Check out iCIMS' latest blog post from iCIMS guest blogger Erin Osternhaus.

The number of channels available to recruiters to source candidates has grown rapidly in recent years--namely those offered by social-media based recruiting. Software Advice, a firm that helps HR professionals research new recruiting software purchases, in partnership with iCIMS, conducted a survey to determine which channels deliver the most, and best, candidates. According to the 183 survey participants, it seems traditional sourcing techniques are still the most used sourcing channels in the recruiting profession, but social media is on the rise.

Software Advice’s data indicate that, despite the explosion of niche careers sites and social media-enabled applicant tracking systems, the top three most used channels continue to be the old stand-bys: employee referrals, traditional job boards, and company careers pages.

But despite these three channels being the most used, social-media based recruiting should not be discounted as a sourcing channel. In fact, when recruiters were asked which channels delivered the greatest quantity of candidates, social media was ranked third.

Furthermore, when recruiters were asked to rank which channels delivered the best quality of candidates, social media ranked second, outstripping traditional job boards and company careers pages.

If social media’s dominance in the quality and quantity of hires doesn’t convince you of its staying power, almost 50 percent of respondents claimed they planned on increasing their investment in social media recruiting in 2013.  Social, it seems, is here to stay.

Have a look at the 2013 Recruiting Channels Results for yourself: