Looking for candidates with resumes on LinkedIn is a great way to source qualified talent for open positions. LinkedIn has over 740 million members, with over 303 million monthly active users as of December 2019. This massive user base makes LinkedIn one of the best places to find and connect with professionals in just about every industry and career level.
Searching LinkedIn for Candidates with Resumes
The first step is using LinkedIn Recruiter or LinkedIn’s advanced search functionality to look for candidates based on criteria like location, industry, job titles, skills, education, and more. You can search for keywords found on resumes like certain certifications, programming languages, degrees, and hard skills.
Here are some tips for searching LinkedIn for resumes:
- Use Boolean search operators like “AND” “OR” and “NOT” to refine and narrow your search. For example, “project manager AND PMP NOT IT”.
- Search by skills and certifications like “CPA” or “Series 7” to find finance candidates.
- Look for software developers by searching for programming languages like “Python” and “JavaScript”.
- Enter education details like “computer science” or “MBA” to find candidates with certain degrees.
- Search by previous employers, especially well-known companies in your industry.
You can also search LinkedIn groups related to the position you’re hiring for. Join the groups and use their search feature to look for group members with resumes.
Contacting Candidates with Resumes on LinkedIn
Once you’ve identified some prospective candidates based on their LinkedIn profiles and resumes, you’ll want to reach out to them. Here are some tips for contacting candidates with resumes on LinkedIn:
- Send an InMail if you have a LinkedIn Recruiter account. InMails have higher response rates than basic LinkedIn messages.
- Personalize your message by mentioning details from their profile/resume and why you think they’re a fit.
- Highlight the key details of the role and what makes it an exciting opportunity.
- Ask to set up a call or video chat to further discuss the role and their background.
- Mention any shared connections you have in common as an extra introduction.
- Follow up if they don’t respond after about a week.
It’s also a good idea to look out for candidates who have “open to work” listed on their LinkedIn profile. Those members are actively looking for new job opportunities.
Engaging Candidates through LinkedIn Jobs
Posting the job on LinkedIn as a LinkedIn Job listing can help source interested and qualified candidates. Benefits of posting jobs on LinkedIn include:
- Reach LinkedIn’s large member base of active and passive job seekers.
- Members can easily apply through their profile with their resume.
- Your job post will appear in search results based on job title and other keywords.
- You can filter applicants by criteria like years of experience, location and skills.
- LinkedIn uses matching algorithms to recommend your job to relevant candidates.
Tips for engaging candidates through LinkedIn Jobs:
- Write an eye-catching and descriptive job title and description.
- Highlight the skills and requirements needed for the role.
- Share the job post on your company LinkedIn page and employee profiles.
- Partner with recruiters who can source candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter.
- Offer a competitive salary and benefits package to attract applicants.
- Promote your employer brand to get candidates excited about applying.
Integrating with Applicant Tracking Systems
Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to organize, screen, and track applicants during recruitment. LinkedIn integrates directly with many popular ATS platforms to enable easy posting of jobs and importing of resumes.
Here are some tips for integrating LinkedIn with your ATS:
- Research which ATS solutions integrate with LinkedIn like Workday, SmartRecruiters, Greenhouse, Lever, and more.
- Activate the integration so job posts are automatically added to LinkedIn.
- Use the Apply with LinkedIn button on job posts to collect resumes directly.
- Configure your ATS to pull candidate info and resumes from LinkedIn Recruiter.
- Use the integration to track applicant source, status changes, and activity right within your ATS.
- Avoid duplicate entries by syncing LinkedIn profiles with existing ATS candidate profiles.
Integrating these systems helps make the process smoother for candidates as well and ensures all data flows to the right places.
Leveraging LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages
LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages represent two more resources for surfacing candidates with resumes who may be open to new roles. Some strategies include:
- Join industry and professional Groups related to the types of candidates you want to source.
- Engage Group members by posting discussions and sharing advice and content.
- Offer to advise Group members to establish yourself as an expert.
- Search Groups using keywords to discover members with the right backgrounds.
- Post job openings in relevant Groups and interact with those who respond.
Regarding Company Pages:
- Follow companies similar to yours whose employees would translate well to open roles.
- Watch Company Pages for news about layoffs or other events where talent may become available.
- Advertise your jobs to followers of competitors or industry companies.
- Analyze employee turnover trends among key competitor and industry companies.
- Connect with former employees of competitors or related companies about roles.
Sourcing Passive Candidates on LinkedIn
Up to 70% of the workforce is considered passive candidates, or those not actively searching for other job opportunities. Sourcing passive candidates on LinkedIn is a great way to uncover “hidden” talent that may not respond to your job ads.
Tips for sourcing passive candidates on LinkedIn:
- Search for profiles using relevant keywords even if “Open to Work” isn’t selected.
- Identify those with skills, experience and connections relevant to the role.
- Review their career progressions to find those likely seeking a change or promotion.
- Be transparent about the role details and why you think they’d excel and find it interesting.
- Sell them on your employer brand, culture, values, and competitive benefits.
