Much has been said and written on this subject and often by LinkedIn “gurus”. I’m no guru, just a guy in recruitment who has been around LinkedIn long enough to have worked out a few LinkedIn Tactics for Recruiters. Try out a few of the LinkedIn recruitment tips and tactics in this article and let me know how you get on and what else you do as a recruiter that works for you.
Firstly LinkedIn is like no other site and so what may well work there may not work on twitter or Facebook and vice versa. On LinkedIn there is no bad post or article or action (as long as it’s something you could show your mother) because the site rewards relevant and regular activity.
When someone on the site searches for the term “Recruitment Specialist Engineering” and you are regularly posting, commenting and liking things relating to engineering as a recruiter then as a general rule of thumb, you will come higher up the search rankings than your biggest competitor who posts very little. There’s more to it of course. More of that later…
Like the recruitment industry, LinkedIn is constantly evolving. Pay attention to and follow people who know what changes are happening and when. People like Chris Williams. When your posts and articles that usually do well, stop getting the results, it is usually because of a change in the algorithm on the site. If you post something a little different and it bombs – don’t be too quick to blame the idea/topic. There may well be another reason and that might be the ever-changing rules of engagement within LinkedIn!
The performance of different post types on LinkedIn constantly surprises me. I write useful content on interesting subjects and yet a couple of months ago I posted a picture from a Scottish holiday I was on, commenting that I was walking my dogs. The numbers of views, likes and comments was way more than I got for (what I thought were) two masterpieces of prose posted prior. The photo was a stunning view of a castle but there had to be more to it. There was. James Caan commented on it soon after it was posted. If an influencer comments on something then a huge number of his or her followers are likely to see it. Then LinkedIn spots that people are liking and commenting, and it gives your post or article another push out to people. So – follow and ideally connect with influencers (people with lots of connections who often get high levels of engagement on posts) and post comments on their threads to gain exposure and interaction with potential new connections. Make sure to hang out with the big boys!
Common courtesy suggests that if you like and comment on someone’s posts a few times they will look you up and may well wish to connect – or welcome your connection request. That’s true of everyone including your potential candidates and clients as well as influencers.
LinkedIn now tests your posts and articles before sending it out to a wider audience. Only a small number of your network (and public if that is your post setting) are delivered it into their feed. They then have a scoring system whereby likes, shares and comments as a percentage of views are reviewed by a robot. Then your post dies a quiet death or is pushed out to the masses – depending on the sample audience response. So, ensure your colleagues and friends and fans comment on your post or article and ideally share it too. Likes are good but not as good as comments or shares.
LinkedIn does not like posts or articles that take the reader away from the site or without their ‘authority’ to do so. And the giveaway to the robot is a thumbnail. That’s the image that auto-populates your post when you put a live link in your text. Eg Great new job for a project manager. For more details look here: http://xyzrecruitment/job/etc.
If you do this your post or article will NOT be pushed out to much of an audience at all. The good news is robots can be fooled. So:
1. Write your post and ensure it’s more than three lines in length. Do not put in a link.
2. Press post
3. Go to the three dots … top right of your post and then click on edit
4. Add into your post the long URL you want (not a bit.ly /shortened version)
5. Press post
6. Immediately refresh your connection/page and LinkedIn will then convert the URL to their own LinkedIn version eg https://lnkd.in/eVWEXjg
7. Bingo – now get people to comment etc and you are in business
For any of your posts or articles that are evergreen (not time critical) then you can recycle them a couple of times over two or three weeks by sharing it a few days later and then a few days after that add a comment of your own. If its relevant content to your audience then LinkedIn will likely push it out again for you. So what makes something relevant?
LinkedIn doesn’t print or make public their algorithms or metrics so most things that work are rules of thumb and are open to change. Relevancy is therefore partly because the subject matter and words within your post or article are a match for many of your contacts eg engineering or town planning or asbestos etc. Relevancy is also because of the keywords you use in your profile ( the first words you use under your name) and the wording within your profile (and the number of times you use them) and your post. Relevancy is also about consistency of subject matter previously posted.
Still with me? This LinkedIn malarkey isn’t easy is it?
Ok – to be found high up a search result by either a stranger or a 1st or 2nd line connection you have to be an “all star”. Only all stars are on the first few pages of peoples search results. You are an all star because you have filled in enough content in the various fields for LinkedIn to be happy.
