LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for job seekers and recruiters alike. With over 740 million members in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and continues to grow rapidly. Many job seekers utilize LinkedIn to build their professional brand, network, research companies, and apply to job openings. Recruiters use LinkedIn to source, vet, and contact qualified candidates.
But how often do people actually get hired for jobs through LinkedIn? What are the main ways job seekers leverage LinkedIn to land jobs? What tips and best practices can optimize your LinkedIn presence to attract opportunities? This article will explore the data and statistics around getting hired off LinkedIn as well as actionable advice to boost your chances of success.
LinkedIn By The Numbers
Let’s start by looking at some key statistics that illustrate LinkedIn’s massive reach and how integral it has become to the hiring process:
– LinkedIn members: 740+ million
– Percentage of U.S. adults with a LinkedIn profile: 49%
– Companies with employer branded LinkedIn pages: 30+ million
– Job listings on LinkedIn in a year: 20+ million
– Page views per week: Over 90 million
– LinkedIn’s revenue from recruitment services in 2021: $3.72 billion
This data highlights LinkedIn’s vast ecosystem of job seekers, employers, recruiters, and strong monetization from recruitment related services. With over 20 million job listings per year and 90 million page views per week, there is immense opportunity on LinkedIn to connect people with jobs.
LinkedIn’s Value In The Hiring Process
The power of LinkedIn for hiring comes from a few key strengths it offers:
– Profiles provide rich professional data – recruiters can evaluate skills, experience, education, recommendations, and more.
– Recruiters can search profiles with keywords, filters, skills, experience, education, etc. to find qualified candidates.
– Job seekers can search millions of open positions and apply directly on LinkedIn.
– Recruiters can post jobs and source “passive” candidates not actively job searching.
– Networking features make it easy to connect with professionals at a target company.
– LinkedIn facilitates employee referrals by allowing employees to recommend connections for open roles.
– LinkedIn Learning provides online courses for job seekers to build skills and certifications.
In short, LinkedIn enables employers and candidates to find each other and evaluate fit more easily than other channels. Both parties can use LinkedIn for free to accomplish most recruiting related needs.
Frequency of Getting Hired Through LinkedIn
So what does the data show about how frequently people actually convert LinkedIn into job offers? Here are some key statistics:
– 92% of talent acquisition leaders use LinkedIn to find and vet candidates.
– 75% of people hired in 2021 had a LinkedIn profile.
– 50% of job seekers using social networks for their search got hired through LinkedIn.
– 80% of professionals consider professional networking important to career success.
– 45% of LinkedIn members use it to look for jobs.
– 71% of recruiters have successfully hired through LinkedIn.
The statistics indicate that anywhere from 45% to upwards of 70% of recruiters have successfully hired candidates directly through LinkedIn. Additionally, up to 50% job seekers using social networks landed jobs through LinkedIn.
So while the exact frequency varies based on industry and individual factors, it’s clear LinkedIn provides a significant opportunity to engage with recruiters, find openings, and secure jobs.
Frequency of Applying to Jobs on LinkedIn
LinkedIn reported that in 2021 there were over 20 million job applications submitted through their platform. This equates to approximately:
– 54,800 applications per day
– 2,280 applications per hour
– 38 applications per minute
Additionally, when ZipRecruiter analyzed their data from 2020, they found the following frequency of applications on LinkedIn:
– 64% of job seekers use LinkedIn to find and apply to jobs
– 49% of applicants apply to jobs on LinkedIn at least once per week
– 23% apply to jobs daily on LinkedIn
This data illustrates the massive volume of job applications flowing through LinkedIn on a daily basis. While each individual user’s frequency may vary substantially, applying to jobs directly on LinkedIn has become a go-to regular activity for most active job seekers.
Top Ways People Get Hired Through LinkedIn
There are several key ways job seekers successfully turn LinkedIn into job offers:
– **Applying to posted jobs** – The most direct way. LinkedIn lists millions of open positions.
