Chris Young for The New York Times Steve Uster: “I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn for small-business owners, and I’ve never paid them a dime!”

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

A small-business guide we’ve just published discusses several examples of how companies are using online tools to revamp their hiring processes. One example is Eldridge Capital, an asset-backed lender based in Toronto that recently introduced an offshoot, Zillidy, to issue small loans to small businesses.

Because those loans are backed by personal assets like luxury watches, jewelry and fine art, Steven Uster, chief executive of Eldridge Capital, needed to hire a chief appraiser. He placed ads in local media outlets and inquired at area gemology programs, but after several weeks had failed to find any viable candidates. Then he went on LinkedIn and typed “gemologist or jewelry appraiser Toronto” into the search bar. Within an hour of reading the profiles that appeared in the search results, he had four candidates, one of whom he hired a week later. “I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me sooner,” he said. “It should have been obvious.”

The guide suggests other tools and other less obvious tips, and it points out that LinkedIn has multiple levels of membership. In Mr. Uster’s case, he used his free basic account to find the appraiser. Once he spotted the abbreviated listings for a handful of promising candidates, including their current and most recent previous employers, he simply searched for them online to find out more. “I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn for small-business owners,” he said, “and I’ve never paid them a dime!”

Please read the guide and tell us what has worked for you.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/has-linkedin-changed-the-way-you-hire/?partner=rss&emc=rss