With over 50 million users who look for jobs every week, LinkedIn is one of the best places to recruit your next candidate. However, you need to approach LinkedIn recruitment right to get the best out of the platform.

You could just share a job post and call it a day, but where’s the fun in that? Doing the bare minimum and spreading yourself too thin across platforms will fill your pipeline with applications, but very few applicants will be the top talent your business deserves. This article will walk you through the best practices for LinkedIn recruitment so top talent becomes your recruitment quality standard.

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Why Should You Use LinkedIn for Recruitment?

• The number of LinkedIn users is steadily increasing. LinkedIn has a massive user base, and the number of users is steadily growing. Most professionals (and recent graduates) have a LinkedIn profile, so you’ll have access to a vast talent pool of candidates looking for their next position. 
• Profiles are easy to search and compare. Resumes come in different formats and with varying information, but you can effortlessly search LinkedIn for candidates based on specific industries, companies, job titles, education, and more. Also, every profile contains the same information in the same place, so it’s easier to compare candidates side-by-side. 
• Profiles are accurate. Because LinkedIn profiles are accessible by so many people, it’s more likely that users will provide accurate information. In fact, research has shown that LinkedIn profiles can be more accurate than resumes. In addition, users on the platform are more likely to keep their profiles updated, so you’ll get more precise talent information.
• Posting jobs is easy. LinkedIn makes it easy for you to place job ads and share them on your feed. This makes it the ideal tool for finding both active and passive candidates. 
• Candidates can apply to jobs quickly. Just as LinkedIn makes it easy for you to place job ads, the platform simplifies applying for these jobs. For example, by using the Apply with LinkedIn option, job seekers can apply for jobs with the click of a button without needing to update their resumes. 
• LinkedIn facilitates referrals. Apart from allowing you to connect with skilled and qualified candidates, LinkedIn also allows your employees to connect with other employees in your industry. This could, ultimately, lead to referrals, which are a very effective tool for finding and hiring the best talent. 
• High active-to-passive member ratio. The best candidates aren’t always looking for jobs; they often need a nudge to consider a new position. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find and engage with passive candidates on typical job boards. Fortunately, LinkedIn has a high passive-to-active member ratio, so you’ll be able to find these candidates on the platform. 

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7 Ways to Recruit on LinkedIn Like It’s Your Personal ATS

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#1 Update Your LinkedIn Company Profile

Keep your LinkedIn company profile updated to strengthen your employer brand. 

At its very foundation, your company profile should communicate who you are, your company’s mission and values, and what value you offer. This can sometimes be tricky, especially since your company profile can be looked up by your customers, but create a good LinkedIn content strategy to combine the best of both worlds. 

After all, customers are more likely to purchase from brands that share their values, and what’s better than showing how proud you are of your employees? 

The second level is openly sharing your wins, learnings, and time spent together. 

(Read on, and we’ll explain how to do it right with employee advocacy.)

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#2 Update Your Personal LinkedIn Profile

Ensure that your personal profile shows who you are (profile), what you do (headline), and what value you offer (experience & summary).

Now, the immediate question is: Why should you update your personal profile when you primarily recruit through your company profile? 

Here’s the thing: as a recruiter, you’re the person candidates will look up before (or right after) applying for a job at your company. Your LinkedIn profile can be your best asset in increasing your hiring quality. 

People prefer engaging with people. As such, personal profiles generate more engagement. On your personal profile, you can also share your company profile’s content for more reach and send private messages to candidates. 

Finally, you can also create original content on your personal profile that shows your expertise.

Fortunately, updating your personal profile is quite simple. Ensure that you:

• Use a recent, professional profile picture (but don’t be afraid to showcase your personality).
• Write a descriptive headline outlining your position and the value you offer candidates.
• Write an engaging summary that tells the story of who you are, why you do what you do, and encourages other users to connect with you (mention what you post about).  

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#3 Best Practices for LinkedIn Recruitment Content 

We could write thousands of words about the right LinkedIn content strategy (and we have), but the best approach for a beginner is to provide career advice or answer questions job seekers often have. 

In time, expand your content strategy to include your experiences and perspective. Cover trending topics. For example, Vanessa Raath posts her opinions about the concept of flexible work:

Apart from posting or sharing content, comment consistently on others’ posts, participate in discussions on relevant topics, and answer questions quickly. 

Engage with Professionals in Industry-Related Groups

Another place to find applicants and content ideas is the ‘LinkedIn Groups’ section. Filter by industries, specific positions, schools, and other criteria to land in groups where your top talent hangs out.

Then, actively participate in the groups. Don’t expect just to share a job post - you should engage and interact with other members, provide advice, and get to know them. 

Pay attention to the topics and questions they discuss. Then, use them as inspiration for the content you post to your personal LinkedIn profile or company page.