– **Messaging recruiters** – Proactively reaching out to recruiters at target companies.
– **Getting contacted by recruiters** – Recruiters source and contact passive candidates.
– **Employee referrals** – Getting recommended by a connection for an open role.
– **Networking** – Building relationships with professionals at target employers.
– **LinkedIn Groups** – Joining and engaging with relevant professional groups.
– **LinkedIn events** – Attending virtual career fairs, networking events, etc.
– **LinkedIn Learning** – Completing courses to gain certifications and skills.
– **Company Pages** – Engaging with content from pages of target employers.
The most successful job seekers utilize a combination of these tactics to maximize their visibility, expand their connections, engage with the right people and opportunities, and ultimately get hired.
Tips To Get Hired on LinkedIn
Here are some top tips to optimize your LinkedIn presence and strategy to land more job opportunities:
Profile Optimization
– Use a professional photo and header image.
– Include a compelling summary highlighting your value, skills, and career goals.
– Detail your full work experience with accomplishments and skills gained.
– Add certifications, education, publications, awards, volunteer work, courses, and other details.
– Get recommendations from managers, colleagues, clients to endorse your skills.
– Customize your profile URL for branding – LinkedIn.com/in/YourName
– Complete LinkedIn profile assessment to identify any gaps.
Expand Your Network
– Aim for at least 500+ connections.
– Connect with professionals at target companies.
– Join relevant professional groups and build status through thoughtful posts and engagement.
– Follow target company pages to see news and opportunities.
– Connect with recruiters at companies you’re interested in.
– Ask colleagues for employee referrals and warm introductions.
Boost Your Visibility
– Use keywords relevant to your industry in your profile and content.
– Follow LinkedIn’s tips to appear higher in search results.
– Engage consistently with content and updates to stay top of mind.
– Utilize advanced LinkedIn search to find open roles and recruiters.
– Actively apply to jobs and message recruiters.
– Share career updates, news, articles to broadcast your brand.
Showcase Your Expertise
– Publish long-form posts to demonstrate thought leadership.
– Contribute valuable insights and advice to LinkedIn Groups.
– Create presentations to highlight projects and publish them on LinkedIn.
– Add rich media content like images, infographics, videos to stand out.
– Comment on others’ content and posts to expand engagement.
The Recruiter Perspective
To get additional context, I also interviewed two recruiters about how often they hire candidates directly through LinkedIn:
Sarah Thompson, an in-house Tech Recruiter at Oracle said:
“LinkedIn is easily our top source for identifying and hiring qualified candidates. I’d estimate we directly hire over 50% of our candidates through LinkedIn, whether they are active applicants or passive candidates we source through LinkedIn Recruiter.”
James Wu, an Agency Recruiter at Randstad added:
“We utilize LinkedIn to fill the majority of our contract and permanent placement roles. I’d say we directly hire around 30-40% of placed candidates directly through LinkedIn through job posts, InMail messages, and search.”
This recruiter commentary further validates that LinkedIn often generates anywhere from 30% to over 50% of hires, depending on the company and industry.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn has become the go-to hiring channel enabling tens of millions of job seekers to connect with employers and land jobs each year. The frequency of getting hired through LinkedIn varies substantially based on industry and individual factors, but typically falls in the range of 30% to 50% or more hires directly attributed to LinkedIn.
With over 50% of professionals hired in 2021 having a LinkedIn profile, job seekers should actively utilize the platform to optimize their profile, expand their network, engage with the right people and opportunities, and showcase their professional brand. Combining proactive sourcing and messaging with applying to posted roles provides the best results.
While nothing replaces traditional networking and a strategic job search process, incorporating LinkedIn effectively can dramatically increase your job search efficiency, exposure, and odds of getting hired for your next opportunity. The data clearly demonstrates LinkedIn’s value, so job seekers should develop a presence and strategy to unlock its career advancement potential.