May 7th, 2010
Here’s a question I got from someone asking about the value of Monster in a job search:
(1) With LinkedIn’s new Company Follow feature, LI Recruiter/Premium Membership, LI Corporate Accounts and (2) of course the fact that most of its revenue comes from ads and job postings, (3) how is LinkedIn not a job board, beyond market positioning and product differentiation?
Wow, what a simple question that makes me think of complex responses!
FIRST POINT
LinkedIn’s features (and the new features that you mention, as well as the new job seeker upgrade level) are all great features for job seekers and those who are looking for job seekers. However, if you aren’t a job seeker, or don’t want to find job seekers, LI can still provide immense value to you (as an entrepreneur, manager, etc.). You can find people who can provide value as new customers, partners, investors, mentors, advisors, etc. You can learn about your competition and your prospects… you can get market, company and industry intelligence (think: competitive intelligence). You can connect with peers, strengthen individual relationships and strengthen your brand.
The magic of LinkedIn is that it can provide immense value to a professional whether you are in a job search or not.
It’s similar to the magic of a pixar movie, which is loved by children and adults alike (for different reasons – it’s simple and fun for kids but the messaging and communication and cleverness appeals to adults).
LinkedIn appeals to job seekers (and those in the job search space) as well as to those who are not in the job search.
SECOND POINT
You say that (of course) most of LinkedIn’s revenue comes from ads and job postings… I’m not sure if that is true… there are really very few job postings compared to a traditional job board, and I hope that those very few postings do not make up a significant portion of their revenues… if that is the case then LinkedIn doesn’t produce much revenues. Perhaps that will grow, which is great, but I would guess that job postings represent a very small percentage of revenues.
I’ve always guessed that company and recruiter memberships make up the bulk of the revenue, or at least is one of the larger revenue streams for LI. However, I’m sure the ads are good, considering the placement they get (horrible placement for the users, imho… it’s too busy).
So, I can’t really say with any authority if this is right, but my gut says this is a wrong assumption.
THIRD POINT
How is LinkedIn not a job board? Most of my response is in the FIRST POINT, above. I know lots of people think of LI as a place that unemployed people go but there are plenty of employed professionals on the site, actively using some of the features.
This goes back to the Pixar analogy, though… it’s really beautiful. Since it is not designed to be a job board, or a tool solely for job seekers, but it attracts those in hiring capacities, it naturally attracts job seekers (who are told to network into their next opportunity).
So, I’d say it’s not a job board but it is a terrific tool for job seekers, because of the simple reason that it was not designed to be a tool for job seekers, but for professionals to network.
Thoughts?
Posted in LinkedIn for Job Seekers, Using LinkedIn, social networking | 1 Comment »
Some stuff I learned from this article:
