Tapping into LinkedIn and actually leverage to the maximum can be a dream come true for both employers and recruiters. In its truest form, LinkedIn is a goldmine. According to one stat, the social network houses close to 330 million business and industry professionals.
If you are on the lookout to recruit new and freshly graduated students, you are in luck. Those who are unemployed and seeking jobs can also be located. As per the survey of Adler Group, some 15% professionals are hopeful of new opportunities. Another 68% are open to hearing out about opportunities.
A total of 83% are more/less on the lookout. What if you could reach that 85 % of the workforce flooding the market? Lucrative eh? But how do you find the one who is best suited to your organization and its goals? LinkedIn search to the rescue and following are the ways.
1. You can send them an InMail to introduce yourself
The caption says it all. approach them with caution because if you ask them directly whether or not they are looking for ajob, it might scare them away and to them, it may be a tactic by their current employer (those working) to keep tabs on them.
The right way to this is by sending them an InMail (a premium feature) by saying that you came across their profile while you for searching for qualified or suited candidates. List a thing to highlight and say that it caught your attention over at LinkedIn.
Look for something unique on their profile such as an award they may have won or some kind of certification they undertook in the past and the likes thereof. Talk about these as to how impressive these accolades are and congratulate them on their achievement.
This a form an e-meet and that is howyou break the ice with a person online. Give it time and see if they respond. What you are doing as a recruiter is a relationship building exercise. Should they find common grounds they will be happy to revert back and you can take it from there.
2. Find groups they belong to and join that group, so you can reach out to them by sending them a message
By way of this method approaching the individual is relatively easier. You reach the person by saying that you both belong to the group and as a recruiter or employer would want to know if they’d be interested in working for their company.
How to locate groups? It is easy, you go browse their profile and see which groups they are following or are part of. Join them or subscribe to those groups and that you can initiate the conversation. It is also essential for a headhunter to seek out individuals relevant to their industry. You cannot be joining all kinds of groups on LinkedIn if your niche financial advisory.
So when you are done becoming part of various and relevant groups, you should try to actively participate therein. This way your name will be popular and as a frequently participating member, if you approach someone for work, they are more likely to respond to your messages and getting in touch.
It may be they may not have been responding to your messages previously but will start responding when they become familiar with your profile and your active participation on forums speaks a lot about your personal and professional ethics. In short, this is a very effective and economical means of recruiting employees.
3. If they’re a second-degree connection of yours, find out whom in your network is a first-degree connection between you and ask for an introduction
You can always get in touch with the people in your network who are your first-degree connections to help you in introducing them to you. Or you can ask for the opinion of your first-degree connections whether or not a particular individual is suited for the position you seek to be filled in your organization.
If they are part of the LinkedIn OpenLink Network, you can send them a regular message without having to use an InMail
As stated above, InMail is a premium service because themajority of the candidates you can find on OpenLink Network of LinkedIn. These are people who do not require InMail to be reached. You can directly message them and they will respond you if they are on the lookout for job opportunities.
4. Post a status update
Asking your network around if they know of an individual who could be referred to a particular position in your company is often the way forward. It is helpful because people in your network know you and what your company stands for and thus, they can recommend you better candidates.
You can experiment with posting such an update, e.g. a couple of times during the week or during times in a single. To gain the upper hand, request your co-workers or friends in your connections list to hit “Like” on your post. This will make the post stand out of the clutter or you can ask them to share the status update in their LinkedIn feeds.
5. Saved Searches
Saved searches is another feature on LinkedIn that helps you to come back and review the profiles of the candidates that you previously came across and you now wish to contact them. When you access saved searches on LinkedIn, it will, in addition, look for other potential candidates based on the criteria you have selected under, say, advanced people search.
6. The obvious one, post a job on LinkedIn’s Job Board
It is a paid feature and currently requires some $200 a month for posting job ads. If you have multiple job opportunities, you can even avail discounts. The word of mouth is that it is worth spending your money as the results are quick.
In conclusion
Once the pool of candidates is gathered, review each profile carefully. Go through the recommendations and keep an eyeout for the phony ones. Let us know in the comments section what do you think of these headhunting tips.
Author Bio: Joe Pirest is an HR consultant and loves to write in his leisure time. He can be contacted for dissertation help and you can also follow him for updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.