How to Source Candidates on Linkedin

Almost all top talent is on LinkedIn, and if you wish to catch the biggest fish in the pond, you need to know where to look and how to attract the best ones. While you may think that a simple search would do, it's actually not that simple. 

There are millions of profiles on LinkedIn, with almost the same qualifications and titles. 

If you want to narrow down to the T, save time from connecting with irrelevant profiles and bring home the purple squirrel in record time, with minimum effort and bandwidth, you need to keep reading.

What Makes LinkedIn Your Go-to Place for Go-Getters

LinkedIn is designed specifically for professional networking. It allows users to connect with other professionals, industry experts, and potential employers in their field. This makes it an ideal platform for go-getters who are always looking to expand their network and build new relationships.

That said, it's also an excellent platform for job seekers. LinkedIn offers a dedicated job search feature that allows users to search for job openings based on keywords, location, industry, and other criteria. 

It also provides users with the ability to receive job alerts and notifications when new positions are posted that match their interests and skills.

An ideal place for personal branding and showcasing experience, users can create a profile that highlights their skills, experience, expertise, life story, interesting perspectives, share their take on industry happenings and their own accomplishments. 

This can help go-getters differentiate themselves from other professionals in their field.

By sharing articles, writing blog posts, and participating in discussions, proactive jobseekers, exemplary talent and rainmakers can build credibility and a following which may yield new opportunities and connections.

This is a global application, so sky's the limit if users and top talent wish to expand their horizon. 

LinkedIn Sourcing Playbook – Search For Your Purple Squirrel Here

Alright, so we know where the best candidates are and what they're up to. The next, important task at hand is to figure out who they are, assess compatibility with your organisation and bring them home before anyone else does. 

You can only do this in a short time with an arsenal of time tested tools in place. 

We've laid out our entire playbook for you to steal the best practices of sourcing on LinkedIn.

1. Know EXACTLY What You're Searching For

Identifying your search requirements is a critical step to successfully source quality candidates on LinkedIn. 

Start by identifying the job title or titles that are most relevant to the position you're trying to fill. This will help you narrow down your search and ensure that you're targeting candidates with the right level of experience and expertise.

Consider the geographic location of the role and where you want your candidates to be based. This can be especially important if the position requires on-site work or if you're looking for candidates with specific knowledge of a particular region.

Determine which industries are most relevant to your position and focus your search on candidates with experience in those industries.

This will help you identify candidates with the right skills and knowledge for the job. You want someone who can hit the ground running, don't you?

Factor in the level of education that is required for the position and focus your search on candidates with the appropriate degree or certification. 

If you're looking for well experienced candidates,  you need to steer your search on candidates with the right amount of relevant experience. This will help you identify candidates with the right skills and knowledge for the job.

Another crucial step in sourcing on LinkedIn is to identify the key skills required for the position and zoom in on candidates with those skills. This way you can rest assured that your sourcing game is effectively shortened.

Consider the size of the companies where your ideal candidates have worked in the past. This can help you identify candidates who are a good fit for your organization based on their past work experience.

LinkedIn is a networking hub. Make the most out of it using the referral networks that are most likely to lead you to quality candidates. For example, you may want to search for candidates who are connected to current or former employees of your organization or who have worked with individuals in your network.

2. Build a Solid Employer Brand

Building a solid employer brand is an important step to source quality candidates on LinkedIn. That's how you show your humane side and attract your tribe.

Define what makes your company unique and attractive to potential candidates. This can include things like your mission and values, company culture, benefits and perks, and opportunities for growth and development.

Make sure your page includes a detailed description of your company, its values and culture, and any awards or recognition you've received as an employer.

Nobody likes an inactive page. Engage with your company's LinkedIn content by liking, sharing, and commenting on posts. Respond to comments, share your expertise and provide insightful answers to those who seek. Invite your employees to show off their experience in working with your company. They're the best brand ambassadors you're going to get.

it's important to offer competitive benefits and perks. This can include things like flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, health and wellness benefits, and competitive salaries. Candidates nowadays want to see a future with your company for them to even consider working for you. These benefits are a good place for them to see if they're aligned.

3. Create an Engaging Job Posting

Writing an engaging job posting is essential to attract high-quality candidates on LinkedIn. 

Use a title that accurately reflects the role and is easy to understand. 

Go full-on the job summary section to give candidates a brief overview of the role, including the key responsibilities, qualifications, and any unique selling points. This should be concise and highlight the most important aspects of the job.

Break down the job requirements into specific bullet points, highlighting the most important qualifications and skills needed for the role. Use action-oriented language and quantify the responsibilities where possible (e.g. "manage a team of 5" instead of "manage a team"). Your candidates are probably reading scores of job posts. You need to be clear and to the point, for them to see if they want to contact you and take things forward.

Be specific about how candidates should apply for the role, including the deadline for applications and any required materials (e.g. resume, cover letter, portfolio). Make it easy for candidates to apply by providing a clear and simple application process. Nobody likes a 10-step super complex application process.

Use inclusive language that avoids gender, race or other discriminatory words. Try to be neutral and avoid language that could be interpreted as exclusive.

