William Wong, May 2022
Get Social with your Hiring
How to tap into your LinkedIn network
Ding ding ding! Great news your req is approved and stood up in the system. You've even wrapped up an intake call with the Recruiter. So... what's next?
Immediately jump on LinkedIn and broadcast to the world you're hiring. Candidates want to hear from you! A recent report (Inside the Mind of Today's Candidate) found 56% of candidates are more likely to respond to a hiring manager.
Tune in below for tips on how to supercharge your hiring on LinkedIn.
People leave managers, not companies. A new research from DDI found 57% of employees have left a job because of their manager.
So it comes as no surprise that when shopping for a job, candidates are very interested in who you are. The first place they look of course is on LinkedIn.
[ I ] LinkedIn Profile
Showcase your purpose at the company. What are you working on? Why is it important? Create excitement!
Recommendations that gives the viewer a glimpse into who you are. Get these from your mgr, direct reports, peers, etc.
Actively post/repost/like topics that you agree with. This will give your viewers another insight into who you are.
Don't pretend to be a lion when you're not. Be true to yourself and honest in your statements.
Don't be offensive in your comments. This is a professional venue, and you are our brand ambassador to the world.
Don't disclose any confidential company information. Any intel from earnings report is fair game.
Let's conduct a quick diagnostic check of your profile to make sure it's up to par.
[ II ] Post/Link Your Opening
There are two ways to post and promote jobs on LinkedIn.
Link a job that's already live on LinkedIn to your profile so you can promote it (doesn't even have to be your req).
Create a posting from scratch. You can have one free posting up at any given time. It'll appear in search results and is searchable on LinkedIn.
Jobs are automatically uploaded to LinkedIn. Why do you have to link it to your profile?
When candidates hear about your opening, they'll hunt down your profile.
You want the jobs tied to you so it's easier for candidates to review/apply.
2.1 INSTRUCTIONS - Link Existing Job -
From main menu, click on [Open to], select [Hiring]
Select an existing job
Click [Add to profile]
Keep adding to your heart's content
You'll get a #Hiring banner on your profile pic
2.2 INSTRUCTIONS - Create New Job -
* Disclaimer: this only works if your company does not have an enterprise LI license. If you do, then contact your recruiter to post your job.
If you've already linked existing jobs, then click on this pencil icon (highlighted in pink)
Click [Add Job post]
Select [Create a new job]
Enter all the details. Click [Create and add to profile]
Click [Continue]
Choose [Select free]
[ III ] Broadcast Your Job Opening(s)
Now that the administrative part is done, it's time for the fun stuff - getting the whole world to fall in love with your opening.
Promote It Yourself | Utilize Your Network | Pay For It
Several ways to do this:
We will cover how to accomplish this without having to shell out any cash to LinkedIn. I'll show you the standard way, and then a different approach. Candidates are getting used to seeing job posts so introducing something visually stunning helps.
Click on ... and select
[Share with your Network]
Click on this pencil icon (highlighted in pink)
Insert something catchy about your role.
Hit [Post].
Select your partner(s) in crime to add this posting to their feed. It'll also give them a #Hiring banner.
Go back, hit ... and select
[Invite coworkers to share]
- Standard Method -
Go to [Home] and you'll see a place to post. Click on [Photo]. Select photo and hit [Done]
- Alternative Method -
Insert something catchy about your role.
Hit [Post].
This is what it looks like in your feed.
The answer? Do both, but give it some time between each.
The alternative is an attention grabber and allows for more customization than the bland job post.
The standard is faster to post, easier to enlist your contacts to repost, and has the JD attached to it.
Which Method is Better?
This method is great for associates looking to reap in referral bonus rewards. It invites others to discuss the role vs blindly apply (potentially removing a referral option).
Use Calendly - it's free, and allows people to automatically book a predefined time slot on your calendar.
Everyone on your team should be sporting one, and helping you broadcast openings.
LI's algorithm determine how your post ends up on people's feed. Personal connections play a big part. Have your team like and comment on your job posting.
Sample comments include what they got to work on, what they like about the company, what makes their role so fun or important.
Broaden your exposure by using hashtags to target a specific audience. Definitely leverage your internal company to help.
E.g. - Fiserv employs 40k+ associates, so using #FISVproud will give you a huge boost. Try others like #fintech (435k followers) or #careers (22.4M followers) . Do a search for "top LinkedIn hashtags" for inspiration.
Most people spend time on LI during work hours M-F 9am to 5pm. To catch everyone, it's best to post between Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00am to 1:00pm pacific.
SSI is a big deal on LI - this score measures how successful you are at using your account and engaging with others. Use as a benchmark on how you're communicating on the platform. Find here.
When other people engage with your post, it's starts appearing to their audience. As a result, you can get 30k views when you only have 3k connections because "friends of friends" will see your content.
Easiest way to do this is to add folks in your current company. Then look for industry leaders. Last step is to sync up with recruiters since they typically have huge networks that you can tap into. Goal is to increase your audience based on location and what they do (e.g. if all your connections are here in Sunnyvale, it doesn't help much that the job you're trying to promote is in NYC).
LI does have a connection invitation limit, ~ 100/week. So don't get discouraged if you hit the wall, just wait another week and go again.