In recent years, social media has emerged as an epicenter for job recruiting and talent acquisition — no site more so than LinkedIn. As our digital landscape continues redefining the contours of recruitment, LinkedIn has solidified its place as a force to be reckoned with in an era of hyperconnectivity where a well-crafted profile can unlock a wide array of opportunities.
Here, we discuss the social media giant’s role in job posting, recruiting, and talent acquisition. Whether a seasoned recruitment professional or someone new to talent acquisition, there could be promising opportunities through LinkedIn.
The persuasive job post
Recruitment through LinkedIn involves learning the ins and outs of the robust platform, and successful recruitment goes beyond simply posting a job opening and hoping for the best. One must utilize social media in such a way that they can identify, connect with, and attract the best potential candidates available.
If you were to look at the job listings on LinkedIn, you would immediately see thousands of open positions available worldwide, all from businesses vying for the attention of top talent. With this in mind, recruiters must craft persuasive job posts to be noticed amid the competition.
First, ensure that your company’s LinkedIn profile page is complete and fully optimized to showcase your company’s culture, values, mission, and achievements. Not only will those who see your job postings want to check out your company, but a great profile may also attract passive candidates.
Persuasive job posts should have a captivating title and introduction to catch attention, so try to be as precise as possible when defining the job role. This will help weed out anyone who doesn’t fit your desired parameters. Highlight not only the key requirements of the job but also the benefits, including the pay rate. In a recent survey, 85% of respondents said they were less likely to apply for a job that didn’t offer at least a salary range.
A persuasive job listing should also detail the career development opportunities available through the role. A note on company culture should also be included so people can assess whether or not they would be a good fit.
Lastly, add a bit of human touch to the listing. Perhaps some humor or a personal anecdote on the founding of the company, but anything that makes the listing sound less sedate and corporate will generally go over well with job-seekers on LinkedIn.
Leverage LinkedIn tools
LinkedIn has many tools available for optimizing one’s job listing. First, use relevant keywords that job seekers may use to find your job, and ensure these are specific enough to help guide top candidates toward your listing. LinkedIn also has advanced search features that can be applied to better your chance of garnering the right attention, including the “function” and “industry” fields which are great ways to gather more qualified candidates.
For example, if you are seeking someone for an EdTech position, you may want to consider not only Educational Technologists but also candidates who have worked as teachers or in an audio/visual specialist capacity. The same goes for industry. For the same EdTech position, you may want to seek people within not only the EdTech space but also marketing, education, or training, since expanding these fields will increase the number of professionals who will see your posting.
Keeping job titles straightforward and accurate can also help the LinkedIn algorithm work to your best advantage. While you may believe listing your open Executive Assistant position as a “jack-of-all-trades” aligns with your brand or company culture, if it’s not a job description in the LinkedIn drop-down, it’s unlikely anyone will see it.
Additionally, take advantage of posting renewals every 14 days if you aren’t finding the right person. Candidates will be unlikely to respond to a job listing that was posted over a month ago, assuming the posting is already filled and the listing was simply never removed.
Stay ahead of trends
To best utilize social media, particularly LinkedIn, for recruitment, you must stay ahead of social media trends. For example, more and more businesses are using AI in their recruitment efforts whether to allow instant responses to questions or quickly sift through resumes. Leveraging AI for recruitment can give businesses an advantage and is a “trend” that should be thoughtfully considered.
Currently, LinkedIn is the most popular site for job listings, with 90% of recruiters using it to find top candidates for open positions. Businesses that stay on top of trends know where people will find jobs and will be there waiting for them.
Build an online community
To attract qualified prospective candidates to your company, you must have an online presence and community that fosters interest. On LinkedIn, this can be built by posting interesting links or articles of your own that speak to your company’s overall mission. By engaging with your audience on social media, you can create an overall environment that will attract top talent.
Data-driven decisions
Explore the power of social listening and data-driven decision-making to refine and optimize your social media recruitment strategies. Define key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your recruitment goals, and then use analytics tools provided by LinkedIn and other social media platforms to gauge whether a campaign has been successful.
Next, track each candidate’s journey and collect data to see whether changes must be made to a particular listing or recruitment campaign. Use the tools within LinkedIn that connect you with conversations and other groups that align with your company’s mission, culture, and industry.
Harnessing the full potential of job recruitment on LinkedIn demands a strategic approach. Social media holds a lot of potential for the future of job recruitment. By leveraging the features offered by platforms such as LinkedIn and staying up-to-date on social media recruitment trends, businesses can gather the best candidates for open positions.
