HR links in

The 35-million-strong online professional-networking site LinkedIn has launched a set of human resources tools to help recruiters find passive candidates, thus increasing the potential to discover "the perfect fit."

The tool, called LinkedIn Talent Advantage, is a suite of solutions for recruiters featuring a "viewer-aware" hiring technology designed to help companies present information that is relevant based on a job-seeker's background and professional interests.

In a review of the new LinkedIn tool, New York City-based recruiting and humans resources consultant Barbara Poole said, "Even in an economic downturn, employers are still interested in reaching out to top-tier candidates. As available payroll dollars contract, employers have less margin for error in sourcing and attracting the most qualified candidates into their companies. The human resources tools combine LinkedIn's unprecedented database of workers with their unique targeting tools. When working together, they will provide a highly refined way to positively impact the recruiting process. The wider the field of potential employees, the more that the process must be refined, to create wins for the recruiter, employer and candidate."

Company profiles have been available on LinkedIn since early 2008, but such recent improvements as LinkedIn Custom Company Profiles allow companies and recruiters to develop their employer brand and inform and engage high-value candidates with content specifically designed for particular profiles.

LinkedIn has also improved LinkedIn Recruiter and LinkedIn Jobs Network, which now includes LinkedIn Talent Match, a proprietary technology that automatically recommends talent matches for job postings. It also includes "Super Viral" forwarding that makes it easier (two clicks) to forward jobs to people who would be interested or would know a good fit for the open position.