How to Recruit on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is likely the most influential and widely-used professional platform that enables job seekers and companies to connect. This website helps its users with career development, finding compatible candidates, and accomplishing business objectives. 

Millions of people worldwide use LinkedIn, which creates an opportunity to expand industry-related connections and improve employer branding. It’s no surprise that this is the 24th most visited platform globally and that it generated 8.05 billion USD in revenue in 2020. 

Forty percent of users visit LinkedIn every day, resulting in over one billion interactions every month. Most people on this website are from the United States (175 million), but over 75 percent of individuals come from other parts of the world. 

According to Statista, 59 percent of users are between 25 and 34 years old, while over 20 percent are Generation Z (between 18-24). Baby Boomers are the rarest age group on LinkedIn, with only 2.9 percent. 

Moreover, 57 percent of users are males, and women are more selective about their job applications, feeling they must meet 100 percent of requirements before sending their job applications. Because of that, females apply to 20 percent fewer openings than men. 

When recruiting on LinkedIn, you should know that half of all US adults with college degrees use this platform. 

Although you can target 663.3 million people with LinkedIn ads, you’ll have the best outreach if you’re from the U.S., India, China, and the UK, as these four countries have the highest number of users. You’ll also attract more people via the app, as 57 percent of traffic comes from mobile devices. 

We can safely note that LinkedIn is the best platform for recruitment due to being the most credible social network and approximately 40 million people searching for jobs on this website every week. Ninety-seven thousand companies use it to recruit, and three persons are hired through LinkedIn every minute. Alternately, some LinkedIn alternatives might work in some cases.

Benefits of LinkedIn Recruitment

If you still haven’t used LinkedIn, you might wonder about its benefits compared to other social networks and job boards. Here’s everything you should know about the advantages of this platform:

• It Serves to Connect Job Seekers and Companies – The obvious one comes first. – LinkedIn helps those looking for employment and businesses seeking talents find each other. Professional connections and networking are the core values of this platform, providing efficient tools to narrow the search and find the best match for both parties. 
• Access to Stellar Talent Pool – Hardly any other website gathers millions of professionals from various industries in one place. Most LinkedIn users create a profile to find a job or high-quality candidate, making it a great place to access numerous job opportunities and a substantial talent pool. However, this platform also offers great content and insights into the latest HR trends, allowing recruiters to understand their target audience better.
• A Mobile-Friendly Platform – Most young people use their mobile devices to look for jobs. Because of that, it’s crucial to post job openings on mobile-friendly platforms that have an excellent user experience. LinkedIn has a highly intuitive mobile app that is easy to navigate and explore available tools and categories. Thus, compatible job seekers may receive push notifications on their phones right after you publish an available vacancy. 
• LinkedIn Is the Place to Be – People typically turn to LinkedIn when starting their job-hunting mission. Due to being a professional network that gives access to local, national, and international job openings and global companies, this is the place to be for most job seekers. Because of that, it’s also a stellar candidate sourcing platform for recruiters. 
• It’s Free to Use – Although LinkedIn offers Premium membership, HR professionals can use the free version equally efficiently and find compatible job applicants. That makes it an affordable recruitment solution that gives access to millions of stellar talents and future employees. 

How to Start Recruiting on LinkedIn

Recruitment is a demanding activity that requires a combination of efficient tools, techniques, and strategies. However, LinkedIn is a must for most recruiters that strive to find quality candidates. 

If you’re new to this platform and want to make the most of its advantages, here’s how to use it and seek talents efficiently. 

Posting Job Ads on LinkedIn

The most significant element of LinkedIn is the ability to post job openings. It allows your job description to reach relevant job seekers, spark their attention, and increase your influx of high-quality job applications. 

However, you can leverage two ways when publishing your job opening. LinkedIn offers paid job postings that give you access to both active and passive job seekers. On the other hand, you can opt for a free version using your personal profile, company page, or LinkedIn groups. 

Choosing paid advertising of your available vacancies helps you target professionals with the exact skills your need. The platform will share the job opening across its network, ensuring that every LinkedIn user sees it. 

