Is LinkedIn Recruiter worth it?

LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s recruitment software that helps companies source, manage, and hire top talent. With over 740 million members on LinkedIn, Recruiter gives you access to the world’s largest professional network to find qualified candidates. But is the investment into LinkedIn Recruiter worth it for your hiring needs? Here is an in-depth look at the pros, cons, features, pricing, and alternatives to help you decide if LinkedIn Recruiter is the right recruiting software for your company.

The Pros of Using LinkedIn Recruiter

Here are some of the main benefits of using LinkedIn Recruiter for your hiring process:

• Access to massive talent pool – Search through 700+ million LinkedIn members to find qualified, passive candidates open to new job opportunities.
• Powerful search and filtering – Search by location, years of experience, skills, companies, job titles, schools, and more. Then filter and prioritize the best matches.
• InMail integration – Send InMail messages directly to candidates through Recruiter to initiate contact and gauge interest.
• Talent pool organization – Save candidate profiles to talent pools so you can keep track of prospects and maintain relationships.
• Analytics and tracking – View pipeline analytics, activity metrics, and source of hire reporting to optimize your recruiting efforts.
• Team collaboration – Share candidates, talent pools, and notes with hiring managers and recruiters to work together seamlessly.
• Recruiter profile branding – Showcase your employer brand by adding photos, employee stats, and company descriptions.
• Mobile access – Manage your recruiting process on-the-go with Recruiter’s iOS and Android apps.

With its vast reach, intuitive interface, and robust features, LinkedIn Recruiter makes finding and connecting with highly qualified candidates much easier. The time savings and improved hiring results are huge benefits for recruiters and talent acquisition teams.

The Cons of LinkedIn Recruiter

While LinkedIn Recruiter has many advantages, there are also some downsides to consider:

• Cost – LinkedIn Recruiter has tiered pricing plans based on number of users/contracts, job postings, and InMails. Costs can add up quickly for larger teams and hiring volumes.
• Steep learning curve – The platform has a lot of features and customization options. There is a learning curve to leverage Recruiter most effectively.
• No applicant tracking system (ATS) – Recruiter does not have built-in ATS capabilities like candidate application review, interview scheduling, and offer management.
• InMail limitations – The number of InMails you can send each month depends on your Recruiter plan. Power users may need to upgrade for more InMail allows.
• Missing candidates – Not every quality candidate will be on LinkedIn, even though the network is massive.

While Recruiter simplifies candidate sourcing in many ways, it is primarily a sourcing tool. For complete applicant tracking and hiring management, you need to use Recruiter with an ATS or HRIS. The costs also start adding up for larger recruitment teams.

Key Features and Tools

Here is an overview of some of the main features and tools available with LinkedIn Recruiter:

• Recruiter Search – Use powerful search functionality and filters to find candidates based on experience, skills, education, location and more. Search both LinkedIn and non-LinkedIn sources.
• InMail – Send direct messages to candidates through Recruiter to gauge interest and build relationships with passive candidates open to new opportunities.
• Talent Pools – Organize candidate profiles into different talent pools by function, skills, experience level or other categories to keep track of prospects.
• Pipeline Management – Track candidates through the stages of your hiring workflow using custom or default pipelines.
• Interview Scheduling – Schedule interviews with candidates directly through Recruiter.
• Candidate Note-Taking – Take notes on candidates and add next steps to move them through your pipeline.
• Team Collaboration – Share candidates, talent pools, notes and feedback with hiring managers and recruiters.
• Recruiter Career Site – Create a customized career site to promote open positions, company culture and employer brand.
• Analytics – Gain data-driven insights into your recruiting funnel and sourcing effectiveness through Recruiter’s analytics.

With its wide range of features, LinkedIn Recruiter provides the capabilities needed for complete talent sourcing and pipeline management in one platform.

