How to stop promoting a job on LinkedIn without closing the job?

Promoting a job opening on LinkedIn is a great way to attract qualified candidates. However, there may come a time when you need to pause your LinkedIn job promotion without fully closing the position. Here are some common reasons and tips for doing this effectively.

Why Pause a LinkedIn Job Promotion?

There are a few main reasons you may want to halt your LinkedIn job promotion temporarily:

• You received an overwhelming response and need time to review applicants.
• The hiring timeline changed due to budget constraints or changes in project scope.
• The position needs to be re-evaluated based on shifting company needs.
• You want to make changes to the job description or requirements before continuing.

Pausing your promotion allows you to take a strategic break while still keeping the job open for the right candidates down the road. Promoting a job non-stop can lead to applicant fatigue if the opening drags on too long without being filled.

How to Pause LinkedIn Job Promotion

Follow these steps to temporarily stop promoting a job posting on LinkedIn:

1. Access your active jobs under the Jobs section of your LinkedIn page. Click “Manage” next to the job you want to pause.
2. Under “Promote this job?” toggle the button to “Off.” This stops any sponsored promotions.
3. Under “List this job in searches and on jobs you manage?” toggle this to “No.” This removes public visibility of the job.
4. Notify any relevant hiring team members or recruiters that the promotion is being paused.
5. Consider adding a note in the job description that the opening is on hold with an estimate of when it may be reopened. This communicates status to applicants.

Following these steps will stop any paid promotion and remove public visibility of the job temporarily while keeping it open in your jobs dashboard for future renewal.

What Happens When You Pause Promotion?

Here’s what happens when you hit “pause” on LinkedIn job promotion:

• Paid advertising stops, saving you money on unwanted promotion.
• The job will no longer show up in LinkedIn Jobs search results.
• Your other active jobs will continue being promoted normally.
• Applicants can still apply from the direct job URL if you leave it published.
• Metrics and applicant data saved for when you resume promotion.

Essentially, pausing halts any advertising or listings for the job, but leaves it open for renewal later. However, unless you fully unpublish the job, the URL and application form will remain live.

When to Resume Promoting the Job

Once you’re ready to continue seeking applicants, you can simply resume promotion on LinkedIn. Here are some signs it may be time to restart your job advertisement:

• The hiring timeline or budget is clarified so you can fill the role again.
• You’ve updated the job description to better fit evolved needs.
• You’ve sufficiently reviewed existing applicants and are ready for more.
• The project requiring this role has been re-prioritized for hiring.

Carefully evaluate the factors that led you to pause promotion initially before renewing your efforts. This will prevent wasting energy if the timing still is not right.

Best Practices for Pausing Job Promotion

Follow these best practices for smoothly pausing and renewing LinkedIn job promotion:

• Keep the pausing period brief (1-2 weeks) if possible before reassessing.
• Avoid leaving jobs in a permanently paused state for too long. Repost fully if priorities change.
• Communicate status changes to hiring teams to align on renewal timelines.
• Notify candidates that applied already if the posting will be down for over a month.
• Revise the job description when resuming based on any role requirement changes.
• Analyze key metrics (applicants, clicks, interview requests) to optimize renewed promotion.

Being purposeful about why and when you pause promotion will allow you to be strategic when the job advertisement goes live again. Time the renewal based on organizational hiring needs and capacity.

Alternatives to Pausing Promotion

In some cases, fully pausing a job posting may not be the right approach. Here are a couple alternatives to consider:

Keep Promoting at Lower Budget

You can lower your paid promotion budget to a minimal amount like $10-20 per day. This maintains some visibility at very low cost while pausing robust spending.

Unpublish Completely

If you think it may be 2+ months before renewing hiring efforts, unpublishing the job fully may be better. This removes all visibility. You lose applicant data but can do a brand new posting later.

Evaluate whether low-level promotion or full unpublishing makes more sense based on your specific hiring plans and timeline uncertainties.

Removing versus Closing a Job

It’s important to understand the difference between removing and closing a job on LinkedIn:

• Removing: Deletes the job posting but leaves it in your company’s talent pool for reposting. Pauses all promotion.
• Closing: Permanently deletes the job posting so it cannot be reopened. Use if hiring needs changed.

If you may reopen the job in the future, focus on temporarily removing promotion, not permanent closure. Always fully close jobs that are cancelled to avoid applicant confusion.

Communicating Paused Postings to Candidates

Transparent communication is key when hitting pause on active job promotion. Here are some tips for effectively informing candidates:

• Update the LinkedIn posting itself to say hiring is currently on hold if it will be down for over a month.
• Send an email or InMail to applicants who already started the process to notify the delay.
• Post a notice about the status change on your careers page/job portal if applicable.
• Equip recruiters/hiring managers to share updates on timing when engaging candidates.

The more context you can provide candidates on the situation, the better. This builds trust and understanding, paving the way to re-engage applicants when ramping promotion back up again.

Using Analytics to Optimize Renewed Promotion

The analytics available on LinkedIn Jobs can guide you in optimizing promotion upon resuming advertisement of the paused role. Useful data to analyze:

• Job views and unique applicants prior to pausing.
• Top sources of clicks and applications.
• Quality of incoming candidates and their skills.
• Interview request and InMail response rates.
• Budget and duration needed to generate interest.

Review this data to discern which parts of your promotion were working or needed adjustment. Tailor your job description, targeting, budget and other factors accordingly when restarting advertisement.

Conclusion

Pausing a LinkedIn job advertisement allows strategic flexibility in your hiring process. Follow these best practices to smoothly halt and renew promotion when organizational needs change:

• Formally stop paid advertising and remove public listings.
• Evaluate when the timing may be right to resume promotion based on priorities.
• Revise any outdated job details before resuming advertisement.
• Leverage applicant data to optimize promotion upon renewal.
• Communicate status clearly to candidates throughout the process.

With the right approach, you can press pause purposefully on open roles and ramp back up in tune with shifting organizational priorities.