Referrals - A Paradigm Shift

Employee referrals or word of mouth is the best method to Hire . There is no doubt Word of mouth is most trusted and best (sometimes even the most economical) source when you want to hire.
However, there is always a need to use this judiciously and along with other methods. For example, while referrals may give us a view to the available talent in the organizations, its often not the best source. Employee referrals are a way to get a view to the talent outside the organization, yet for some reasons they are still not the best way.

Have a look at the communities and sources like Bluechip Expert, Linked In and Too Steps and you would know what I mean.These are all communities where networks are being created, jobs are being advertised and candidates are being found. Referrals has undergone a complete change, its no more about employees. Today Social Networks are being leveraged to get the best of talent available globally.
However there is a small qualifier, for such networks to be the most effective source of recruitment, there is still some time. This is primarily because Social Networking is still to catch up in a big way. Most of us would have our profile on Linked In and Gautam spoke about LinkedIn for Career insight here
There are others that are slowly becoming very popular. Look at TooSteps and you would know how powerful communities are in the offering. As professionals we must leverage this extended source of communities / networks to extend our careers, knowledge and skills. As HR Professionals we must keep our eyes open to the next wave of Referrals, which would really make expensive advertising for vacancies redundant in future. Good times in waiting ?? Perhaps Yes !!!