A Peak Behind the Scenes

Just as everyone wants to know what’s going through an applicant’s head, applicants want to know what the company cares about when recruiting. As the person in the middle, you have a fantastic opportunity to help the candidates and the companies bridge the gap.

Share more information about how your company hires - even how you recruit:

• What do you look for in a candidate’s resume?
• How did you know some candidates were the right fit?
• Who is involved in your hiring process?
• What challenges are you struggling with?

Give the candidates a sense of what they can expect if they click the “Apply now” button.

Note: If your company is remote or you allow employees to work from home, explain how you help your employees thrive while working remotely.

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#4 Grow and Maintain Your Network

The more connections you have, the more likely you’ll find the right talent. Unfortunately, building your network is not as simple as sending out connection requests to as many people as possible.

Instead, personalize every connection request by telling the person how you met or why you would like to connect. Once they accept your request, engage and communicate with them often to maintain your network.

Set aside time to connect with the people in your professional network. Start easy, with 30 minutes weekly, and then refine your engagement list. 

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#5 Create Job Posts with LinkedIn Recruitment Best Practices in Mind

LinkedIn allows you to create job posts for free, or you could use LinkedIn Recruiter if you hire often. LinkedIn Recruiter offers additional features, including analytics, messaging features, and recommendations.

As a recent study on LinkedIn recruiting found, you’ll need to write a good LinkedIn job post:

• Include keywords potential applicants would search for.
• Include a description of the day-to-day duties and the average day in the position.
• Tell the candidates about the company culture in practice (they can read your mission statement on the company page).
• Mention the benefits and perks you offer.
• If possible, offer a compensation range.
• If possible, elaborate on the long-term growth a successful applicant can look forward to in this position.

Then, amplify your job post by sharing it yourself and explaining the position in your own words. You’ll add more value and perspective. Consider adding a quote from an existing employee on the team, like Igloo in our example above.

Leverage existing employees by asking them to provide a quote about their experience at the company, as Amazon’s dev team does in the example below.

Quotes from existing employees provide social proof, which is critical in a candidate-driven market. It also allows you to re-share your post (without repeating yourself) so more potential candidates see it.

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#6 Use Messages and InMail to Contact Candidates Directly

If you’ve found possible candidates on LinkedIn, you can approach them directly through messages or using InMail. 

It’s important to remember, though, that if you have a free account, you’ll only be able to send direct messages to other users if you’re connected. In contrast, when you upgrade your account to a paid plan, you’ll get the ability to send InMails - LinkedIn’s version of the email. 

No matter what messaging tool you use, you should use them carefully. Only send messages to those candidates you really want to talk to. And when you do, personalized messages are always better than a cookie-cutter approach. 

Put your sales hat on. Explain why you reached out to that specific candidate and why your company would be a good fit for their interests. 

In the example above, the recruiter took the time to understand the position’s unique challenges and this candidate’s previous work history. It’s not an impersonal message, so even if the candidate is not interested, they’ll be more likely to respond and perhaps refer someone else in their place.

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#7 Encourage Employee Advocacy

Companies with a good employee advocacy program are 58% more likely to attract top talent, so don’t forget its role in your LinkedIn recruitment. 

Firstly, you reach more people whenever your employees post about your company. If they’re satisfied with their role, they’ll be more open to recommending open positions to their friends. And while you can offer referral bonuses, there’s nothing like organically connecting with a fantastic candidate because they see how great it is to work at your company.

Encourage your employees to share news about your company, life at the company, and job openings on their personal profiles.

On the other side, don’t forget to celebrate your team. For example, Draft shares interviews with their employees, which is fantastic for improving your candidate quality and generating positive sentiment.

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Make Sure You’re on the Right Track by Measuring Your Results

Once you’ve implemented all these best practices to attract more talent and recruit more effectively, how do you know if you’re on track? You could use LinkedIn analytics for company pages and job ads, but you’d be missing the influence your personal profile had on the hire.

Is your content effective enough to convince the right talent to apply for a job?

This is where Inlytics comes in. 

It gives you all the tools to measure and track your personal profile content performance on LinkedIn. 

This means you’ll see how any given piece of content performs, how much engagement it generates, and what types of content resonate most with your audience.

As one of our users - a tech recruitment consultant who uses content to establish trust on LinkedIn - says, 

“Inlytics has helped me identify what content has been a success and how. The highest impressions aren’t always important; the engagement rate is really important to see. It’s also helped me identify when I’m getting higher than average views or engagement spread across multiple pieces of content.”

In addition to these metrics, the platform provides you with enhanced profile stats that show how well your personal profile is optimized. Then, increase your success with AI-driven recommendations.

Discover insights other recruiters can’t see. Analyze data faster. Find out how to attract top talent. Get started with Inlytics for free today!