LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s recruiting software that helps companies source, engage, and hire top talent. Many hiring managers and recruiters are interested in trying out LinkedIn Recruiter before committing to a paid subscription. The good news is that LinkedIn does offer a free trial so you can test out the key features of Recruiter before deciding if it’s the right fit for your hiring needs.
What is LinkedIn Recruiter?
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s applicant tracking and recruiting software. It aims to make recruiting quicker, easier, and more effective by leveraging the power of LinkedIn’s network of over 722 million members. Here are some of the key things LinkedIn Recruiter can help with:
- Sourcing candidates – Search LinkedIn profiles with advanced filters like skills, companies, titles, locations etc. to find qualified candidates.
- Engaging candidates – Send InMail messages to contact passive candidates who aren’t actively job searching.
- Talent pool organization – Organize candidates into project-specific talent pools to keep track of prospective hires.
- Collaboration – Share candidates with other recruiters and collaborate on outreach.
- Analytics – Track metrics like time-to-hire, source of hire, and candidate pipeline to optimize recruiting.
LinkedIn Recruiter aims to make hiring faster, more efficient, and more effective by leveraging the power of LinkedIn’s professional network and data.
What features are included in the LinkedIn Recruiter free trial?
LinkedIn offers a 30 day free trial of LinkedIn Recruiter Professional that includes access to many of the key features. Here are some of the features you can test out with a LinkedIn Recruiter free trial:
- Unlimited searching and browsing of LinkedIn profiles – Use advanced search filters and Boolean search to find qualified candidates based on skills, experience, location and more.
- InMail messages – Send unlimited InMail messages to engage with passive candidates open to new job opportunities.
- Talent Pool organization – Organize candidate records into customized folders and talent pools for easy tracking and collaboration.
- Team collaboration – Share candidates and collaborate with other recruiters and hiring managers.
- Recruiter homepage – Manage your workflow and candidate pipeline from a centralized recruiter homepage.
- Application tracking – Track candidate application materials and progress in the hiring workflow.
- Custom recruiting reports – Build custom reports to get data-driven insights on hiring performance.
The 30 day free trial provides access to the core set of tools you need to source, engage, manage, track, and report on candidates. It’s a great way to experience the key capabilities of LinkedIn Recruiter before deciding whether to upgrade.
How do I sign up for a LinkedIn Recruiter free trial?
Signing up for a LinkedIn Recruiter free trial is quick and easy. Here are the steps to get started:
- Go to the LinkedIn Recruiter trial sign up page at https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/recruiter-free-trial.
- Enter your name, work email, and phone number and click “Start My Free Trial”.
- Select if you want a free trial of Recruiter Lite or Recruiter Professional.
- Enter your company details like name, size, and location.
- Agree to LinkedIn’s terms and submit your request.
- LinkedIn will review your request and send you an email confirmation to activate your trial account.
- Log in to LinkedIn Recruiter and start your 30 day free trial!
The entire sign up process usually takes less than 5 minutes. As long as you have a LinkedIn profile and work email, you can request a trial and get access to the Recruiter toolset.
What are the limitations of the LinkedIn Recruiter free trial?
While the Recruiter free trial gives you access to core features, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- It’s limited to a 30 day period – After 30 days, you won’t have access unless you upgrade to a paid subscription.
- Maximum of 3 trial users – You can add up to 3 trial users from your company.
- 100 InMail limit per month – Each user gets 100 free InMail messages to contact candidates.
- Basic analytics and reporting – You get access to a sample of key reports and dashboards.
- Limited integrations – API and ATS integrations require a paid plan.
These limitations are mainly aimed at preventing abuse of the free trial while still allowing you to test drive the main Recruiter features.
What recruitment features are available on a paid LinkedIn Recruiter plan?
Upgrading to a paid LinkedIn Recruiter license unlocks the full suite of features and capabilities. Some key paid features include:
- Unlimited users and activity – No restrictions on number of users or usage volume.
- Unlimited InMail – Send unlimited InMail messages to engage passive candidates.
- Recruiter homepage – Personalized homepages for all users to manage workloads.
- ATS integrations – Seamless integration with leading ATS platforms.
- API access – Leverage Recruiter data and capabilities via the API.
- Premium analytics – Robust talent pool analytics and interactive dashboards.
- Compliance and security – Features to support compliance, governance, security.
Paid plans remove the free trial limitations and add capabilities for larger hiring teams and advanced features.