To be found you can greatly enhance your chances of coming near the top of a search if you:
1. Ensure you use the most appropriate keywords. So test via google to see how many results come for certain keywords on LinkedIn eg “recruiter” versus “recruitment consultant”. A good free tool for this is www.recruitin.net ( and it lets you search LinkedIn for free)
2. Take a look at the top three results for your desired/tested keywords and count how many time the profiles of the top three have used those words within the body of their profile. NB LinkedIn doesn’t like over use and they have recently started to lower the number deemed acceptable.
3. Get endorsed as often as you can for your keywords and add them to the list of things that people can endorse you for if not already there. The bigger the number of endorsements you have the more LinkedIn think you are an expert in it. Essentially it’s about the number of “votes of confidence” you get.
4. Get recommended and ideally with the use of the keywords in them. Note – endorsements are worth more than recommendations when LinkedIn validates your level of “authority” on a subject/search term
5. Be active on the site and prove to LinkedIn you are, by leaving evidence behind ie likes, comments, follows, connection requests
6. Be a member of a number of groups and participate within them from time to time. Note you can message anyone who is a group member even if you are not connected (in most groups).
7. Post unique native content. Better to have a paragraph written by you live on the site than to write a line or two attaching an article written and posted elsewhere (on or off the site) or it posted by a robot eg buffer
The above will help you be found AND give you a great profile too when someone looks at you for whatever reason eg in response to a connection request.
When looking to engage with people in your sector and get you and your brand across the market, then a couple of times a week use the search bar for relevant wording eg “structural engineering innovation” under ‘content’. When the results come, choose ‘recent’ in the top corner instead of ‘relevance’. You now have up to date things to share, comment on, find people you can relate to, connect with – (people who are posting content in your arena) and so on.
When looking at your news feed at any time decide whether you want ‘top’ or ‘recent’ by selecting it in the top right corner at the start of your feed. Top will be most popular/most authoritative people/posts. Recent is exactly that (I prefer recent).
Some other things to do…..
When something is time conscious eg You spot a potential candidate and you need CV’s fast don’t tickle them on Linkedin – pick up the phone!
When looking to build new connections (candidate and clients) for ongoing/future use then consider the following:
1. Check they are relatively active (when did they last post or comment?) and if so having looked at them leave it for a day or two.
2. Check to see if they have looked at you (in your list of “your profile has been viewed by 19 people in the last 3 days” type of alert).
3. Follow them (click the three dots/more button in their profile) and leave it for a day or two
4. Check to see if they have looked at you/followed you etc
5. If they have looked at /followed you or even invited you to connect you can pick up the pace a bit in terms of direct contact. If they haven’t, don’t get too friendly too soon.
6. Activity depending on the answer to point 5 can then be: Like, comment or share something they have written. Like a comment they make on somebody’s post they got involved with, thank them in the post for their comment etc
7. When there has been tangible acknowledgement of the attention you are giving them send them a connection invite. That has to be personalised eg Dear John – I would be delighted if you were to accept this invitation to connect. Your post about xxxxxx resonated with me. Best regards Warren. If inviting from a mobile device press invite and then immediately go to their profile clicking the three dots/more button and send a personal note. When looking to connect with someone (PC or mobile) whose profile doesn’t immediately offer you that chance – it might say “send inmail” instead. Press the three dot button and the connect facility will be in there.
Once connected start getting chatty. Thank them for connecting and offer to help them if ever they think you might be able to do so. Chatty doesn’t mean stalking and pushing the conversation too hard. If they acknowledge your message pick things up at a pace you think appropriate to the response. After a few days of non-contact send them an article, a link to an article or some other point or comment about a shared interest. I use Friday afternoons to connect via messaging on LinkedIn. People often have more time to talk on a Friday compared to the rest of the week. Don’t be frightened to do the above points 1- 7 and contact them at the weekend or in the evening as well. There is the facility to know when someone is on the site ( Go to your settings to make this happen)– and then a green circle comes up on their photo. Check how long ago someone has posted or commented 5m ( 5 minutes) 21hs ( 21 hours) etc. and react accordingly. I find evening and weekend conversations are more free flowing. Don’t pitch too soon and don’t call too soon if things aren’t urgent. Do try and engage with multiple people within a business – your name will be seen in threads when they are connected to their colleagues and vice versa.
Before picking up the phone (if not time conscious/business critical) wait for “three thankyous”. That means three tangible moments when you have done something to please them enough for them to send you a note of thanks, a comment of thanks on a post etc.
That’s a fair few tips for your LinkedIn profile. The company page is another thing to look at too of course – maybe in another blog another time. Let me know how this one goes for you and If you have enjoyed this article then why not try kudos today and see for yourself how I’ve helped award-winning recruitment agencies get ahead