LinkedIn is gaining momentum as the go-to social networking site for recruiting both active and passive candidates. The potential for LinkedIn to play a major role in your employee recruiting strategy increases as millions of potential employees profile themselves on these sites each year.

How can you use LinkedIn to find the perfect employees for your company?

1. Post a job, but remember the rules of new media. Candidates aren’t going to give you more than 10 seconds of their time if they don’t think your posting sounds interesting. Keep your job descriptions short and keyword rich, but make them attractive. Boil them down to the essence of what you need and make sure you highlight the benefits of working with your company. You can also post shorter descriptions in LinkedIn Groups, with a link to a more lengthy job description and contact information.

2. Establish a LinkedIn employee referral program at your company. Implement a formal company program where your employees connect with their best connections from their prior companies. When a new job opens up, you can have your employees send the opening to all of their connections, thereby expanding the number of people who see it.

3. Make sure your recruiters develop a complete, keyword-rich profile. They should make sure their personal profiles highlight their position and what kinds of candidates they are usually seeking. They can also use their status feature to let connections and searchers know if they are actively seeking candidates.

4. Have your hiring managers and recruiters join relevant professional groups on LinkedIn. This creates an instant audience for your job postings as well as raising your profile in the LI community. They can also respond to questions in the “Answers” section of LinkedIn.

While major online job boards still have their place, and you can still find great candidates using them, the online social networking world is becoming a major player in the game. Used properly, LinkedIn can improve your ability to attract, find and hire more top-notch candidates.