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite vs Professional Plans
LinkedIn offers two paid Recruiter plans – Recruiter Lite and Recruiter Professional. Here is an overview of the differences:
Recruiter Lite | Recruiter Professional | |
---|---|---|
Ideal For | Small teams and light recruiting needs | Large teams and high volume recruiting |
Price | $649/user per year | $899/user per year |
Number of users | 1-5 | 5+ |
InMail Credits | 500 per user | Unlimited |
Advanced Analytics | Limited | Full Access |
Integrations | ✔ | ✔ |
Recruiter Professional unlocks more capabilities for larger recruiting teams and higher talent volume.
Can I save candidate information from my free trial?
Yes, any candidates you source, engage with, or add to talent pools during the LinkedIn Recruiter free trial can be retained and accessed if you upgrade to a paid plan.
Here are some tips to make sure you can continue working with your candidates after the trial:
- Add candidates to appropriately labeled talent pools so they are organized.
- Engage candidates through InMail so you have conversations started.
- Tag or score candidates so you remember standouts.
- Export reports on your talent pools and candidates to retain the data.
With a bit of preparation, you can pick up right where you left off if you purchase a full Recruiter plan after the trial.
What happens after my LinkedIn Recruiter free trial ends?
Here’s what to expect when your 30 day free trial period for LinkedIn Recruiter ends:
- Your Recruiter account and access will be disabled unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
- You’ll no longer be able to search LinkedIn profiles or send InMail messages.
- Your talent pools and candidate records will be inaccessible until you upgrade.
- You’ll still be able to view any Recruiter reports and exports you created during the trial.
- You can start a new free trial in the future if needed, subject to LinkedIn approval.
Make sure to download any important reports and exports before the trial ends. And connect with the LinkedIn sales team if you need help deciding on the right paid plan to meet your recruiting needs going forward.
Is LinkedIn Recruiter worth the investment?
Investing in a tool like LinkedIn Recruiter represents a significant cost – but it may be well worth it depending on your hiring volume and needs. Here are a few benefits that can make the investment pay off:
- Faster hiring – Recruiter can reduce time-to-hire by surface qualified candidates faster.
- Better candidate fit – Advanced filtering helps find candidates that more closely match requirements.
- More proactive recruiting – Features like InMail allow you to be proactive reaching out to passive candidates open to new roles.
- More organized process – Centralized talent pools, workflow, and collaboration features reduce hiring chaos.
- Data-driven insights – Analytics help identify what sourcing strategies and sources are working best.
For teams with high talent acquisition needs, investing in a tool like Recruiter can drive measurable improvements in efficiency, quality of hire, and effectiveness.
Calculating the ROI of LinkedIn Recruiter
One way to analyze the value of LinkedIn Recruiter is to look at your potential return on investment (ROI). Here are some sample calculations:
Metric | Calculation |
---|---|
Annual cost | Number of users x price per user |
Time savings per hire | Reduced days or weeks to make each hire with Recruiter |
Number of hires per year | Based on your past or projected hiring volume |
Total time savings | Time savings per hire x number of hires |
Value of time savings | Total time savings x recruiter hourly cost |
ROI | (Value of time savings – Annual cost) / Annual cost |
This analysis can give you a data-backed assessment of the return you can expect from investing in Recruiter.
Tips for getting the most from your LinkedIn Recruiter free trial
To make sure you maximize the value from your LinkedIn Recruiter free trial, here are some top tips:
- Watch LinkedIn Recruiter demo videos – Get up to speed on capabilities quickly.
- Define your main recruiting goals – Focus the trial on your top needs.
- Build out your ideal candidate profiles – Create detailed profiles of your target hires.
- Spend time refining Boolean searches – Take advantage of advanced search strategies.
- Test different types of outreach messages – See what messaging works to engage candidates.
- Use talent pools to organize candidates – Group them by status, priority, role type etc.
- Experiment with different analytics – Identify key recruiting metrics and trends.
- Compare paid vs. free experience – Understand exactly what you gain by upgrading.
By maximizing your learning during the trial, you’ll know if investing in Recruiter long-term is the right call for your recruitment needs and budget.
Conclusion
A LinkedIn Recruiter free trial offers an excellent low-risk way for recruiters and talent acquisition leaders to evaluate if Recruiter is the right sourcing and recruiting solution for their needs. Take advantage of the 30 day access to core features like candidate searching, InMail, talent pools, and reporting to see firsthand how Recruiter can benefit your process. Make sure to enter the trial with clear goals and a plan to maximize what you learn. By thoroughing testing capabilities using your own real-world recruiting scenarios, you’ll have the data and experience needed to make the right call on purchasing a full Recruiter plan after the trial ends.