2. Why You Should Be Utilizing LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network with over 100 million
members and growing rapidly. Used effectively LinkedIn can help you share or
source new clients and candidates, maintain an expert image with your existing
network, source business leads, generate vacancy specific candidates and build
your reputation. If that isn't enough to convince you then consider this:
A percentage of our potential candidates are already on LinkedIn - if you're not
connecting with them a competitor probably is.
You can broadcast vacancies for free - and to a targeted and relevant audience

3. What are the essentials on your LinkedIn profile?
There are four essentials on an individual’s LinkedIn profile;
they are the picture, the headline, the summary and keywords:
• The picture should look professional and
reflect your brand, people like dealing with
faces as opposed to just text – studies show
you get 30% more clicks in search results
when you have a picture. And you are 7
times more likely to come up in search if you
have a photo. As a recruitment professional
you want to be approachable and a profile
picture is an absolute must.
• The headline (along with your name and
picture) is what comes up in search results
and based on this the user will decide
whether to click on you or the competitor.
Make sure the headline talks about what you
do and not who you are, i.e. “Recruiting Java
Developers to Top Tier Consultancies in
Manchester” instead of Consultant or
Recruiter at Agency X – which means very
little. You have 120 characters at your
disposal, make sure you make the most of
these.
• Your summary (the bio section) is where
people go to see what you are all about and
what your track record in the industry is. If
you get someone to take their time to check
this out you will want them to read 2-3
paragraphs about what you have done, what
you can do for them and something
memorable. Remember to add your contact
details at the end of this section if you want
new people to get in touch.
• Finally, you have to get the right keywords on
your profile or you will not come up in any
searches. Yes you might come up in searches
for your name but let’s face it if someone
already knows your name you already have a
foot in the door. It’s better to come up in the
search for “Java recruiter Manchester”. Just
remember that there is a fine balance
between spraying keywords across your
profile and staying professional.

5. • Share valuable information that educates your audience. This means relevant
industry articles, general business hacks and occasionally something light like
‘How Darth Vader was the best project manager ever’. The secret is to mix up
your content, to demonstrate that you’re not a robot.
• Do share a vacancy every now and then but do it in the right way. Instead of just
pushing out a link to a job specification on your site, describe the opportunity
and what makes it unique if you can. ‘Their office even has a helipad on the roof’
will get more likes, shares and comments than a basic job link.
• Sharing events you are going to is always useful, if someone in your network is
thinking of going they will get in touch. And it shows that you’re out and about
amongst your clients and candidates. If your company hosts events, these should
definitely be shared as well in status updates (and listed in the events section).
Status Updates

6. How do you connect to potential candidates that don’t know you? This can be tricky
sometimes on LinkedIn. If you send five connection requests and the receivers mark
them as spam or IDK (I Don’t Know), your account will be suspended from sending
invites without having the person’s email address. You will have to beg LinkedIn
customer services to lift the suspension; this gets harder and harder depending on
how many times you get the five IDKs.
The best way to connect with new people is not revolutionary; it’s just actually taking
an interest in the other person. Personalize your invite where possible, have a look at
the profile and try to find some common denominators. Are you a member of the
same group (a very useful way), did you notice they are connected with someone you
know, did you go to the same school or do you share a passion for trainspotting?
Whatever it is, put it into your invite message. The worst thing that can happen is that
they ignore you or politely reply that they only connect with people they have met.
Connecting Etiquette

7. How to Advertise Jobs on LinkedIn
Create a job discussion
Go to each Group you are a member of using the Groups
tab at the top of each page when logged in. Click on a
selected Group and then click on the jobs tab. Here you
can post brief details of your vacancy with a link (use a link
shortener such as bit.yl) to the original vacancy on your
website.
Broadcast a vacancy via your status.
Each time you login to LinkedIn you have the option to
update your status. You can post a link to your newest
vacancy here . Not only will people viewing your profile
be able to see this but everyone you are connected to
will see this in their daily updates!
Send your vacancy via in-mail.
You can send your vacancy to relevant connections via
inmail. Don't fall into the trap of sending every vacancy
to every connection - they will stop reading them and in
many cases will drop your connection. Simply go to
your inbox and click on compose message. You can then
create a personalized message with a link to your
vacancy. You can use filters to just choose relevant
connections.

