LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for both job seekers and employers. With over 722 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform. For employers, LinkedIn offers numerous benefits for finding, vetting, and connecting with potential candidates. But just how important is LinkedIn to employers today? Let’s take a closer look.
How Employers Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn offers several powerful tools that enable employers to leverage the platform in their hiring process:
Searching for and Connecting with Candidates
With hundreds of millions of members, LinkedIn provides an enormous pool of potential candidates for employers. Employers can search LinkedIn profiles based on skills, experience, location and other parameters to find candidates that match their hiring needs.
LinkedIn searching allows employers to be proactive and reach out to prospective candidates, even those not actively job hunting. Through LinkedIn connection requests, InMail messages and job postings, employers can connect with passive candidates open to new opportunities.
Posting and Promoting Job Listings
Posting job listings on LinkedIn is a popular way for employers to attract applicants for open positions. LinkedIn job posts appear in search results and are distributed through member feeds.
Sponsored job listings receive additional visibility through targeted promotion within LinkedIn. This allows employers to get their job listings in front of more qualified candidates.
Researching Candidates
A LinkedIn profile provides far more information than a typical resume. Employers can learn about a candidate’s full work history, skills, accomplishments, certifications, education and more.
Public profiles allow employers to conduct pre-screening research before even contacting a prospective candidate. This helps determine if a candidate is truly a good fit.
Verifying Candidate Credentials
Employers can verify certain candidate credentials through LinkedIn. For example, profile references can vouch for someone. Many courses and certifications display a LinkedIn-verified badge. This provides validation for candidates’ claimed qualifications.
The LinkedIn profile also displays colleagues and classmates who can be contacted for referrals. Past managers and coworkers can provide insight into someone’s work ethic, skills and personality.
Building Talent Pipelines
Talent pipelines provide a pool of qualified candidates to fill future hiring needs. LinkedIn makes it easy to build and cultivate these pipelines.
Employers can follow candidates, join appropriate LinkedIn groups and connect with prospective hires. This engages talent communities and keeps the employer top of mind for future positions.
Branding the Employer
A company showcase page provides information about the employer brand, culture and open positions. Current employees can publish posts sharing their positivework experiences.
This allows candidates to learn about the company and team. It builds the employer brand and helps attract better job candidates.
Advantages of Using LinkedIn for Hiring
Leveraging LinkedIn to supplement the hiring process provides several key advantages:
More Qualified Applicants
LinkedIn enables employers to source more qualified candidates compared to general job boards. Screening tools help assess candidates based on niche job criteria. Targeted searches and promotions attract candidates already interested in similar roles or industries.
Passive Candidate Recruitment
Up to 70% of the workforce is not actively job hunting but open to new opportunities. LinkedIn profiles make it possible for employers to identify and connect with these passive candidates. This greatly expands an employer’s candidate pool.
Higher Candidate Engagement
Candidates contacted through LinkedIn are more likely to respond compared to other channels. LinkedIn communication occurs within a professional context candidates are already engaged with. Response rates to InMail messages are up to 4x higher than email.
More Candidate Insight
Detailed LinkedIn profiles provide greater insight into a candidate’s full career history and achievements. Employers gain a more complete picture of a candidate compared to a resume alone. Public profiles allow pre-screening before contacting candidates.
Lower Cost Per Hire
Sourcing candidates through LinkedIn lowers cost per hire in several ways. Targeted searches and postings reduce time spent reviewing unqualified applicants. Better pre-screening lowers interview time for unfit candidates. Higher quality hires also lower long-term turnover costs.
Builds Employer Brand
A strong employer brand on LinkedIn helps attract and retain top talent. Current employees promote corporate culture and values through engagement on the platform. This provides candidates with a window into day-to-day working life.
LinkedIn Usage Statistics for Employers
LinkedIn has become a go-to hiring resource for recruiters and HR professionals. Here are some telling statistics on how employers engage with LinkedIn:
LinkedIn For Hiring
– 92% of recruiters use LinkedIn to screen and vet candidates
– 75% of recruiters have hired a candidate through LinkedIn
– 66% of recruiters have a recruitment budget allocated for LinkedIn
Frequency of LinkedIn Use
– 87% of recruiters check LinkedIn at least once per week
– 30% check LinkedIn on a daily basis
– 12% check LinkedIn multiple times per day
LinkedIn Profile Research
– 93% of recruiters review candidate LinkedIn profiles
– 83% of recruiters decide not to pursue candidates based on their LinkedIn profile
– 70% of recruiters have rejected candidates due to errors or oversights on their profile
Recruiter Activity | Percentage |
---|---|
Use LinkedIn to vet candidates | 92% |
Have hired through LinkedIn | 75% |
Check LinkedIn at least weekly | 87% |
How Important is LinkedIn to Employers?
The data makes it clear that LinkedIn has become a critical platform for recruiters and employers when searching for and vetting job candidates.
LinkedIn is no longer just an optional resource or supplemental hiring tool. It has become a primary channel used across all industries and roles.
Here are some key reasons why LinkedIn has become so indispensable for employers:
Unparalleled Reach and Visibility
With over 722 million members, LinkedIn provides instant access to the world’s largest professional network. Employer job posts and search tools reach a global audience of engaged candidates.
Quality of Candidates
Candidates on LinkedIn have more extensive professional profiles, making it easier to assess their qualifications. Members are invested in career networking and development. This provides employers with higher quality applicants.
Candidate Engagement
Contacting members within the LinkedIn platform facilitates better engagement. Candidates are more receptive to messaging and opportunities presented in a professional context.
Passive Candidate Recruitment
The ability to identify and connect with passive candidates who aren’t actively job hunting is invaluable. This allows employers to build talent pipelines not possible through traditional hiring channels.
Data-Driven Hiring
Robust data and analytics help employers fine-tune hiring strategies. Insights on source of hire, cost per hire, and other metrics enable data-driven recruitment.
Competitive Edge
Employers who fail to leverage LinkedIn and its powerful tools will be at a competitive disadvantage for finding and engaging top talent. LinkedIn is simply too influential in modern recruitment to ignore.
How To Make LinkedIn Work For Your Hiring
Here are some ways employers can maximize their use of LinkedIn to enhance hiring:
Completely Fill Out Company Page
A detailed company page provides the complete employer value proposition. Add photos, videos, employee spotlights and open positions.
Encourage Employee Engagement
Current employees should connect their profiles to the company page. Have them share updates and content about positive workplace experiences.
Leverage All Job Posting Options
Experiment with free and paid job listings to determine what receives the best applicant engagement. Target sponsored updates to desired candidates.
Search profiles proactively
Don’t just wait for applicants to come to you. Use advanced search features to identify and connect with talent.
Expand your network
Follow prospective candidates, join industry groups and connect with compatible professionals. This expands visibility and develops pipelines.
Check applicant profiles
Thoroughly vet candidates through their LinkedIn profile rather than just a resume. Look for any red flags or inconsistencies.
Conclusion
The data leaves no question that LinkedIn has become the go-to talent sourcing platform for recruiters and employers. Leveraging LinkedIn provides access to more candidates, better insight, higher engagement and a competitive edge in recruiting top talent.
Employers who fail to take advantage of LinkedIn’s powerful suite of hiring tools will limit their access to the best candidates. To attract talent today, employers need a comprehensive LinkedIn presence and strategy. Is your company using LinkedIn to its full potential?