LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. With access to such a vast pool of talent, it’s no wonder that over 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source and vet candidates. However, one of the biggest challenges for recruiters and hiring managers is figuring out how to effectively use LinkedIn for recruiting without paying for premium tools and services.
While LinkedIn does offer a robust suite of recruiting solutions for enterprise companies, smaller companies and startups often don’t have the budgets for expensive LinkedIn subscriptions. The good news is that there are still plenty of ways savvy recruiters can source, connect with and attract great candidates on LinkedIn without spending a dime.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore actionable tips and strategies to help you maximize LinkedIn for recruiting without paying.
Leverage LinkedIn’s Free Tools
While LinkedIn does restrict some advanced searching and messaging capabilities to premium accounts, there are still plenty of free tools at your disposal:
LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s built-in talent searching tool. With LinkedIn Recruiter, you can search for candidates based on location, skills, job titles and more. Here are some tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn Recruiter:
– Leverage boolean search operators like “AND” and “OR” to refine your search queries. For example: “HR Manager AND New York OR Boston”.
– Use quotes around exact phrases. This will return profiles that contain that precise phrase.
– Search by job title such as “Software Engineer” or “Marketing Manager” to scope your search to profiles with those current or previous job titles.
– Search by company to find employees who currently or previously worked at target companies.
– Search by skills/keywords. Look for profiles mentioning specific skills, certifications, knowledge areas or software proficiencies.
– Use filters like “Current Company” or “Past Company” to specify if you want results for candidates at their current or previous employers.
LinkedIn Groups
Join industry-specific LinkedIn Groups related to your niche. Engage in group discussions and connect with members who seem like promising talent fits:
– Search for relevant groups using keywords like “Human Resources” or “Digital Marketing”.
– Once in a group, use the search bar to find members with target skills, job titles or employers.
– Initiate conversations by asking thoughtful questions to engage group members.
– Share your expertise by responding to other members’ questions. Establish credibility.
– Take conversations offline by privately connecting with and messaging high-potential candidates.
Follow Company Pages
Follow Company Pages on LinkedIn to get insights into company updates and announcements. Monitor these feeds to source candidates:
– Identify competitors, partners or companies in your industry. Follow their Company Pages.
– When employees join that company, you’ll see their updates in your feed. Engage with their posts.
– Watch for announcements of new hires, promotions or departures. Reach out to engage these candidates.
– Company followers see job postings before others. You can quickly apply or message prospects.
Search Recent Profile Updates
People looking for new opportunities often update their profiles. Search for recent additions of new skills, job titles or other changes:
– Advanced search > Past month > Profile updates
– Look for new connections, job changes, profile photo updates, added skills or other signs of active job-seekers.
– Reach out to congratulate them on new jobs or offer help with transitions or job searches.
Step Up Your LinkedIn SEO
Just like Google, LinkedIn uses keywords and search algorithms to surface profiles. Optimize your profile with relevant keywords to get found more easily:
– Research keywords job seekers might be searching on LinkedIn to find people like yourself.
– Incorporate important keywords, skills and phrases throughout your profile naturally.
– Include keywords in your profile headline and description. These have more weight.
– Ask colleagues to review your profile and endorse you for key skills. Endorsements also boost your visibility.
Build Your LinkedIn Presence
In addition to harnessing LinkedIn’s built-in tools, focus on expanding the reach, visibility and authority of your own LinkedIn presence. Position yourself as an industry thought leader that prospects want to engage with.
Expand Your Network
Reach the 500+ connection limit to increase your visibility and access:
– Import contacts from your email provider. Connect with those already on LinkedIn.
– Follow and engage with Company Pages and LinkedIn Groups to find new connections.
– Connect strategically, not just randomly. Target prospects, partners, contributors and multipliers in your space.
– Send thoughtful connection requests. Reference shared groups, interests or connections. Follow up after connecting.
Build Your Personal Brand
Establish your brand and thought leadership by frequently sharing content:
– Publish your own long-form posts, articles and insights to build authority.
– Share articles, case studies and content related to your niche. Offer value-add commentary.
– Like and thoughtfully comment on updates from your connections. Increase engagement.
– Contribute to high-profile industry hashtags like #RemoteWork or #Recruiting.
Utilize Premium Free Trials
While premium accounts charge fees, you can test drive some features through LinkedIn’s free month-long trials:
– Premium Career – Access extended profile search filters and terminate search alerts.
– Premium Business – Unlock InMail messaging and contact search history.
– Recruiter Lite – Post open roles and pipeline management.
– Sales Navigator – See extended profile insights when prospecting.
– When the trial ends, only extend if the ROI warrants the costs.
Attract Prospects with Great Content
According to 92% of recruiters, promoting open roles with content is more effective than promoting roles alone. Create and share compelling content to grab prospects’ attention.
Publish Engaging Job Postings
While LinkedIn job slots are limited with a free account, make those open role postings count:
– Showcase company culture and mission to attract candidates aligned with your values.
– Highlight opportunities for career growth, development and impact.
– Use multimedia like photos, videos and presentations to bring listings to life.
– Include employee testimonials and work examples to help prospects envision the role.
Share Relevant Industry Content
Position yourself as a thought leader by regularly sharing content:
– Comment on industry news and trends happening in your niche. Offer your unique perspective.
– Curate and share articles, papers, videos or webinars on relevant topics.
– Give insights into challenges and opportunities your niche faces. Educate your audience.
– Ask open-ended questions to spark meaningful discussions. Crowdsource ideas from connections.
Host Live Video Sessions
Go live on LinkedIn to humanize your brand and connect directly with your audience:
– Broadcast Q&As, fireside chats, panel talks and other virtual events.
