“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” We can apply this saying to the world of startups. Anyone can develop a product or launch an idea. But it would be best if you had a team to make it happen… The first team members of your startup are crucial for success, whether they are full-time employees or freelancers assisting you on specific tasks. They’ll guide the development of any products, build your brand, and network within their industry. But how do you reach and connect with skilled professionals? That’s where LinkedIn recruiting comes in! ????
With LinkedIn’s 350 million+ users there are many opportunities to target potential collaborators and expand your network. The trick is knowing how to use this platform effectively ????
Is LinkedIn Good for Recruiting?
Although LinkedIn is known as the place to connect with professionals, it has a bad reputation in some niches because sometimes it’s hard to find high-quality conversations. Some people think the right people aren’t on LinkedIn, but the truth is that it’s still the perfect place to recruit talent and build connections with industry leaders.
Finding quality talent is one of the most difficult tasks in building a startup. In fact, 80% of startups fail because of bad hiring decisions, according to VentureBeat.
A great team puts execution first and works like a well-oiled machine. Finding the right people for your startup can be challenging, but you can surely do it. And LinkedIn has some amazing features that can make this hunt a lot easier!
Firstly, LinkedIn is one of the most popular business sites on the web. So it’s not surprising that many businesses use LinkedIn for recruiting talent.
Not only can you find candidates within your network, but you can also post jobs on LinkedIn Jobs and use the job seeker’s network!
How to Attract and Reach Out to Candidates
If you’re looking for freelance talent or full-time employees, LinkedIn is an indispensable tool for recruiting potential candidates and connecting with them in a professional way.
Below are some tips on how to use LinkedIn to recruit top talent for your startup ????
1. Build Your Profile
Your startup’s profile picture is a powerful cover letter as it’s the first impression for your target audience: the candidates.
It’s important to convey through your profile professionalism and trustworthiness to potential employees. Also, the cover header image allows you to share the particularities of your startup’s professional profile. Therefore, you can make reference to the offices, add text or add a photo that expresses something of your brand personality.
2. Use the Headline to Stand Out From the Crowd
According to a report published by LinkedIn Talent Solutions, job posts with 150 words or less got candidates to apply 17.8% more frequently than job posts with 450 to 600 words.
Therefore, use a headline that is clear, straightforward, and compelling. The headline should be concise and clearly describe the job. You should write it in a way that grabs candidates’ attention. But does not come across as spammy or aggressive.
For example, “Software Engineer” might work well if you are looking for someone with experience in that field. “Software Engineer (Full Stack Developer)” might be better if you are looking for someone with experience in a specific technology stack.
3. Write a Compelling Job Description
People read your job descriptions because they want to know what it’s like to work at your company. Therefore, it’s important to add information about the benefits and perks of working in your startup. In addition to job duties and requirements.
Things like vacation time paid maternity leave, and health insurance coverage help attracts top talent by showing them what they can get out of working at your company.
???? Don’t get too casual!
Very casual job descriptions – which included terms like “kickass corporate manager” and hashtags like “#spreadsheets4life” – are worse at attracting candidates, according to a LinkedIn Talent Solutions survey.
It’s good to be human and reflect your startup culture, but make sure you don’t go overboard!
How to Source Candidates on LinkedIn for Free
#1: Find candidates in your network: If you already know someone who might be a good fit for your startup, don’t hesitate to reach out to them! This is the easiest way to find potential candidates and have them come to you ????
Firstly, browse the profiles of people you know – search for keywords like ‘engineer’ or ‘marketing’. Then click on the profiles of people who fit those criteria. And reach out with a personal message explaining what you’re looking for and why they’d be a good fit.
#2: Post jobs on LinkedIn Jobs: It’s important to post your job ad not only on LinkedIn. But also on external job boards so that recruiters who are not necessarily familiar with LinkedIn’s features can see your ad there ????
Using LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter, the platform’s talent acquisition tool, is a great way to find and establish relationships with potential candidates for your startup.
LinkedIn Recruiter has three main functions:
- Talent Search: This is a free feature that allows you to search for job listings by keyword. If there’s a particular type of candidate you’re looking for, you can filter out other roles by location, industry, and more.
- InMail: It allows you to reach out directly to candidates who have not applied for jobs but who may be interested in your company. It’s best to use this feature when you’re short on time or if you’re trying to fill an especially hard-to-fill position!
- Smart InMail: This feature takes the time and effort out of reaching out to potential employees because it automatically sends personalized messages based on previous research about their interests and background information from LinkedIn profiles.
“We’re Hiring” LinkedIn Post Examples
These are some tips that can help you when writing your LinkedIn job posts: include an image with your post! Making it visually appealing will draw more attention from potential candidates.
Also, make sure that the title is catchy and memorable so that people don’t forget about it after reading it once. And use numbers in your post (e.g., “10+ years experience in X industry”). So that potential candidates know what they can expect if they apply for the position!
Examples of Effective LinkedIn Recruiting Job Posts
Project Manager in Manhattan, New York
Text: Our team in New York is growing and we’re looking to hire a Project Manager. You will [provide a short job description].
Call to action: To learn more & apply visit [link]
Community Manager (Buenos Aires, Remote)
What are we looking for?
We are a startup born in Argentina and we want to expand the [startup’s industry] throughout Latin America. To achieve this goal, we’re looking for someone who can manage [startup’s name] digital communication.
How do we connect with new audiences? What kind of content can we offer them? How can we be relevant in an environment of digital over-information? How do we interact as a community? If you have lots of ideas for these questions, this position may be for you!
Responsibilities
- Create content for social media.
- Manage the social media accounts of [startup’s name] in its different profiles: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Collaborate in the writing of educational content about [startup’s industry].
- Interact with the Lemon community through public comments and DMs.
- Create awesome communication strategies that target communication of brand attributes.
- Follow the latest trends to take advantage of all opportunities to generate viral content.
How to apply:
Send us an email ???? hr@xxx
- Include the name of the position in the title of the email.
- Attach your CV or anything else you consider relevant.
Recruiting employees for your startup is a task in and of itself. Thankfully, LinkedIn offers several tools that can make the process of finding great employees for your startup easier. And with these tips, you’ll stand better odds of finding the employees that are best suited to your company culture from the get-go and do it all from the comfort of your desk!
