Who cares about time on site? Not LinkedIn

Eight people get a job through LinkedIn every minute, says Tomer Cohen, chief product officer for LinkedIn. How does he know? Because he watches the funnel metrics from job posting, to application and ultimately to new job announcement on LinkedIn.

Cohen says he can't even tell you the average time on site. That matters so little in comparison to the end-of-funnel metrics that drive straight to the organization's vision: "to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce." Time on site, then, is measured in quality, not quantity. Was knowledge shared or gained? How refreshing.

LinkedIn has an ever-widening window on the world's employment health.

Cohen noted, for example, that their data show that employers are focusing their searches on skills listed on LinkedIn profiles. You already knew your cover letter and resume must contain keywords that match the job skills listed on the job posting. Now think about maintaining your skills list on LinkedIn and other profiles.

Also interesting: LinkedIn is partnering with a skills certification organization to discuss features that can help employers verify the skills listed. This would be good news for professionals as well. The certification badges would encourage and reward continuing education.

In this Decoder podcast, host Nilay Patel once again shows how to ask probing questions and keep the conversation moving.