The outcome of the third-annual social recruiting survey from Jobvite, the findings underscore the many reasons job seekers need to incorporate online social networking into their job searches. Not surprisingly, LinkedIn is the most widely used social recruiting channel amongst HR / Recruiters with a 78% score. Companies who are actively recruiting in 2010 use 86% LinkedIn for recruiting.

Also, (online) social networking is a must for Job Seekers for the following reasons:

1. You’ll have access to job opportunities at progressive, growing companies.
2. You’ll have access to job opportunities first.
3. Employers are increasingly using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to find and vet prospective employees.
4. You may not find as many job ads on job boards or job opportunities through recruiters.

Moreover, HR Pros and Hiring Managers rank traditional networking and (online) social networking as the most effective way for professionals to find jobs, according to a survey recently conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Read more about these stories and research on CIO.com:

1. HR Pros Say Networking, Social Networking Best Job Search Methods
2. Social Networking Ever More Critical to Job Search Success