Introduction
LinkedIn, the world’s most popular professional social network, has over 740 million members and is expected to reach 1 billion by 2025. Linkedin has become an essential platform for recruiters seeking out qualified and diverse talent. But the question remains: how do you attract and retain these potential candidates to create a pool of active, high-performance talent?
In this article, we’ll share tips for improving your visibility on LinkedIn and your candidate sourcing. You’ll learn how to effectively engage with the candidates you’re interested in and build a strong community around your employer brand. Discover how LinkedIn can become a strategic lever not only for recruiting, but also for nurturing and developing your talent pool.
Establish a dynamic and attractive presence on LinkedIn
Maintaining an active candidate pool on LinkedIn requires special care for your employer brand. Here are a few strategies to get you there.
Optimize your company page
It must capture the essence of your brand. To make it complete, up-to-date and attractive, follow these tips:
- Select a cover photo that represents your business, your values or the company atmosphere.
- Develop a precise description of what your company does, its objectives, its products or services, and its benefits.
- Include practical details such as your business sector, company size, location, website, etc.
- Publish quality content on a regular basis, including articles, testimonials, job offers and videos.
- Encourage your employees to follow the account, interact with publications and share their professional experience on LinkedIn.
A well-optimized company account will improve your visibility, credibility and attractiveness to potential candidates. Here’s a hack / tip to significantly increase the number of subscribers on your company page.
Promoting corporate culture and values
Candidates are looking for a company aligned with their aspirations, not just a job. Here’s how to highlight what makes your company unique – its culture and values – on LinkedIn :
- Highlight your projects, successes, innovations and commitments.
- Introduce your teams, describe the different roles within the company, and highlight the career paths and training offered.
- Share everyday moments, company events, anecdotes and photos.
- Solicit and share testimonials from your customers, partners and employees.
- Use hashtags, create slogans, produce visuals and stories to boost your presence.
By emphasizing your culture and values, you’ll forge strong bonds and gain the trust and commitment of candidates.
Participate actively in industry groups
Joining or creating industry groups on LinkedIn is a great way to meet candidates interested in your field. Here are several advantages:
- Identify profiles that will enrich your pool of candidates.
- Establish more direct, personalized contact with interested candidates.
- Position yourself as an expert and influencer in your sector.
- Keep abreast of the latest trends, opportunities and challenges in your industry.
- Promote your company, your ads, and your specific events.
Active participation in industry groups will strengthen your network, your reputation and your ability to attract potential candidates. What’s more, it’s easy to scrape these Linkedin groups and then, via Airtable for example, clean up this database so that you only have candidates who match your job offer AND who are sufficiently interested in the subject to have joined a dedicated Linkedin group.
Engage directly with potential candidates
To maintain an active candidate pool on LinkedIn, a simple, dynamic and attractive presence is not enough. It’s crucial to connect with the profiles that catch your eye and keep them interested throughout the recruitment process. Proactive recruitment pays off far more than simply posting on job boards. In fact, the majority of good candidates already have a job. On average, candidate prospecting campaigns on Linkedin generate between 10 and 15 interviews out of every 100 people contacted.
Find out how to engage effectively with potential candidates on LinkedIn :
Use automated candidate prospecting sequences
In the same way as a salesperson might do to find new customers, a recruiter needs to contact a potential candidate directly. It’s very important to use a “Connection Request” because once the candidate is part of your Linkedin network, you can send them as many messages as you like.
What’s more, you’ll be able to easily approach him later for another job, or your Linkedin posts will be directly visible to him.
A 1st Linkedin network should be seen as an ATS, which is why it’s so important to secure it. When you run prospecting campaigns for candidates, do so on a MirrorProfiles profile. In fact, this fake Linkedin profile can be rented by you (or your employer), securing your candidate pool. If you use your recruiters’ personal Linkedins, you run the risk that the day they no longer work for you, they’ll use their Linkedin network, which in a way you financed, to be exploited by another company.
Using InMail messages for a personalized first contact
For candidates who don’t accept your connection request, InMail messages allow you to send private messages to LinkedIn members without being connected to them. They are particularly effective for reaching passive candidates, i.e. those who are not actively looking for a job but who might be attracted by an opportunity. To write a powerful InMail message :
- Start by personalizing your message, mentioning the recipient’s first name and referring to certain aspects of their profile that caught your attention.
- Introduce yourself briefly and explain the reason for your message, keeping it clear, concise and polite.
- Make a job offer tailored to the recipient’s experience, aspirations and availability, while emphasizing the benefits of joining your company.
- Encourage a response by asking an open-ended question, or by asking for the candidate’s opinion or availability.
- Conclude with a polite greeting and provide your contact details to make it easier to get in touch.
Appropriate use of InMail messages increases your chances of receiving a favorable response.
