Will Jibe Change the Way We Find Candidates?

Back in March, I blogged about a new social networking site called Jibe, which aimed to connect users’ LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter networks to help them make connections for the purpose of job searching.

Jibe had just launched in private beta at the time, but yesterday they announced their public launch, and as someone who provides recruiting support for expansion stage technology companies across the country, I was eager to sign up. I’m very curious to find out whether a site that combines social networks will be a game changer in the recruiting world. Up until now, I have utilized LinkedIn to find passive candidates, and see whether I have any connections to a candidate. Since Jibe will compile the professional and educational information of users on various social networks, we as recruiters may be able to find candidates who were not on LinkedIn previously.

So, how does it work? Once on the site, job seekers will sign in with Facebook Connect or LinkedIn, which will pull their work and education history from their profile to pre-populate a Jibe profile. Jibe will also populate profiles for the user’s contacts on the social networks they connect to Jibe, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo, and LiveID. For every job posting the user sees on the site, they will also be able to see whether they are connected to anyone who works for that company. Jibe will allow members to message those people directly to ask for a recommendation or job advice.

In order to use the site, Jibe uses a credit system to allow applicants to apply for jobs. Applicants can earn credits by linking their Jibe account to their other social networks, by broadcasting their job search, by sending private messages through the system, and by updating their work history profile. They can also purchase credits.

Right now, employers can post jobs for free, but will pay $15 to unlock an applicant’s profile, which will reveal their name and whether they are connected to anyone in the company. The company will also have the ability to send the applicant a direct message.

For additional information on Jibe, take a look at these articles by Vator.tv and OnlineRecruitingNews. Or, click here to check Jibe out for yourself!