Moreover, it will send notifications and emails to potential job applicants with locations and abilities that match the requirements. This commodity also ensures your job description appears on your LinkedIn company page and creates a list of 50 suitable members for the vacancy. 

Besides, you will receive five InMail messages for free, allowing you to contact users outside your network. 

The Process of Publishing Job Openings on the Platform

If you’re new to LinkedIn and want to use it to post your job openings, here’s how to do it, step by step:

1. Create a Profile

Start by heading to LinkedIn’s website home page and creating an account. The prompts will make the process easy, showing where to click and what steps to follow. 

The next step is to input your personal and professional details, add a photo, and mention anything else that could be of value to making your profile as professional as possible. 

2. Set Up a LinkedIn Company Page

After creating your profile, it’s time to set up your company page by choosing Work from the top-right drop-down menu. You’ll find the option right next to your avatar, and the next step is to click the Create a Company Page option. 

However, you also must choose your company URL and write a description between 250 and 2000 characters. Ensure you pay enough attention to this page, as it’s the first thing potential candidates will see, shaping their initial impression. 

Thus, it will host your job postings and tell the story of your business. Because of that, you must write a concise description, highlight your values, mission, and products. 

Your company page should set you apart from other employers and align with your brand. Nonetheless, avoid jargon and being overly quirky because job seekers should perceive you as professional and credible. 

3. Select the Jobs Icon

Proceed by clicking on the briefcase icon and selecting Jobs. – It’s right at the top of the home page. The next step is to choose Post a Job option on the right. 

That action will take you to another page and ask you to input your account information again. However, this time you’ll use the LinkedIn Recruiter login. 

After entering your data, you’ll see the prompts directing you to select the company name, job title, and locale. The platform will let you know the number of potential passive job applicants with the same title, aiming to shorten your pursuit. 

4. Write an Engaging Job Description

The next step is to enter the job opening details. Although the platform will use your company page to automatically input job descriptions, do it yourself to add an engaging tone. 

Ensure your job ad leaves no doubts about the role and responsibilities. Be concise, straightforward, and use language that speaks to your target audience. 

5. Choose Skills Necessary for the Job Role

The platform will automatically select the skills you mentioned in your job description. You will also have to choose the abilities your ideal candidate must have.

Think about the capabilities an individual should have to perform the job well because that will help you to encourage qualified professionals to apply. You should choose at least ten skills to ensure you have enough relevant job applicants. 

6. Decide How Candidates Apply

Consider how you would like to receive the job applicants. LinkedIn allows two possibilities: users can leverage Easy Apply and apply with their profiles, or they’ll receive a prompt that will redirect them to your website or a job board. 

Decide whether you’ll require a cover letter and portfolio or only a resume. If you want to streamline the process, you can connect your LinkedIn with your ATS and receive all the job applications there. 

7. Monitor Job Applications

Remember to track your incoming job applications and communicate with the candidates. If you have an ATS, you’ll find it easier to monitor activities and resumes you receive.

That way, you can avoid logging into your LinkedIn account every day as you’ll receive everything in the dashboard of your recruitment software.

Top 14 Tips on How to Hire Talents on LinkedIn Efficiently

Create or Join Industry-Related LinkedIn Groups

Leverage relevant LinkedIn groups to find top talents from your industry. That’s a great way to engage with like-minded people, share your job postings, and raise awareness about your company. 

Invest some time into researching the groups with the most members and activities, giving you good exposure. Read the rules and guidelines to ensure you can share your job ad.

Moreover, some groups won’t allow you to publish anything if you’re not interacting with others. Because of that, build your online presence first, share industry-related news and reports, and show potential candidates why you could be a stellar employer. 

Seek Passive Talents

Use the search tool to look for professionals with the job role and title matching your job posting. Not everyone is openly looking for a new vacancy, but that doesn’t stop you from reaching out if you notice an individual that could be a great addition to your team. 

On the other hand, users often indicate if they’re looking for a job, making your pursuit easier. 

Research Competitors and Analyze their Job Postings

Find your top competitors and evaluate their profiles, engagement with connections, and job descriptions. Observe the keywords and language they use and consider emulating them in your job ads. 

