Understanding how and what recruiters search on LinkedIn is important when you are in the market for a new job.
LinkedIn is the premiere social platform for professionals seeking networking opportunities and new work. While many people use it as a de facto Facebook and post daily comments that would be more fit for a Facebook wall, the majority of people use LinkedIn to connect for new work opportunities.
Recruiters in particular are always on LinkedIn searching for their next new hire. It’s the only way most executive level job searches are conducted. Almost no high level role will be filled using a job posting site like Indeed or Craigslist. Those sites are simply flooded with irrelevant applicants.
It’s important to understand how recruiters use LinkedIn and what they search for when they are looking to fill roles. Why? Because if you know what recruiters search for, then you will know how to better tailor your LinkedIn profile.
The best way to do this is to get inside the mind of a recruiter. There are a lot of “how to” guides out there written by career advisors. For the most part, they are misguided and naïve. They do not understand how recruiters work because they are written by people who never were recruiters.
The truth is that recruiters are the most savy and sophisticated users of LinkedIn because their livelihood depends on it. Career advisors make money by people paying them for advice, or else they are employed by a college or school or even a company that consults with a college. Recruiters on the other hand have to get results.
So, let’s take a deep look at what recruiters search for on LinkedIn and how you can use that information to better position yourself in the job market.
Do Recruiters Really Reach Out On Linked?
Yes, recruiters do really reach out on LinkedIn and it’s important to connect back with them and respond if you are interested in the role. Even if you are not that interested in the role, it’s good etiquette because you should want to keep on the good side of recruiters.
If you don’t respond to a recruiter who has reached out to you, then you’re not going to have a positive response from them if you try and contact them in the future. You always want to be minfdul of when you might want to reach out to a recrutier and message them in the future.
So, my advice would be to always reply regardless of whether or not you are interested in the role. Simply tell them that you are working and not interested at this time, or that you are interested. Don't just ignore the recruiter.
I would advise that you do vet the recruiter and make sure that they are a legitimate source. There are many fake recruiters online, and beyond that there are recruiting companies and temp agencies that you want to stay away from. Some of these are obvious such as the outsourced third party recruiters out of India that call with fake jobs, but others include recruiters who reach out about jobs which are classic bait and switch roles.
What Are Recruiters Really Looking For?
So what are recruiters really looking for when they use LinkedIn? Well, it varies depending on the recruiter, and even more so it depends on what the recruiter is interested in recruiting for.
If a recruiter is searching for a sales executive who has worked in Pharma, then they will narrow down their search for only people with sales executive in their job title and also those people who have worked in the pharmaceutical industry.
But those are just the basic search keys. That’s how a recruiter sets up their search screen and looks for someone who is a potential candidates for their role. Beyond that, there are additional things that a recruiter is going to be looking for on LinkedIn.
First, they are looking for someone who is fast to respond to a message and connection request. If you take too long to respond to a recruiters message, than the odds are that you won’t get anywhere.
Recruiters appreciate speed and they only want to work with people who are going to be responsive. If you are slow to respond, or simply fall off after initial communication, then it’s not something which will get you a positive response from a recruiter.
In addition to someone who has the experience and is fast to respond, recruiters look for professional looking people. That’s why taking a good photo and using it for your LinkedIn profile is so important.
If you have a amateur looking selfie on your profile, it would be a good idea to improve it and instead use something that is more professional looking.
Many large cities have photographers that will take your photo for a LinkedIn headshot for a couple hundred dollars. These are a great investment because you will recoup the cost as soon as you land a job.
While it isn’t something many recruiters will tell you, it’s a widely known fact that people with professional headshots are contacted faster and more frequently than people who use amateur selfies on the LinkedIn Profiles.
Recruiters Use LinkedIn Differently Than You
It is useful to understand that recruiters use LinkedIn differently than the average person does. When the average person is using LinkedIn they are simply using it as a means of connecting with other people or else posting updates about work or their company.
Recruiters are using LinkedIn to search for very specific profiles. They are using search filters and screens that the regular user is not privy to. These are available under special Recruiter features that you can pay for with LinkedIn.
Now, you don’t have to be a recruiter to use Recruiter or Recruiter Lite on LinkedIn, but these software filters are only available in the premium features that are available if you pay for the extras.
Recruiters Search For Experience and Job Title
Recruiters are searching for experience and job title. When they utilize the recruiter premium version of the LinkedIn platform, they are able to do a deep search of people’s profiles. This includes:
- Current Company
- Time Spent At Company
- Location
- School
- Experience in Years
- Open To Work
- Open To Relocation
- Social Profiles
- Associates
- Professional Groups
- Connections
Image Matters: Take a Good Photo
One of the things that recruiters really spend time looking at are profile photos. Though this is not something that people openly discuss, it’s a definite factor in the hiring process.
If you don’t have a good photo, then odds are that a recruiter is going to pass by you unless you have a completely stand out resume.
But most people would be well advised to spend some time making sure that they have a good headshot for their profile. A professional photo is well worth the investment.
It’s not even that expensive to have a good photo taken. You can easily look up professional photographers that shoot headshots for actors or business profiles and use them. The session might last around 45 minutes to an hour and then you will be given a sheet with several options to choose from.
Most professional photographers who work with people who want to have headshots will also provide retouching and make the adjustments for you as part of the package.
Make Sure Recruiters Can Find You When They Search
One of the main things that you can do to make sure a recruiter finds you is to list your job titles as accurately as possible.
Recruiters should be creative, but that doesn’t mean that they all are. It is in your best interest to make sure that you list the job titles that represent the types of roles that you are seeking.
If you are a marketing coordinator, then you should not simply list Marketing next to your name.
You might be surprised as this seems like an obvious thing to have listed accurately on your resume, but it sometimes escapes people.
Make sure that your resume lists your complete job title and also lists the name of the company you work for.
It also helps to upload your resume to LinkedIn so that recruiters can download your resume into their ATS platform.
It also helps if you list industries and specific job details underneath the sections on your profile.
Finally, always list yourself as open to work and if you are concerned about your employer getting angry, just indicate that this should only be viewable to recruiters.
If you mark yourself as open to work so that recruiters ca
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