How to Recruit Using LinkedIn: Tips and Strategies

LinkedIn has transformed the job recruitment landscape by offering access to a large talent pool. The platform has over 770+ million users spread over in over 200 countries providing recruiters with the opportunity to network, connect and recruit new talent to solve your personnel needs. A gallop survey carried out amongst recruiters in the United States highlighted that at least three people are recruited every minute on LinkedIn. This shows the potential of the platform amongst recruiters as they can find anyone on LinkedIn from full-time and temporary workers to those working on remote contractual projects.

Read more: 5 Best Recruitment Automation Tools In 2023.

The exponential growth of LinkedIn has revolutionized the approach companies use in finding employees, observed Debbie Pollock-Berry, the human resource director of Save the Children US. By simply paying attention to recruiting on LinkedIn tips organizations get their desirable candidates from the wide pool of active and passive job seekers. However, as LinkedIn offers organizations innovative ways of reaching their desirable candidates, they risk reaching the “passive job seekers” who do not intend to leave their current positions. Here we present recruiting on LinkedIn tips on how to find ideal candidates.

How to use LinkedIn for recruitment

LinkedIn for recruiter provides employers with two options of finding their ideal candidates, the LinkedIn recruiter, and LinkedIn talent hubs. The LinkedIn recruiter lets organizations find, connect and target the person they desire to recruit. LinkedIn talent hub is a more improved version that relies on Application tracking System (ATS) functionalities to recruit, manage and outsource all hiring functions under one platform. The difference is that the former does outbound recruiting which relies on filtered results to reach out to potential candidates, while the latter is, inbound recruiting since it allows candidates to fill job applications as the organization contacts them.

Read more: How to Reach Out to a Recruiter on LinkedIn

Getting the ideal candidate requires the use of inbuilt tools to ease the process of finding, managing, and contacting them. LinkedIn Recruiter functions the same way as LinkedIn Sales Navigator although it focuses on recruiting people. The tool offers LinkedIn employee search options using advanced keywords and advanced search filters to discover the ideal employee. The LinkedIn recruiter accounts allow organizations to send out bulk messaging and saved templates to expand their employee pool and recruit qualified personnel. LinkedIn employee search saves time for recruiters as they can fast-track the process by engaging the most qualified potential employees.

LinkedIn Recruiter and LinkedIn Talent Hub

The LinkedIn recruiter uses the outbound recruiting option to connect and manage people to fill available opportunities within the organization. Using advanced LinkedIn recruiter features such as keyword search and advanced search filters the recruiter can target and isolate the most talented pool and find the right employee. On finding the right candidate, the search filter allows the recruiter to connect with them through personalized InMails, saved templates and bulk messaging increasing their candidates’ reach. In addition, the filtered search recruiter feature enables recruiters to isolate the results using specific parameters such as location, job title, skills, and other specified keywords. The recruiter can prioritize and save the filtered results for future projects. After prioritization, the results are narrowed down to those candidates that are likely to respond taking into consideration those that actively engage with the organization, match the specific requirements, and those open to new opportunities.

The LinkedIn talent hubs are centered on an Application Talent System that integrates multiple recruitment needs into a single platform. This means that organizations using multiple recruiting tools can gather all the insights from one application. The features of LinkedIn talent hubs include the reliance on real-time data to provide critical insights, seamless collaboration with the organization’s recruitment team, integration with communication tools such as Outlook email and Google, and seamless consolidation with third-party recruitment tools and external HR functions. LinkedIn recruitment solution provides the organization with the opportunity to reach global candidates within the LinkedIn professional network. The tool provides the recruiter with 150 InMail options per month and the opportunity to carry conduct analytics reporting.

Top 7 Hiring Tips for recruiters Through LinkedIn

Investing in LinkedIn increases the quality of the candidates recruited into the organization since the platform allows the recruiter to match their needs to the skills possessed by the talent pool. 88% of participating recruiters in a survey conducted by the Jobvite Nation in 2016 pointed that LinkedIn was the most effective in finding their ideal candidates. The number is slightly higher for recruiters under 45 years as the majority of them belong to the “digital age.”

This section provides 7 of the top LinkedIn recruiter tips

1.      Align Search and Pipeline in one platform

On many occasions, organizations always find themselves acquiring the same search results repeatedly. This prompts the organization to create a project in the LinkedIn recruiter for the subsequent roles to attain successful results. This functionality allows the recruiter to transition between the talent pools under the filtered pool and the available pipeline to save/hide candidates depending on whether they match their needs.

2.      Create and share pots on job opportunities

Although this tip sounds obvious, the majority of the recruiters are unable to craft the perfect messaging on LinkedIn reducing the likelihood of finding the ideal candidate. LinkedIn allows recruiters to create job posts free although they can boost their talent reach by upgrading their recruiter account. The job posting should cover essential aspects such as skills requirement, job description, and job posting. However, recruiters aligning the job description to their coinciding brand values achieve maximum benefits.

3.      Choose the LinkedIn Plan

The LinkedIn Recruiter Lite allows the recruiter to apply search results up to their 3rd connection and reach them through LinkedIn InMail. The upgrade provides recruiters with the ability to build candidate pipelines with InMail templates and saved search alerts. The LinkedIn recruiter premium allows recruiters to grow their networks and carry out an active search for prospective candidates. It also provides a limited InMail messaging option to any member.

4.      Leverage on LinkedIn InMails

LinkedIn InMail provides the same services as normal emails but different in that they are provided within the platform. The LinkedIn free account limits the option for recruiters as they can only send limited requests to people to connect or direct messages. Depending on the account chosen recruiters can use InMails to bypass this restriction allowing them to send messages directly to prospective candidates. LinkedIn InMails allow for customization and personalization of messages to grab the attention of potential candidates immediately.

5.      Use LinkedIn private mode

Conducting searches through LinkedIn usually sends a notification to people you had accessed their accounts that is weird for a company to be branded a ‘stalker’. Using private mode limits the possibility of this occurring as no notification is sent to the users after you visited their profile.

6.      Encourage referrals

This option is an alternative to advertising that is applicable for recruiters with huge budgets as it allows them to target a large pool of candidates. According to a Gallop survey, recruiters with elaborate referral programs increase the likelihood of finding their ideal candidates by 50%. Offering financial rewards to users is an effective recruitment strategy as recruiters can incorporate a note that encourages people to leave a referral if they know a suitable candidate.

7.      Integrate Automation

Automation ensures that the organization reduces its advertising budget by incorporating intensive LinkedIn dynamic personalization to increase the proportion of candidates’ reach.

Automation LinkedIn tools For Recruitment

LinkedIn automation tools are distinct software crafted to send connection requests to users, create and send unique messaging and view messages and replies for the recruiter without them having to employ manual efforts. Using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool provides recruiters with the ability to carry out and handle social recruiting, a referral recruiting and ultimately achieve employer branding. Posting a job on LinkedIn is free although a recruiter can only reach a wide range of audiences by upgrading their membership options. The cost of posting a job is charged the same as placing an ad that is based on a model referred to as pay per click. Recruiters pay only when users click their job ads.

Co-founder and CEO at Closely – Lead Intelligence and Sales Automation Platform.