Recruiting on LinkedIn yet? As of May 2014, the site claims to have over 300 million members worldwide exchanging information, referrals, recommendations, ideas, and opportunities, so there’s no denying it’s a force to be reckoned with—and a key tool in your recruiting toolbox.
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However, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can waste a lot of time and effort spinning your wheels on the LinkedIn site.
Fifty percent of Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn for hiring, says expert Dan Ryan of Ryan Search and Consulting in Nashville, Tennessee—and you should be using it, too. “It’s the largest ‘business-focused’ social networking site,” Ryan notes, and “more than 80 percent of [LinkedIn users] are decision makers. The people you want to hire are surely there.”
The search function on LinkedIn is particularly helpful, Ryan says, and it’s how most employers will use LinkedIn for recruiting. This tool allows employers to search on keywords (for example, a programming language), or by name, organization, industry, school, and seniority level (manager, owner, VP, director, entry, students, etc.). In addition, you may search by LinkedIn terms for first-level connections, second-level connections, or all users.
You can also check by ZIP code or area, indicating how large a mile radius you want to include, Ryan notes. You can also use Boolean search terms if you are familiar with that system.
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Although LinkedIn searching is available for free, LinkedIn’s paid plans allow you to send a certain number of “InMail” messages to anyone on LinkedIn—not just your own contacts. You also get expanded search filters and the ability to see who has recently viewed your profile.
Another great feature of LinkedIn is groups, Ryan says. There are groups for almost any imaginable type of job, he notes, and they are a good way to reach specific types of people. They often allow you to reach people who are not actively looking for new jobs.
If there’s no group for your specialized needs, create a group, Ryan says. He had one specialty that he was recruiting for that didn’t have a group, so he started a group. It now has 1,500 members. (Groups of fewer than 1,000 are usually not too helpful for recruiting, Ryan advises.) Additionally, while LinkedIn charges a fee for job postings, there’s no fee if you post your opening through a group.
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Unsure of the value of this article unless the intended audience is brand new recruiters. But then who is training these folks that this wouldn’t have come up prior to reading this article?
Nothing to see here folks, keep moving.
Jim, thanks for taking the time to comment. We thought a few of the tips in the article, such as the use of groups, would be fresh to many readers. We’re sorry we disappointed you. If you have a moment, I’d love to hear what you would like us to cover. (Does that sound snarky? No, I really would like to hear from any and all readers about topics and issues they’d like to see covered.)
Best wishes,
Steve