobs now lets people more deeply refine their searches for open positions with ZIP code, industry, and function filters, as well as view the newest available jobs from previously saved searches. Premium subscribers can also limit results to positions that match their salary requirements.
It remains to be seen whether the changes to the consumer-facing tool will work out for the site's job-seekers, but LinkedIn may well be the biggest benefactor of a better job search experience. The professional social network made more than 50 percent of its fourth-quarter revenue from "Talent Solutions," a product it sells to companies and recruiters that need to list and fill positions.
The better the product, the healthier LinkedIn will be as a company, particularly since it needs to justify the higher costs it will be imposing on recruiters later this year. The company said last week that it would be implementing a "mid single digit" price hike for job slots in the U.S. during the second quarter.
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