– Discuss timely issues, company updates, products launches or anything of interest to your followers.
– Promote events ahead of time through updates, emails and outreach campaigns.
– Repurpose evergreen recordings as assets to attract passive candidates.
Publish Employee-Generated Content
Feature your own team members to offer authentic perspectives:
– Employee takeovers – Let select team members post takeovers sharing their work days.
– Inside looks – Show team meetings, office tours, events or days in the life.
– Spotlights – Highlight individual accomplishments, projects and milestones.
– Testimonials – Gather employee testimonials, reviews and quotes to repost.
Engage Passive Candidates
Not all prospects on LinkedIn are actively job hunting. In fact, 75% of candidate pipeline comes from passive prospects open to new roles. Here’s how to get on their radar:
Send Thoughtful InMail
Leverage your free monthly InMails to introduce yourself and start a conversation:
– Target passive candidates who aren’t actively applying to postings.
– Personalize messages and explain why you’d value connecting.
– Make it about starting a relationship, not just pitching opportunities.
– Follow up after connecting to continue nurturing the relationship.
Comment on Updates and Articles
Proactively engage prospects by commenting on their activity:
– Leave thoughtful comments on prospect’s updates, articles and posts.
– Ask smart questions to continue the conversation and make a connection.
– Look for common interests, experiences or connections to reference and establish rapport.
– Avoid overly salesy outreach. Focus on value-add takes instead of pitches.
Share Content to Your Network
Get on prospects’ radar by resharing relevant content with your networks:
– When you share articles, videos or posts, customize messages highlighting why you think specific connections would find it valuable.
– @ mention prospects you’d like to reach when sharing content to ensure they see it.
– Check notifications and notifications to see who’s engaging with content you share. Consider reaching out.
Recommend Connections
Enable “open to networking with you” in your LinkedIn settings. When prospects check your profile, LinkedIn may recommend connecting. You can also personally suggest connections:
– On a prospect’s profile, select “Connect > Ask to be recommended”.
– Through your own connections, ask to be introduced to key prospects.
– When you connect, reference the shared connection who referred you.
Collaborate With Your Team
Get more eyes on your open roles and expand your sourcing reach by involving others from your company.
Train Hiring Managers to Source
Educate hiring managers on effective prospecting approaches:
– Set up recruiter and hiring manager accounts for collaborative sourcing.
– Guide managers through conducting advanced searches, joining niche groups and optimizing profiles.
– Encourage posting thoughtful content and engaging with prospective candidates.
– Have them help respond to prospect comments and questions.
Incentivize Referrals
Motivate your team to put the word out:
– Offer employee referral bonuses or spot bonuses for top referrers.
– Educate employees on the types of candidates you need and how to identify good fits in their network.
– Make it easy to refer candidates through quick application links or forms.
– Give rapid feedback on referrals and highlight referral hires in company communications.
Partner With Your Leadership
Leverage the influence of your executive team:
– Have leadership announce open roles and company growth milestones in their posts.
– Ask executives to engage with prospective candidates by liking and commenting on updates.
– Request that leadership share job openings, content and updates through their own networks.
– Capture executive’s thought leadership content to use in employer branding and attraction efforts.
Repurpose Content Across Channels
Expand your reach by repurposing existing content:
– Turn long-form posts into snippets to share on Twitter or video explainers for YouTube.
– Record webinars or podcast episodes based on popular blog articles.
– Create an ebook compilations of your top performing posts and guides.
– Share and link back to your repurposed content from LinkedIn.
Apply Data to Refine Your Strategy
Measure LinkedIn analytics to double down on what works and improve underperforming efforts.
Track Content Performance
Monitor engagement on your posts to guide future content efforts:
| Post Type | Views | Likes | Comments | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article Share | 100 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Video | 50 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| Job Post | 300 | 25 | 3 | 1 |
Based on high engagement, focus on sharing more videos and articles vs. job posts.
Analyze Your Network
Audit your connections and followers to prioritize outreach:
| Connection Type | # of Connections |
|---|---|
| 2nd Connections | 100 |
| Group Members | 150 |
| Followers | 500 |
You have a large follower base but less 2nd connections. Engage followers and convert to connections.
Track Prospect Engagement
Pay attention to prospect interaction patterns:
| Prospect | Views Your Profile | Clicks Your Content | Responds to Outreach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prospect A | 5 | 10 | Yes |
| Prospect B | 2 | 0 | No |
| Prospect C | 3 | 4 | No |
Prospect A is showing high interest levels. Prioritize your outreach efforts on similar high activity prospects.
Document What Converts
Track metrics around the recruiting funnel to identify what moves candidates:
| Stage | Candidates | Conversion % |
|---|---|---|
| Sourced | 1000 | 25% |
| Sent InMail | 250 | 15% |
| Phone Screen | 37 | 60% |
| In-Person Interview | 22 | 50% |
| Offers Made | 11 | 100% |
Your InMail to phone screen conversion is low. Test modifying your InMail templates and outreach cadences to improve at this stage.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn provides premium paid tools, savvy recruiters can still successfully source, engage and hire top talent without spending a dime. By leveraging LinkedIn’s free built-in features, expanding your own personal brand and reach, creating compelling content, proactively engaging passive candidates, collaborating with your team, and tracking data to refine your approach, you can achieve great results recruiting on LinkedIn without paying.
Focus on quality over quantity by building genuine relationships, providing value for prospects, and crafting personalized outreach. With the right strategy tailored to your hiring needs, consistent effort over time, and continuous optimization based on data, you can build an impressive pipeline and land your next dream hire using LinkedIn for free.
