Why You Should Be Utilizing LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network with over 100 million members and growing rapidly. Used effectively LinkedIn can help you share or source new clients and candidates, maintain an expert image with your existing network, source business leads, generate vacancy specific candidates and build your reputation. If that isn't enough to convince you then consider this:

A percentage of our potential candidates are already on LinkedIn - if you're not connecting with them a competitor probably is.

You can broadcast vacancies for free - and to a targeted and relevant audience

What are the essentials on your LinkedIn profile? There are four essentials on an individual’s LinkedIn profile;

they are the picture, the headline, the summary and keywords:

• The picture should look professional and reflect your brand, people like dealing with faces as opposed to just text – studies show you get 30% more clicks in search results when you have a picture. And you are 7 times more likely to come up in search if you have a photo. As a recruitment professional you want to be approachable and a profile picture is an absolute must.

• The headline (along with your name and picture) is what comes up in search results and based on this the user will decide whether to click on you or the competitor. Make sure the headline talks about what you do and not who you are, i.e. “Recruiting Java Developers to Top Tier Consultancies in Manchester” instead of Consultant or Recruiter at Agency X – which means very little. You have 120 characters at your disposal, make sure you make the most of these.

• Your summary (the bio section) is where people go to see what you are all about and what your track record in the industry is. If you get someone to take their time to check this out you will want them to read 2-3 paragraphs about what you have done, what you can do for them and something memorable. Remember to add your contact details at the end of this section if you want new people to get in touch.

• Finally, you have to get the right keywords on your profile or you will not come up in any searches. Yes you might come up in searches for your name but let’s face it if someone already knows your name you already have a foot in the door. It’s better to come up in the search for “Java recruiter Manchester”. Just remember that there is a fine balance between spraying keywords across your profile and staying professional.

• Share valuable information that educates your audience. This means relevant industry articles, general business hacks and occasionally something light like ‘How Darth Vader was the best project manager ever’. The secret is to mix up your content, to demonstrate that you’re not a robot.

• Do share a vacancy every now and then but do it in the right way. Instead of just pushing out a link to a job specification on your site, describe the opportunity and what makes it unique if you can. ‘Their office even has a helipad on the roof’ will get more likes, shares and comments than a basic job link.

• Sharing events you are going to is always useful, if someone in your network is thinking of going they will get in touch. And it shows that you’re out and about amongst your clients and candidates. If your company hosts events, these should definitely be shared as well in status updates (and listed in the events section).

Status Updates

How do you connect to potential candidates that don’t know you? This can be tricky sometimes on LinkedIn. If you send five connection requests and the receivers mark them as spam or IDK (I Don’t Know), your account will be suspended from sending invites without having the person’s email address. You will have to beg LinkedIn customer services to lift the suspension; this gets harder and harder depending on how many times you get the five IDKs.

The best way to connect with new people is not revolutionary; it’s just actually taking an interest in the other person. Personalize your invite where possible, have a look at the profile and try to find some common denominators. Are you a member of the same group (a very useful way), did you notice they are connected with someone you know, did you go to the same school or do you share a passion for trainspotting? Whatever it is, put it into your invite message. The worst thing that can happen is that they ignore you or politely reply that they only connect with people they have met.

Connecting Etiquette

How to Advertise Jobs on LinkedIn

Create a job discussion

Go to each Group you are a member of using the Groupstab at the top of each page when logged in. Click on a

selected Group and then click on the jobs tab. Here youcan post brief details of your vacancy with a link (use a link

shortener such as bit.yl) to the original vacancy on yourwebsite.

Broadcast a vacancy via your status.

Each time you login to LinkedIn you have the option to update your status. You can post a link to your newest

vacancy here . Not only will people viewing your profile be able to see this but everyone you are connected to

will see this in their daily updates!

Send your vacancy via in-mail. You can send your vacancy to relevant connections via

inmail. Don't fall into the trap of sending every vacancy to every connection - they will stop reading them and in many cases will drop your connection. Simply go to

your inbox and click on compose message. You can then create a personalized message with a link to your

vacancy. You can use filters to just choose relevant connections.