LinkedIn Recruiter Pricing

LinkedIn Recruiter has three main pricing plans – Recruiter Lite, Recruiter Professional, and Recruiter Corporate. Here is an overview of the pricing options:

The Recruiter Lite plan is best for small companies with 1-3 recruiters. Recruiter Professional works well for mid-size companies with 3-20 recruiters. For Fortune 500s and global enterprises, the Corporate plan provides customized pricing.

Keep in mind, these are just the base monthly prices per user. You also have to factor in additional costs for InMails and Job Postings, which increase based on usage tiers. LinkedIn does offer discounts for annual contracts versus month-to-month payments.

Implementation and Support

Getting started with LinkedIn Recruiter is relatively quick and painless. Here is an overview of the implementation steps:

1. Sign up for the version of Recruiter you need based on number of users and contracts.
2. Configure your recruiter profiles and LinkedIn Company Page brand.
3. Integrate Recruiter with your ATS or HRIS using API or plugins if needed.
4. Train your recruiting team on the platform and best practices.
5. Start leveraging the search tools, InMail, and talent pools to source and manage candidates.
6. Report on performance using Recruiter’s analytics.

LinkedIn provides multiple support resources for Recruiter as well, including:

• Live chat, email, and phone support
• Onboarding assistance
• Web-based training courses
• Best practice guides and thought leadership
• Recruiter Community forums

Between the intuitive interface and robust support options, recruiters can get up and running with LinkedIn Recruiter quickly.

Alternatives to LinkedIn Recruiter

Some top alternative recruiting tools similar to LinkedIn Recruiter include:

• Indeed – Indeed Resume offers unlimited resume search and candidate matching. Pricing starts at $199 per month.
• Entelo – Entelo uses predictive matching and AI-driven automation for recruiting. Pricing starts at $399 per month.
• Lever – Lever combines sourcing, applicant tracking, and analytics in one platform. Pricing starts at $2,000 per month.
• SmartRecruiters – SmartRecruiters offers a full hiring platform and marketplace integrations. Pricing starts at $1,000 per month.
• LinkedIn Recruiter Lite – Recruiter Lite provides LinkedIn’s sourcing capabilities at entry-level pricing of $649 per month.

Tools like Indeed, Entelo, and Lever offer unique value propositions around AI matching, broad reach, and end-to-end hiring support. But for direct sourcing on LinkedIn, Recruiter is still the strongest choice.

Who Should Use LinkedIn Recruiter?

Here are the types of companies and teams that can get the most value from investing in LinkedIn Recruiter:

• High-volume recruiting – If you have a large recruiting team or high hiring volume, Recruiter provides scalability.
• Hard-to-fill roles – Leverage Recruiter’s search power and InMail to connect with hard-to-find, passive candidates.
• Early-stage startups – Grow your employer brand and talent pipeline using Recruiter even before you have name recognition.
• Technical hiring – Find highly-skilled developers, engineers, programmers and other tech talent.
• Sales hiring – Source experienced sales professionals with specific skillsets and qualifications.

Any companies that require robust, scalable sourcing capabilities can maximize their investment with LinkedIn Recruiter. For startups and roles requiring niche skill sets, Recruiter provides a real competitive edge.

Conclusion

LinkedIn Recruiter provides powerful and efficient sourcing capabilities leveraging the world’s largest professional network. For recruiters and companies focused on LinkedIn as a primary talent channel, Recruiter is likely worth the investment. You gain unique access and reach for finding quality candidates.

However, the platform does have limitations when it comes to applicant tracking and interview scheduling. The costs also add up, especially for larger teams. For complete ATS capabilities, you need to use Recruiter alongside other HR software.

Overall, LinkedIn Recruiter receives top marks for talent sourcing and pipeline management. Just be sure to factor in the additional costs and supplemental systems needed for a full-fledged hiring solution when deciding if Recruiter is right for your recruitment needs. With the right use cases and recruiting workflows, LinkedIn Recruiter delivers outstanding value in today’s competitive hiring landscape.