Overcoming the challenges of finding ideal candidates on LinkedIn Recruiter

LinkedIn Recruiter is a popular tool used by many recruiters and HR managers to find ideal candidates for their organisation. While the platform offers many benefits, there are also several challenges that come with using it to find the right employees. This blog post will explore the common challenges of using LinkedIn Recruiter and provide practical tips for overcoming them.

The challenges of using LinkedIn Recruiter

• Overreliance on keywords: Many recruiters rely too heavily on keywords to find candidates, resulting in a limited pool of candidates who may not be a good fit for the role or organisation.
• Search limitations: LinkedIn Recruiter only allows you to search based on certain criteria, such as job title, location, and company size. Searching for candidates such as ‘female python engineers who have worked for a tech scale up in Melbourne’ just isn’t possible.
• Competition for talent: LinkedIn is a popular platform used by many recruiters, leading to competition for top talent. This can make it difficult to attract the right candidates and secure the best talent.
• Limited insights into candidates: LinkedIn provides limited insights into candidates, making it difficult to get a full understanding of their qualifications, experience, and fit for the role and organisation.
• Inaccurate candidate information: The information provided on LinkedIn profiles may not always be accurate, making it challenging for recruiters to verify the qualifications and experience of candidates.
• Cost: The cost of LinkedIn Recruiter can be cost-prohibitive for many recruiters, especially those in small businesses, contractors, or medium sized businesses with limited HR budgets.

Overcoming the challenges and LinkedIn alternatives

• Utilise company searches and firmographic data: By utilising firmographic data, recruiters can identify similarly aligned companies and target their sourcing efforts to those companies. This can help increase the chances of finding the right fit for the role and organisation.
• Optimise your searches: To overcome the challenges of keyword reliance, recruiters can use Boolean search strings and other advanced search techniques to find the right candidates. This will allow them to cast a wider net and find a more diverse pool of candidates.
• Verify candidate information: Recruiters should always verify the information provided on LinkedIn profiles through additional means, such as reference checks and background checks, to ensure the accuracy of the information.
• Use other recruitment tools: In addition to LinkedIn Recruiter, recruiters can use other recruitment tools such as applicant tracking systems, recruitment marketing platforms, and employee referral programs to find and attract the right candidates.
• Seek out LinkedIn Recruiter alternatives or complimentary databases: In addition to or instead of LinkedIn Recruiter, test out other recruitment databases like Firmable for running company and people searches that have more extensive data points and search and filter capabilities. The prior example of looking for ‘female python engineers who have worked for a tech scale up in Melbourne’ is possible within a few clicks.

Effective sourcing techniques

1. Employee referrals: Tap into your current employees’ networks by encouraging them to refer friends, family members, or colleagues who might be a good fit for your organisation.
2. Online job boards: Make use of online job boards such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor to post job listings and reach a broad audience of potential candidates.
3. Direct outreach: Reach out directly to potential candidates through platforms like LinkedIn, Firmable, or other professional networking sites to connect with passive candidates.
4. Niche job boards: Target your search by using industry-specific job boards that can help you reach a more focused pool of candidates.
5. Social media: Leverage social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to reach potential candidates and promote job listings.

Read more tips on candidate sourcing and hiring the right employees.

Conclusion

LinkedIn Recruiter is a powerful tool that offers several benefits to recruiters and HR managers looking to find the right employees for their organisations. However, it also poses several challenges, including overreliance on keywords, search limitations, competition for talent, limited insights into candidates, inaccurate candidate information, and cost. Nevertheless, recruiters can overcome these challenges by optimising their searches, verifying candidate information, using other recruitment tools, and seeking out alternative or complimentary databases. Additionally, effective sourcing techniques like employee referrals, online job boards, direct outreach, niche job boards, and social media can help recruiters find the right candidates and ultimately hire the best fit for their organisation. By employing these strategies and techniques, recruiters can maximise the potential of LinkedIn Recruiter or other recruitment databases like Firmable to build a talented and diverse workforce.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch with Firmable today.