How to find the right job candidate on LinkedIn
Today, we'll focus on recruiting, the challenges in finding the right candidate all the time and how LinkedIn makes that process painfully simple. Also, moving forward, we will provide a succinct summary of the user (see user snapshot below) before presenting the video and the LinkedIn tips.
User Snapshot
Who: Lenny Bordeau
Where: Finance Director at Stephen James Associates (Boston)
How: LinkedIn helped Lenny earn a placement fee of $20K by placing a candidate in the Software High-tech and Professional services industry, with just an InMail (see video below). Tips on using LinkedIn after the jump.
Two LinkedIn Tips from Lenny
1. Build relationships within your recruiting space
LinkedIn offers you the tools necessary to build those relationships with individuals who are from the industry vertical that you're a part of. The best way to strike a chord with potential candidates as well as with your peers in the industry would be through LinkedIn Answers. For e.g. there are three broad categories under Hiring and Human Resources where you can share & learn best practices in the recruiting space.
And, just as in the real-world, you have to make the effort to build those relationships and LinkedIn is a great place to start having those online watercooler conversations.
2. Seek and you shall find - the right candidate on LinkedIn
As Lenny mentions at the start of the video, accurately finding individuals with the right combination of skillsets may be more difficult than you think. The best way to find those individuals on LinkedIn is using advanced search.
And, did you know there's advanced search for People, Jobs and Answers as well as the invaluable Name search and Reference search.
Five flavors of LinkedIn's Advanced Search
Amit Bhagria May 16, 2008
Candidates recruited through referrals stay longer and fit better, but a typical referral programme may not be doing the trick as yet
What could help is the use of referral cards.
The benefits of word-of-mouth publicity are only the beginning. The real reason why referrals are extremely effective is because they turn every employee into a potential recruiter. This strengthens an organisation's recruiting efforts. For, as opposed to a handful of recruiters they now have an army of 'recruiters scouting for talent. Moreover, employees have wider social networks and can look for talent even outside work hours. They therefore stand a better chance of reaching out to potential candidates. So in short, getting employees to double up as recruiting ambassadors also means making recruiting a 24/7 operation.
For all these advantages, statistics narrate a rather disappointing story. Most organisations do not get even 50 percent of their recruits through referrals. Most referral programmes suffer from weak design, ill-defined expectations and of course, poor results. But things can change for the good. Some referral specialists believe that the use of referral cards is the answer to improving referral programmes. The key is to use referrals cards in the right way. This two- part series discusses a few effective ways in which referral cards can boost recruiting.
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