LinkedIn is a global professional network with over 756 million members in more than 200 countries. More than 57 million companies use its platform to advertise tens of millions of job openings.
The Role of Recruiters
If you are looking for a job, you need to build relationships with recruiters. Recruiters are responsible for filling positions in companies, but they also play a consultative role for job seekers in the process. They can work with you to ensure that you are prepared to face employers. For example, they may provide guidance on interview etiquette, salary negotiations, workplace culture and expectations, and appropriate work attire.
Types of Recruiters
Before you decide to work with recruiters, it’s important to understand these three main types:
- The retained recruiter: This recruiter acts as an external consultant and charges the company a fee upfront for finding a candidate. The candidates they seek are often senior-level professionals who meet specific job requirements.
- The contingency recruiter: This recruiter can be a temporary staffing agency hired to conduct a specific search for temporary positions. The jobs they aim to fill usually pay less than $100,000 a year. Contingency recruiters compete with other companies to provide suitable candidates for available positions, and they are only paid if their candidate is hired.
- The in-house recruiter: This recruiter works internally within the company. They are responsible for posting job advertisements, searching for candidates, screening resumes, and selecting candidates to present to the hiring manager.
Why Reach Out to a Recruiter on LinkedIn?
According to the 2020 “Recruiter Nation Survey” conducted by Jobvite, 72% of recruiters plan to use LinkedIn in their recruitment efforts. The platform continues to be a major focus for hiring investment for large companies. Therefore, whether you are actively seeking job opportunities or not, learning how to effectively use LinkedIn to stay on recruiters’ radar can be valuable.
Who Should Connect with Recruiters?
If you have lost your job or are looking for flexible work hours, working with recruiters can be beneficial. They know the companies that are hiring full-time and temporary employees in your industry. Additionally, they are often familiar with salaries and benefits offered by companies, and they can guide you on how to proceed with negotiations.
Strategies for Connecting with Recruiters
“Job seekers can connect with recruiters on LinkedIn using a passive strategy and a proactive strategy,” said Dean Colavita, an IT recruiter in Toronto, in a Zoom interview with The Balance. The passive strategy applies when a job seeker has a fully completed profile that is optimized for search engines and can be seen at any time. “Recruiters are strongly motivated by keywords,” Colavita added.
On the other hand, a job seeker identifies recruiters who specialize in their industry, crafts a clear message, and reaches out to them. This way, you can grab the recruiter’s attention immediately and start the relationship-building process.
Tools for Passive and Proactive Strategies
One notable passive way to connect with recruiters and utilize your LinkedIn profile is to use the platform’s #OpenToWork feature. This tool includes the option “Share with Recruiters Only.” Members who have paid for access to the “LinkedIn Recruiter” service are notified that you are open to new job opportunities. A LinkedIn member with the #OpenToWork feature enabled can be easily recognized, as their profile picture will be surrounded by a green circle.
Note: Job seekers who are currently employed should use this feature cautiously. LinkedIn provides assurances to prevent recruiters in your company and related companies from seeing your open-to-work status on your profile. However, complete privacy cannot be guaranteed.
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From a proactive perspective, LinkedIn announced improvements to the search experience. This allows members to discover people, jobs, posts, companies, and groups in an organized, mixed, and filterable search results page.
Using LinkedIn Filters to Find Recruiters in Your Industry
When preparing to connect with recruiters on LinkedIn, carefully select five to ten of them. Do not send connection requests randomly to those who may not have any jobs in your industry or roles that fit your skills. Your smartphone may not provide all the options you need for this process, so use your laptop or tablet instead.
Here’s how to use LinkedIn filters to find recruiters in your industry:
- From the homepage, click on “My Network.”
- Click on “Connections” in the upper left column.
- Click on “Search with filters,” then select the “All Filters” box (highlighted in blue at the top right).
- In the pop-up box, choose first, second, and third-level connections.
- Go to the “Industry” section (several sections lower in the pop-up box) and click on your interested industry. You can also add other industries. This is important because you want to choose a recruiter who works with people in your chosen fields.
- Go to the “Keywords” section at the bottom of the box. Under “Job Title,” type “Recruiter” or “Talent Scout” or “Talent Acquisition” or “Hiring Manager.”
- Click on “Show Results.”
In your search results, click the “Connect” button for each recruiter you wish to reach out to. Then choose the “Add a Note” option and send them a personalized message. In addition to your first-level connections, these search results will show the names of other people in your network that you may know. Don’t hesitate to ask your connections for introductions.
How to Communicate with Recruiters on LinkedIn
Colawira receives messages every day through LinkedIn, but most of them are short and vague. “As recruiters, we receive messages every day, but your message should resemble an email and not like a WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger message,” he said.
According to Colawira, you should explain in your message the skills you have, the tools you use, and the projects you have worked on. Your message should also mention the specific job posting you’re referring to and its requirements. “This tells the recruiter that you’ve done your homework and understand the job requirements and how you fit into them,” he said.
When crafting your message, make sure it is purposeful. Are you reaching out to build a relationship? Or are you contacting them because you know there is a job that needs filling and you would be a fit for that role?
Template for Messages to Recruiters
Jennifer Tardi is one of LinkedIn’s top voices for 2020 and a diversity recruitment coach. In an email to The Balance, she shared her perspective on how to structure a message that attracts recruiters and helps ensure they give it a second look. In addition to briefly introducing yourself, Tardi stated that you should include the following in all InMail messages to recruiters:
- I recently applied for [Job Title] regarding the reference number [Add Number]. (This makes it easier for recruiters to find the role in their Applicant Tracking System.) I meet all qualifications for [Job Title] including [Mention Key Qualifications]. Based on my research, I believe this may be a position you’re looking to fill. If you aren’t the designated recruiter for this role, would you be willing to connect me with the recruiter? (This helps keep the conversation going. Once the recruiter has the reference number, they can find the designated recruiter for the role and pass along the information.)
What Your Message Should Not Say
Hello Dean, I noticed you are an IT recruiter, and I would like your help in finding a job. I have extensive experience in IT and would be suitable for any role you might have. Please contact me, and I would be happy to discuss my extensive experience with you. Thank you, Bob
Conclusion
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LinkedIn is the go-to professional social media platform regularly accessed by recruiters. If you’re job hunting, fully complete your profile and utilize LinkedIn tools like #OpenToWork so that recruiters can find you more easily when conducting searches. However, job seekers should have realistic expectations when reaching out to recruiters. If a recruiter is not looking for someone with your skills, it’s likely they won’t prioritize you. This may make you feel rejected, but don’t take it personally. Instead, view it as part of relationship building, or as an investment that doesn’t yield immediate returns, and keep moving forward.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/how-to-reach-a-recruiter-on-linkedin-5184655
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