LinkedIn and foreign sites will strengthen local operations in Brazil

14/12/2011 - 09h52

The growth of the audience for career sites in Brazil has caused global companies specializing in online recruitment, such as LinkedIn and Monster, to strengthen their presence in the country.

Of the 50.6 million Brazilian internet users, 28.3% already access the pages, up from 19% in October of 2010, according to the consultant comScore.

The main professional social network, LinkedIn has reached 6 million registered users in Brazil almost effortlessly and is now opening its office in the country to attract companies.

The strategy involves the sale of services like a subscription to online access filters in which a company with openings can scan LinkedIn's user base in search of candidates.

"Brazil is now the fourth largest country in audience, behind only the United States, India and the United Kingdom," says Osvaldo de Oliveira, president of the local operation.

The reach of social networks also generates optimism among career sites.

This is the case with Monster, which has been in Brazil since 2009 and that created the application BeKnown, where users can separate their personal profile on Facebook from their professional contacts.

The portal, with 30 employees in the country, intends to expand its workforce by 50% to strengthen the approach to corporate clients.

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Among the companies that joined the social networks for recruitment is Ernst & Young Terco, which opted for the mixed use of LinkedIn for experienced candidates, and Facebook for trainees.

For the 40 openings advertised on LinkedIn, 6300 candidates appeared, according to Armando Bordallo, director of Human Resources.

The growth of the social networks challenges the traditional recruitment sites.

In Brazil, Catho remains the leader of the career segment, with 6 million visitors in October. However, for the companies, the relationship is shallow on this type of portal.

"There are banks of resumes, where you can't filter for exactly the profile of the candidate you want," says Bordallo, of Ernst&Young.

When contacted, Catho didn't respond to interview requests.

Translated by DAVE WOLIN