Maximizing Your Recruiting Efforts with LinkedIn
How does your staffing firm attract qualified candidates? Are they relying on outdated networking tactics and getting frustrated with the lack of results? Is your team overloaded with open requisitions and left with no time to get to know the applicants? Is your talent pool quickly drying up while your competitors seem to be thriving? If your outreach efforts do not include LinkedIn, then you need to revamp your social media plan and get to work. Today’s marketers understand that branding efforts are not a one-and-done type of project. Successful brands demand an ongoing commitment to building and maintaining a relationship with prospective clients and candidates. Take a look at the following pointers to help maximize your staffing firm’s recruiting efforts with LinkedIn.
Team Effort
Is your team unable to effectively recruit new hires because they are too busy chasing down new leads or trying to dig up new networking avenues? Is your sales team spending too much time on the phone hoping to finally connect with the correct hiring manager? Spreading your team too thin can result in increased frustration and high turnover, so it is important to evaluate your efforts and improve upon them wherever possible. Maximize your staffing firm’s recruiting efforts with LinkedIn and make it easier for them to quickly and easily target those individuals with the proper skills and background. Have your sales managers locate potential clients and identify hiring managers by refining their searches. Encourage your team to refer to their personal networks and to rely on the endorsements of people they trust. Hold regular team meetings and show them that you value their opinions by incorporating their suggestions into your social media outreach policies.
Build Relationships
The LinkedIn platform provides recruiters with a look into the skillsets and career goals of professionals around the world. It also allows for outreach and engagement, which is the best way to build meaningful relationships and foster ongoing conversations. Establish your firm as an industry leader by exceeding your clients’ expectations and delivering qualified applicants for their tough-to-fill requisitions. Establish goals and expectations around relationship-building and require your team members to join and participate in industry-specific LinkedIn groups. Maximize your staffing firm’s recruiting efforts with LinkedIn and set your firm apart from the competition by building your brand and creating lasting relationships with your target audience.
A Glimpse Inside
Sustainable relationships are built on trust and time taken to get established, so you should definitely take the time to give potential clients and candidates a glimpse inside of your staffing firm’s company culture. Use social media to tell your staffing story and differentiate your services. Post informative blog articles to LinkedIn industry groups and initiate a conversation with your target audience. Highlight the great clients you are representing and make it clear what types of talent you are actively seeking. By nurturing these relationships and prioritizing meaningful dialogue, you are helping to establish your brand and demonstrate what your staffing firm is all about.
Post Jobs
LinkedIn is a networking site for professionals so it is obvious that you will want to advertise your job postings from time to time, but how should you go about that? Basic posts to your LinkedIn connections are great, but there are other available forums as well. Announcement in LinkedIn Career Pages and “Work With Us” ads are great options, but be sure to also check out the LinkedIn Jobs Network and whether creating a post on Job Slots may be beneficial to your recruiting efforts. Be sure to integrate all possible technology angles and always check to see if you can direct applicants to your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in order to filter the information to your recruiters in the most efficient manner.
Rely On Analytics
In order to take full advantage of LinkedIn’s potential, it is important to fully explore the behind-the-scenes analytical data. In order to personalize your campaigns and further refine your candidate searches, tracking metrics and adopting a data-driven approach are essential. As with many social media platforms, LinkedIn offers premium paid levels that offer access to additional layers of information. LinkedIn Recruiter allows firms to use advanced searches to view profiles and recruit both active and passive candidates. Business Plus and Executive levels of service provide additional insights into industry trends and allow for increased numbers of InMail messages each month. Do your homework to match up the type of information you are looking to gather with the correct monthly service plan.
Key Takeaways to Maximizing Your Recruiting Efforts with LinkedIn: 
- Work with your team to develop a comprehensive social media marketing plan
- Focus on building relationships with your target audience
- Allow others to get a peek inside of your staffing firm’s company culture
- Explore various avenues offered by LinkedIn to post available positions
- Always adopt a data-driven approach and rely on LinkedIn’s analytics
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.