LinkedIn Recruiter Best PracticesDelegate. You don’t have to do all the work yourself. Create your search using all the titles, keywords, and criteria you wish and save it. Then delegate the daily check for new candidates to the Search Alert. LinkedIn Recruiter will tell you when new or updated profiles match your search.

Don’t sell. When writing an InMail to a passive candidate through LinkedIn Recruiter, always remember that this person might not have thought yet about making a career change. Telling them “we’re hiring, check out the job description and apply online” lands your message in the deleted items. LinkedIn is ultimately a networking site so network with the potential candidates. Their referrals might be your next hires.

Choose Efficiency. Why click on a profile and send one InMail at a time? By creating lists of potential candidates in a Project, you can choose multiple profiles and send them all the same InMail template in a few clicks.

Personality is Key. Let your personality shine through in your InMail messages and personalize them to meet the experience of the person you’re reaching out to. You have to be a bit tricky with the personalization when creating an InMail template you’ll use for many people however simply letting them know you reviewed their LinkedIn profile tells them you’re not a spammer.

Organize. Two words, use Projects. Keep the job post, the searches and the profiles of potential candidates in a Project labeled for the open position. You’ll never have to search for someone you sent an InMail to weeks ago or hunt for which search you saved for a particular opening. It’s all there for you and you can even share that information with your team and collaborate with them in the hunt.

Don’t Wait for the Open Req – start your searches and get the Search Alerts working for you when you hear the job is coming open. Start saving interesting profiles into the Project you create for the position and then, when the req is approved, you’ll be ready to hit “send” on the InMail and off to the races.

InMail: Getting The Conversation StartedInMail is a great way to get the conversation started with potential candidates. Here are some quick

Do’s and Don’ts for great introductory messages.

DO:

Be brief and to the point Make the message about

the candidate and their career goals

Adopt an enthusiastic tone Make a template of a

successful InMail to save time in the future

DON’T:

X Cut and paste a job description or link to a job posting

X Direct a passive candidate to send you a resume or look at a job

X Use a generic subject line or miss one completely

InMail Continued

Don’t: Provide an impersonal introduction or fail to include first namesDear First Name (fail to actually insert the name), Dear potential applicant or Hello! It’s impersonal if your potential candidate immediately thinks that this message goes out to 500 other people. They want to feel special.

Don’t: Be gimmicky : Call me today at xxx-xxx-xxx and secure your dream job.

Do: Be casual and personable

This is what will establish a connection between you and the potential candidate. Would you be open to a brief discussion to discuss further? Simple and polite, no pressure. Don’t include entire job descriptions and Employee Value Propositions (EVPs). The more personalized your content is, the higher your chances will be to get a positive response.

InMail Cont.

Do: Create actual content that clearly shows what your intentions are. And remember: Most people use LinkedIn on their mobile devices. Always make your messages short enough that they can be read and answer immediately while on the bus, waiting for a coffee or in between meetings.

Do: Keep it simple:

Focus on one goal. Ask a candidate specifically if you think that he or she is a good fit for your open position or company and to call or send a resume. You can also ask for a referral if you know that the person you’re contacting is not actively looking for a job but might know someone who could be.

Don’t: Ask them to contact you and fail to include your contact info. Always remember, if there is no number to call or email address to mail the resume to, the candidate will most likely not hit the “reply” button to ask for the contact details.

Do: Offer to have them call you at their convenience.

InMail Cont.

Bottom Line: Recruiting and human resources is getting more personal. And nowadays, everybody is a potential brand ambassador. In a world where communication travels fast and competition is to get the top-tier talent’s attention, your company’s brand is pivotal to the success of your talent acquisition. Therefore, when using LinkedIn InMail, be especially careful. Use it to try to form relationships and create awareness but be aware of the shortcomings, especially when using it to source talent.

LinkedIn Tutorial Video