It’s essential to understand how your competition attracts candidates and what you can do to differentiate your approach. 

Start a LinkedIn Company Page to Develop Employer Branding

Having a LinkedIn Company Page is a must-have to build a credible, persuasive, and professional employer branding and ensure top talents know about you. Most job seekers look for jobs on LinkedIn and check a company’s profile to understand their values and identify perks and benefits. 

That means you should continuously create engaging and relevant content, have a distinctive style, publish videos, reports, blog posts, employee testimonials, and press releases. The goal is to develop an online presence and encourage qualified candidates to reach out. 

Seek Potential Candidates Among Your Employees’ Connections

Employee referrals are among the most valuable talent sourcing techniques. Although there’s no program to accommodate this method, you can still look for potential candidates among your’ workers’ professional network. 

Go through their connections and seek individuals who might have the job role, position, or skills that match your job requirements. Ask them to connect and find out if they might be interested in your vacancy. 

Use Relevant Keywords to Find Job Seekers

Boolean search is a stellar way to use keywords to look for relevant candidates and narrow your pursuit. Use LinkedIn’s Search tool to enter job-related quotes or broad concepts and refine your queries. 

Visit LinkedIn profiles of Your Job Applicants to Know Them Better

LinkedIn is great for helping you find potential candidates, but it’s also good for getting to know your job applicants better. Turn to their profiles to check their job history, activity, interests, and whether they follow industry-related trends. 

Enable Users to Apply for a Job Directly on LinkedIn

If you require your candidates to leave LinkedIn and send their job applications via an external website, they might lose interest and move on to another company. Make the job application process as streamlined as possible and enable Easy Apply to ensure top talents don’t change their minds about applying. 

Create Concise and Engaging Job Postings

Avoid mundane job descriptions that don’t say much about the job role and responsibilities. Use engaging language but be professional and be transparent concerning assignments, possibilities, and salary range. 

Be Active on LinkedIn

Avoid diminishing your LinkedIn activity once you find top candidates. Instead, stay active and continue publishing company news and relevant content even after closing the job. 

That way, you’ll maintain an online presence, making it easier to attract top talents the next time you have an available vacancy. 

Expand Your Outreach with Sponsored Jobs

Reach a substantial talent pool and expand your outreach with Sponsored jobs by bidding for the top position in the Jobs You May Be Interested In. If you leverage this feature, your job opening will get more attention and outperform others on the platform’s homepage. 

Thus, potential candidates will see your job ad in their inbox, nudging them to apply. 

Leverage LinkedIn’s InMail Feature

LinkedIn provides the InMail feature, enabling you to communicate with users outside your connections. Use it to connect with potential candidates, send messages to other professionals from your industry, or find recruiters who can help you identify the most suitable job applicant. 

Connect LinkedIn with Your ATS 

Although using only LinkedIn provides various benefits, it would make a world of difference if you connect it with your ATS. That way, you can streamline the hiring process, extract the data from job applicants’ profiles, and compile it in your ATS’s dashboard. 

That makes it easier to send messages to people without having them in your connections and helps you build your qualified talent pool. For example, Manatal’s multifunctional recruitment software allows you to integrate it with LinkedIn and make the candidate sourcing process smoother. 

Track Your Success

Finally, you should track your activities and measure the success with relevant KPIs. That will help you understand how fast you find candidates using LinkedIn, how many qualified job applicants came from this platform, and how long they typically stay in the company. 

However, recruitment software helps you monitor LinkedIn activities and identify whether your approach requires tweaks. 

For most recruiters, LinkedIn is the first place to look for qualified candidates due to providing access to a stellar source of talented professionals. HR professionals can use a free or premium membership to accelerate the recruitment process. 

However, it’s more efficient if you use it with an ATS because it enables you to compile public candidate data, communicate smoothly, and track your activity success. Manatal offers a stellar recruitment solution you can integrate with LinkedIn and find compatible candidates with more ease.

Try its 14-days Free Trial and discover all the ways you can improve your hiring process and identify top talents.