4. Using the Versatile Search Option to Spot Your Unicorn

LinkedIn's advanced search allows you to filter your search based on different criteria, such as job title, industry, location, and more. This will help you find candidates who match your specific requirements.

Use keywords related to the position you're hiring for in your search. For example, if you're hiring for a software engineer, use keywords such as "software engineer," "programming," "coding," "Java," and other relevant terms.

Reach out to your network and ask for referrals or recommendations. Most referrals from trusted contacts turn out to be valuable hires, industry experts say. Take advantage of that. 

When you search directly on LinkedIn, the sheer volume of profiles can leave you exhausted. That's why you need a tool like EasySource – a free simple chrome extension that you can download, enter search criteria and in a few seconds, it wades through the maze and extracts the highest quality profiles accurately matching your criteria in a matter of seconds.

Now that's a huge time saver, isn't it?

5. Join groups

Search for groups that are relevant to your industry, job function, or the specific skill sets you are looking for in a candidate. You can use LinkedIn's search bar to look for groups, or browse through the "Groups" section on the site.

Once you are admitted to the group, start engaging with other members by posting relevant content, commenting on others' posts, and sharing your expertise. This will help you build relationships with other members and establish yourself as a knowledgeable professional in your field.

Use LinkedIn's search function to find potential candidates within the group. You can search for specific job titles, skills, or experience levels to narrow down your results. You can also look for members who have posted relevant content or engaged in discussions within the group.

Once you have identified potential candidates, reach out to them directly through LinkedIn's messaging system. Be sure to personalize your message. While it may seem difficult to send each candidate a personal note, you can simplify the process by using a free simple tool like EasySource. 

It's a free chrome extension that you can download, enable and use the tool to create ready-to-go semi personalized templates to connect with candidates, schedule connection requests and manage all communications from them.

6. Send InMail

When you find a potential candidate, craft a personalized message that highlights why you are interested in them and why you think they would be a good fit for your company. Keep the message short and to the point, and avoid being too salesy.

In your message, include a call to action that encourages the candidate to respond. This could be as simple as asking them to reply if they are interested in learning more.

If you don't hear back from a candidate, don't be afraid to follow up. Send a friendly reminder and let them know that you are still interested in speaking with them. It's not humanly possible to remember each candidate, check the date of your last mail and follow up with them. That's why EasySource helps you create workflows where you can schedule follow up messages well in advance, so that your continued communication is cut out for you. 

Effortless, meaningful, timely and humane communication, made easy with EasySource.

 7. Use LinkedIn Talent Solution

If you're looking for high value or high volume profiles and have the budget for it, you need to get the elite talent package – LinkedIn Talent Solutions to accelerate your hiring game.

LinkedIn Recruiter is the flagship product of LinkedIn Talent Solutions. 

With LinkedIn Recruiter, you can search for candidates using various filters such as job title, location, industry, and company size. You can also save searches and set up alerts to be notified when new candidates matching your criteria become available. To get the most out of LinkedIn Recruiter, you should have a well-defined candidate persona and a clear understanding of the skills and qualifications you're looking for.

LinkedIn Jobs is a job posting platform that allows you to post job openings on LinkedIn and reach a wider audience of job seekers. You can use LinkedIn Jobs to create a job posting and target it to specific candidates based on their location, industry, and experience level. You can also sponsor your job posting to increase its visibility and attract more candidates. 

To get the best results from LinkedIn Jobs, you should write a compelling job description and use keywords that will attract the right candidates.

Heard of LinkedIn Pipeline Builder? It is a tool that helps you manage your candidate pipeline and track your recruiting metrics. 

With Pipeline Builder, you can create a custom pipeline that reflects your recruiting process, from sourcing candidates to making job offers. You can also track your recruiting metrics, such as time-to-fill and cost-per-hire, to identify areas for improvement. To get the most out of Pipeline Builder, you should use it to streamline your recruiting process and make data-driven decisions about your hiring strategy.

LinkedIn Talent Insights is a data analytics tool that provides insights into the talent market. With Talent Insights, you can analyze data on the talent pool, such as skills, education, and job titles, to help you make more informed recruiting decisions. You can also use Talent Insights to compare your organization's talent pool to that of your competitors and identify areas for improvement. 

To get the most out of Talent Insights, you need to identify talent gaps with the rich data it offers and develop a strategy to address them.

LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform that provides courses on a range of topics, including recruiting and talent management. With LinkedIn Learning, you can develop your skills as a recruiter and learn best practices for finding and attracting top talent. 

You can also encourage your team members to use LinkedIn Learning to improve their skills and stay up-to-date with the latest trends in recruiting. To get the most out of LinkedIn Learning, you should use it to develop a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your organization.

Final Words

Sourcing on LinkedIn is not a sprint. It's a marathon. Millions of LinkedIn users need to trust you as a brand, as a recruiter, see that they can grow with your company and only then would you be able to attract the best candidates. 

It's a long game of personal and employer branding, showing your humane side (nobody wants to talk to bots) and making the transition easier for them. 

All this you can accomplish, but only with the right tools and systems in place, so you don't burn the midnight oil. 

That's why you need to check out EasySource – your go-to tool to simplify your sourcing game on LinkedIn and elevate your candidate experience.