Social media has exploded in the last year or two, and one job hunting expert after another has told people it is time to have a social network presence. Some even said it is more important to have your resume online than in the real world. People have gotten jobs through Twitter, and maintained contacts with future employers through LinkedIn.

But having an online job hunt profile has just gotten even more important, because now the companies are coming to you.

According to an article in the New York Times, more and more companies are now mining social networking sites for potential new hires. They can even pay for services by companies such as Appirio or Jobvite, which will scan the sites for keywords that might match job opportunities the company has.

Dan Finnigan, president and CEO of Jobvite says it is an approach that makes sense for a rough economy, but will still be relevant going forward.

"The good news is that referrals and social networks provide a high quality, low cost way to hire and for that reason social recruitment will continue to grow even as the economy improves," he said.