How Hiring Managers Can Use LinkedIn to Recruit Top Talent

When you’re looking to hire someone, you’re likely looking for the candidates’ previous roles and responsibilities, their educational backgrounds, and their skills. This information is valuable, and you can get it from plenty of job websites. But there is one platform that can provide a little more than the basics: LinkedIn.

Chances are you browse LinkedIn regularly, but it’s more than just another social media platform because the focus is on forming connections and growing your network. It’s about finding and hiring the ideal culture fit.

The pool of potential hires is there, and they are forming connections that might turn into their future dream job. Hiring managers: are you ready to connect? Check out our best practices for recruiting using LinkedIn and how you can use it to find candidates.

Why Recruit on LinkedIn?

With 1.3 billion members worldwide, you can be sure your perfect candidate is somewhere on LinkedIn. People of all ages and professions use this platform to connect with colleagues, find jobs, and learn new skills. It is particularly popular among college students and young professionals, as it is a great way to build a professional network and find job opportunities.

Businesses use LinkedIn to promote their products and services, build relationships with potential customers, and most importantly recruit employees. The great news for these businesses—and recruiters—is that 75% of job seekers are using LinkedIn to find their next role.

72% of recruiters find LinkedIn to be the most effective platform for vetting job candidates. And the talent they hire through LinkedIn is of higher quality than those they find through other methods. However, LinkedIn is very different from standard job-seeking websites. It’s a place to form connections and build a network of highly skilled, passionate people.

Four Reasons to Grow Your LinkedIn Network

There are several reasons why you should grow your LinkedIn network. Here are some of the key benefits for hiring managers:

Expanding your talent pool: LinkedIn is a great way to find and connect with potential candidates for your open positions. By growing your network, you’ll have access to a wider pool of talent and be more likely to find the right people for your team. Recruiting candidates on LinkedIn is easier than ever.
Gaining credibility: LinkedIn is an excellent forum for sharing your knowledge and opinions. This can help you attract top talent to your company and build your reputation as a thought leader in your industry. Demonstrating your expertise and experience can help you attract top talent and build a strong reputation as a hiring manager.
Connecting with industry peers: LinkedIn provides a great opportunity to connect with other hiring managers in your industry. Expanding your network allows you to gain insights into industry trends and best practices, share knowledge and ideas, and build valuable relationships with other professionals.
Getting the word out: You never know which of your LinkedIn connections knows someone who knows someone. Posting your open roles on LinkedIn goes much further when you have a robust network of followers and connections.

Best Practices for Connecting on LinkedIn

Now that you know why you should grow connections on LinkedIn, you might be wondering how to get started. The good news is that it’s easy to grow your LinkedIn network. LinkedIn is successful because it is about forming authentic connections—and you never know if you will need to hire one of these connections!

The best way to add connections is by being active on the platform. Here are some methods for growing your network and recruiting on LinkedIn:

Add Direct Connections

Start with people you know you are not already connected with and take it from there. Add your family members, friends and acquaintances, and everyone you’ve ever worked with. LinkedIn does not recommend connecting with people you don’t personally know, but if you do, always include a note with your request explaining why you wish to connect.

If you attend conferences or events, get in the habit of adding the people you meet right away. This will help you stay in touch and keep the conversation going. Once you’re connected to someone, you’ll be able to see each other’s shares and updates on your LinkedIn feed. You can also send messages to your connections on LinkedIn.

Follow People

You may notice some profiles have a Follow button rather than a Connect button. This means that these users turned on Creator Mode. Following lets you see the person’s posts and articles on your homepage without being directly connected to them. The person you’re following won’t see your posts, but you can still engage with them and their network by commenting and engaging with their posts. You can still request to connect with them, and even if they decline the request, you will still be following them.

Find people to follow by reading your LinkedIn homepage feed. You’ll see posts from people who aren’t in your network because your connections have engaged with their content in some way. You can also find people to follow by joining LinkedIn groups and reading through comments sections. Remember, following people leads to growing connections which leads to recruiting and hiring the right person.

Join LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn offers a wide range of industry-specific groups that can provide valuable insights into the latest trends and best practices in your industry. By joining these groups and connecting with other members, you can expand your knowledge and stay updated on the latest developments in your field. And you just might find your very next hire in one of these groups.

Leave Comments

LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for engagement by letting you comment on people’s posts, work anniversaries, professional certifications, and more. You can also respond to other people’s comments and get real conversations going. By engaging authentically in the comments sections, you can grow your network exponentially, which leads to a larger pool of potential future hires.

Build a Robust Profile

Spend time building out your LinkedIn profile. List your current and prior jobs, along with your roles and responsibilities. Be sure to include your major accomplishments. There are sections to list your skills, showcase your honors and awards, display your certifications, and share your volunteer work. The more information and details you include, the greater your chance of growing your network with people who are interested in what you have to offer.

READ NEXT: Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It?

Create Content

Connection is a two-way street—you can gain new followers by posting great content on LinkedIn yourself. The more quality content you post, the more people will see it and engage with it. The more people who engage, the greater the reach to their networks. And you’llfind yourself getting tons of new followers and connection requests.

You can experiment with different types of content, including blog posts and videos. Figure out what feels most comfortable and natural. Remember, being authentic is key to growing LinkedIn followers. Not sure what to post about? Start with these ideas and iterate from there:

Your knowledge and expertise
What you’re working on (as long as it’s not confidential)
Industry news and trends
Tips and advice
Your company’s mission and culture
Job descriptions and openings
Your personal story

When you use hashtags, make sure they are relevant to your post. Use a mix of popular and niche hashtags to ensure your content gets seen by the right audience—but don’t use too many. Try to limit yourself to three to five hashtags per post.

Attend LinkedIn Events

Did you know that you can attend plenty of events through the platform? LinkedIn Events are an easy way to find professional events such as meetups, online workshops, seminars, and more. LinkedIn Events can be either in-person or online and are a fantastic way to find new connections and grow your network. The more people you meet, the greater your chance of meeting someone who you will one day want to hire.

Adding the URL of your LinkedIn profile to your email signature and to your profile on other social media platforms can lead to growing connections without even thinking about it. Think about other places you could link your LinkedIn profile, like on your company website bio or content you post on platforms outside LinkedIn. These posts could increase the number of people who will learn about the jobs you are recruiting for.

Recruiting Is Better With Insight Global

At Insight Global, we believe that together, anything is possible. We’ve worked with thousands of people in different industries internationally. We go beyond staffing to help job seekers find careers and provide staffing and professional services solutions for our partners. As recruiting experts, we know how to use LinkedIn and other job sites to find the best talent.

Need help in your recruitment process? Reach out to our experts and find your next hire today.