It would be fair to say that LinkedIn has changed enormously over the years. Once upon a time all users on it were victims of potential employers using it as a stalking tool, whereas now it has grown up considerably.
It’s not just a professional social network now, it’s also ideal for recruiting. In fact, most companies would probably reveal that they are guilty of turning to LinkedIn first – even if there are probably 70,000 potential recruits in their field who they have to sift through (fortunately, there are plenty of filter options).
In truth, whether someone is looking to work at the FBI or the local store, there are opportunities out there. Additionally, the professional nature of this network means that scamming just doesn’t occur – it’s completely above board.
If you do happen to be involved in recruiting, whether it’s externally or for your own company, we have published the Blake Rubin LinkedIn guide for recruiters. This should answer the main questions you have, and set you on your way to finding the best candidates for your newly open position.
Boolean is your best friend
We spoke about this in the introduction; if you’re not careful 70,000 so-called suitable candidates could land on your search query. It’s for this reason that LinkedIn has allowed you to probe your results in much finer detail.
For example, let’s say you were looking for a fraud manager. If this was typed into the search function, it would also return results for individuals who had operated in this role in the past. Suffice to say, you might not be interested in them – you want someone who is doing the job now. By using the Boolean “NOT”, you can quickly exclude them.
Make your InMail count
Once you have found a suitable candidate, it’s all about making the first move. The platform allows you to send an InMail, which is effectively a direct message across the system.
It’s here that you have to be careful. A lot of potential candidates are tired of being constantly targeted, and might on some occasions feel as though they are becoming victims to a scamming practice. Instead of going in with all of your might and attaching a job description, hold back and send a quick, informal message.
It’s much more likely to get a response, and at least get the ball rolling.
Saved Search is more powerful than the name might suggest
The platform also has something going by the name of Saved Search. In some ways, this is exactly how the name suggests – it contains a history of your recent searches meaning that you can quickly return to the results.
However, probe deeper and there’s much more than meets the eye. Saved Searches will work in the background and constantly update you if new candidates enter the picture and qualify. For roles which are particularly difficult to fill, this can be hugely important and really make your hunt for candidates a lot easier.