- Comment thoughtful advice and insights on their posts to establish a connection.
Sourcing passive candidates takes more effort but can uncover some amazing hidden talent. The key is personalizing your outreach and presenting the opportunity in a compelling way.
Evaluating Candidates Source from LinkedIn
Once you’ve sourced candidates from LinkedIn, you’ll want to carefully evaluate them before moving forward. Some tips for evaluating LinkedIn candidates:
- Thoroughly review their LinkedIn profile and resume for related experience.
- Look for career growth in terms of titles, responsibilities and accomplishments.
- Pay attention to any employment gaps and be prepared to inquire about them.
- Assess any recommendations they have received from colleagues and managers.
- Look for mutual connections who can provide references on the candidate.
- Have someone from your team also review their qualifications.
- Compare their hard skills and experience levels to the role’s requirements.
- Make sure they have the required education credentials if applicable.
It can also be helpful to have candidates complete screening questionnaires or assessments to evaluate their skills and cultural fit.
Using LinkedIn to Supplement Other Sourcing
Sourcing candidates through LinkedIn should be part of a broader talent acquisition strategy. Some other sourcing approaches LinkedIn can supplement include:
- Your Careers Page and Website – Promote job postings and your employer brand on your website to drive candidates to also view LinkedIn jobs and company page.
- Job Boards – Post jobs on niche job boards relevant to the position and include links to the LinkedIn job listing.
- Social Media – Share job openings on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook and include the LinkedIn Jobs apply link.
- Events – Attend or speak at industry conferences and networking events to promote openings and meet potential candidates in person who you can then connect with on LinkedIn.
- Referrals – Ask current employees for referrals and look for any connections those candidates have on LinkedIn.
- Staffing Agencies – Partner with staffing and recruiting firms who can leverage LinkedIn in their candidate search process.
This omnichannel sourcing approach ensures you can attract and evaluate candidates from multiple sources during your LinkedIn search.
Making Full Use of LinkedIn Recruiter
For larger companies and recruiting teams, investing in LinkedIn Recruiter can maximize your results sourcing candidates. Benefits of LinkedIn Recruiter include:
- See full candidate profiles even without a direct connection.
- Search using over 20 advanced filters to find the right fit fast.
- Send InMail messages to anyone to increase response rates.
- Track candidate communication and activity from first touch to hire.
- Get visibility into skills, experience levels and other insights.
- Post jobs and engage candidates from one unified platform.
Tips for making the most of LinkedIn Recruiter:
- Complete advanced LinkedIn training to master Recruiter’s features.
- Follow relevant companies to watch for up and coming talent.
- Save advanced searches to be alerted to new candidates.
- Join key industry and niche Groups related to the role.
- Leverage data and reporting to refine your search strategy.
- Integrate Recruiter with your HR systems and ATS through API.
- Become an expert on searching for and engaging passive candidates.
Investing the time to learn all of LinkedIn Recruiter’s capabilities can significantly enhance your recruiting productivity.
Leveraging LinkedIn Partners and Services
In additional to Recruiter, LinkedIn offers other tools and services that can bolster your ability to find and engage candidates.
LinkedIn Partners:
- Work with LinkedIn Partner agencies who are experts at sourcing candidates on the platform.
- Consider LinkedIn’s automated Candidate Generation services to identify prospects who match your criteria.
- Use Recruitment Ads to target relevant professionals with openings based on their profile data.
- Follow LinkedIn Company Pages from staffing providers who share qualified talent.
LinkedIn Services:
- Post jobs as Sponsored Content to ensure maximum visibility in newsfeeds.
- Take advantage of LinkedIn Learning to train recruiters and hiring managers on best practices.
- Use LinkedIn Elevate to share company content and build your brand as an employer.
- Analyze workforce data and trends using LinkedIn Talent Insights to refine strategy.
Tapping into LinkedIn’s network of partners and platform services can give you added support and expertise.
Maintaining Compliance on LinkedIn
When sourcing candidates on LinkedIn, it’s important to maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Some tips include:
- Avoid any discrimination based on protected classes such as race, gender, religion etc.
- Do not reach out to members who have not expressed interest in hearing about roles.
- Disclose you are contacting them about job opportunities.
- Honor requests from members asking not to be contacted.
- Be transparent about salary ranges and application processes.
- Use an opt-in method for sharing resumes and candidate information with third parties.
- Make reasonable accommodations in your application process for disabled candidates.
It’s also crucial to have candidates’ consent before performing any background checks and to avoid asking candidates about certain protected information.
Conclusion
LinkedIn provides a powerful platform to source qualified, professional candidates at all experience levels who have made their resumes available. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s advanced search features, Groups, and Company Pages to uncover candidates. Evaluate them carefully based on their full profile and resume details. Integrate your efforts with an ATS and other sourcing channels. Invest in LinkedIn Recruiter and services if budget allows. Maintain compliance at all times. Used strategically along with a multi-faceted talent acquisition strategy, recruiters can gain a competitive edge by sourcing candidates with resumes on LinkedIn.