8. LinkedIn Recruiter Best Practices
Delegate. You don’t have to do all the work yourself. Create your search using all the titles, keywords, and criteria you wish
and save it. Then delegate the daily check for new candidates to the Search Alert. LinkedIn Recruiter will tell you when new or
updated profiles match your search.
Don’t sell. When writing an InMail to a passive candidate through LinkedIn Recruiter, always remember that this person might
not have thought yet about making a career change. Telling them “we’re hiring, check out the job description and apply
online” lands your message in the deleted items. LinkedIn is ultimately a networking site so network with the potential
candidates. Their referrals might be your next hires.
Choose Efficiency. Why click on a profile and send one InMail at a time? By creating lists of potential candidates in a
Project, you can choose multiple profiles and send them all the same InMail template in a few clicks.
Personality is Key. Let your personality shine through in your InMail messages and personalize them to meet the experience
of the person you’re reaching out to. You have to be a bit tricky with the personalization when creating an InMail template
you’ll use for many people however simply letting them know you reviewed their LinkedIn profile tells them you’re not a
spammer.
Organize. Two words, use Projects. Keep the job post, the searches and the profiles of potential candidates in a Project
labeled for the open position. You’ll never have to search for someone you sent an InMail to weeks ago or hunt for which
search you saved for a particular opening. It’s all there for you and you can even share that information with your team and
collaborate with them in the hunt.
Don’t Wait for the Open Req – start your searches and get the Search Alerts working for you when you hear the job is coming
open. Start saving interesting profiles into the Project you create for the position and then, when the req is approved, you’ll be
ready to hit “send” on the InMail and off to the races.

9. InMail: Getting The Conversation Started
InMail is a great way to get the conversation started with potential candidates. Here are some quick
Do’s and Don’ts for great introductory messages.
DO:
 Be brief and to the point
 Make the message about
the candidate and their
career goals
 Adopt an enthusiastic
tone
 Make a template of a
successful InMail to save
time in the future
DON’T:
X Cut and paste a job
description or link to a
job posting
X Direct a passive
candidate to send you a
resume or look at a job
X Use a generic subject line
or miss one completely

10. InMail Continued
Don’t: Provide an impersonal introduction or fail to include first names
Dear First Name (fail to actually insert the name), Dear potential applicant or
Hello! It’s impersonal if your potential candidate immediately thinks that this
message goes out to 500 other people. They want to feel special.
Don’t: Be gimmicky : Call me today at xxx-xxx-xxx and secure your dream job.
Do: Be casual and personable
This is what will establish a connection between you and the potential
candidate. Would you be open to a brief discussion to discuss further? Simple
and polite, no pressure. Don’t include entire job descriptions and Employee
Value Propositions (EVPs). The more personalized your content is, the higher
your chances will be to get a positive response.

11. InMail Cont.
Do: Create actual content that clearly shows what your intentions are. And
remember: Most people use LinkedIn on their mobile devices. Always make
your messages short enough that they can be read and answer immediately
while on the bus, waiting for a coffee or in between meetings.
Do: Keep it simple:
Focus on one goal. Ask a candidate specifically if you think that he or she is a
good fit for your open position or company and to call or send a resume. You
can also ask for a referral if you know that the person you’re contacting is not
actively looking for a job but might know someone who could be.
Don’t: Ask them to contact you and fail to include your contact info. Always
remember, if there is no number to call or email address to mail the resume
to, the candidate will most likely not hit the “reply” button to ask for the
contact details.
Do: Offer to have them call you at their convenience.

12. InMail Cont.
Bottom Line:
Recruiting and human resources is getting more personal. And
nowadays, everybody is a potential brand ambassador. In a world where
communication travels fast and competition is to get the top-tier talent’s
attention, your company’s brand is pivotal to the success of your talent
acquisition. Therefore, when using LinkedIn InMail, be especially careful. Use
it to try to form relationships and create awareness but be aware of the
shortcomings, especially when using it to source talent.

14. LinkedIn Tutorial Video