I just read an article in Forbes that said social networks are the newest recruiting tool.

Here are a couple of LinkedIn statistics from the article:
* used by 80% of companies recruiting through the social Web.
* 90% of companies that recruit through social networks have successfully found candidates on LinkedIn.

I talk with recruiters and hiring managers every week who tell me the same thing. They research candidates online and what they find impacts their decision to follow up. They do not hire those who have negative comments or pictures on their profile.

Just as interesting, they do not hire people without a social networking presence either. They assume the candidate who is not online is “behind the times”, “out of touch”, “just not current”. Who wants to hire someone like this?

I am so passionate about the topic, so I had to write this book, Social Networking Throughout Your Career: What’s All the Buzz About? I go way beyond the basics in the book. My goal was to answer some of the deeper, more specific questions I’m asked.

What would you say to someone who asked you “Why should I join LinkedIn?”