Share regular updates and opportunities
Keeping in touch once the first exchange has taken place is essential to keep candidates up to date with the recruitment process and to show your continued attention. Here are some ways to share news and opportunities on a regular basis:
- Send follow-up messages, ask for news, or suggest an interview.
- Distribute relevant content about your company and industry, such as articles, videos, podcasts and webinars.
- Invite them to join your network, follow your company page or subscribe to your newsletter.
- Let them know about interesting new job offers or events you’re attending.
- Share testimonials from your staff, customers or partners.
By communicating regularly, you strengthen your ties with candidates and motivate them to apply for your vacancies.
Responding quickly to questions and comments
A rapid and attentive response to candidates’ questions and comments is valued. Here’s how to ensure effective interaction:
- Acknowledge their messages and thank them for their interest.
- Offer clear, precise and sincere answers. If you don’t know the answer, let them know you’ll look into it and get back to them as soon as possible.
- Remain professional, courteous and respectful, while avoiding spelling mistakes, jargon and informal language.
- Be transparent about recruitment stages, deadlines and selection criteria.
- Suggest solutions or alternatives in the event of problems or unforeseen events.
A reactive response shows that you’re listening to candidates and confirms your reputation as a reliable employer.
Create a community around your employer brand
To maintain an active candidate pool on LinkedIn, it’s crucial to build a community around your employer brand. This means bringing together people who identify with your values, goals and vision, and turning them into ambassadors for your company. Co-optation has never been as important as it is in 2024, when good profiles are in short supply and turnover among this generation is high. Here are a few strategies to encourage the emergence of a community dedicated to your brand:
Encourage current employees to become ambassadors
Your current employees are an incomparable force for promoting your brand. Through their testimonials and their enthusiasm for working for you, they can attract new talent. Encourage them to become ambassadors by :
- Valuing their contributions and successes.
- Give them a voice, through interviews, written contributions or public speaking engagements.
- Train them in best practices on LinkedIn, to optimize their profile and interact effectively.
- Set up a rewarded referral program.
- Gather feedback on your employer branding strategy and job offers. By involving your employees, you’ll generate positive word-of-mouth, raise your profile and strengthen your credibility. For example, setting up an account on Glassdoor can be a good idea if you encourage your employees to add their reviews, etc.
Above all, don’t fall into the trap of being “all pretty and all fake”. It’s important that your employees are genuinely happy to promote your company, because if the speeches are biased, you’ll be able to recruit more easily, but you won’t be able to keep your employees. When you consider that recruitment costs between 8,000 and 15,000 euros for a company, it’s a good idea to also have a loyalty strategy once the candidate has been recruited.
Organize virtual events for candidates
Virtual events are the perfect opportunity to connect with candidates and introduce them to your company. Webinars, conferences, workshops, think about :
- Define the objectives, theme and format, and carefully choose the date and target audience.
- Select relevant stakeholders, ideally from among your employees or partners.
- Promote your event effectively.
- Animate the event by making the experience interactive and engaging.
- Post-event follow-up to thank and keep in touch with participants. These events will reinforce potential candidates’ commitment to and trust in your brand.
Create useful and informative content for your audience
This is essential to nurturing your community. The aim is to share your expertise and answer the questions of your potential candidates, by offering :
- Relevant topics with high added value.
- Content adapted in tone and style, clear and authentic.
- SEO optimization to improve your visibility.
- Wide and targeted distribution on the right platforms.
- Regular interaction with your audience to encourage exchanges. By producing quality posts, you’ll solidify the links with your community, increase your credibility and build loyalty among your audience.
The best candidates will always prefer to work for companies that are the best in their field, or want to become so.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is essential for recruiters who want to maintain a dynamic candidate pool. By applying the recommendations presented in this article, you’ll have the keys to improving your visibility on LinkedIn, interacting effectively with potential candidates and building a close-knit community around your employer brand. LinkedIn is much more than a social network: it’s a crucial strategic tool for acquiring the most qualified talent within your company. To avoid any risk of losing candidate pools, opt for the rental of
fake Linkedin MirrorProfiles account
and equip all your recruiters with at least 1 account where they can hunt for candidates and boost your reputation.
FAQ
How do you build up a pool of candidates?
To create a pool of candidates, start by researching and organizing the profiles of those who show a potential interest in opportunities within your company. This can be through unsolicited applications, proactive research, recommendations, or at professional events. Then keep this pool active by staying in touch with candidates, sharing relevant information with them and regularly updating their details.
What is a Vivier response?
A Vivier response is positive feedback sent to a candidate who has not been selected for a specific position, but who is kept in a database for potential future contact. This indicates that the recruiter has been impressed by the candidate’s skills and is considering contacting them again for future opportunities that match their profile.
How can I see candidates on LinkedIn?
To view candidates on LinkedIn, go to the “Jobs” icon at the top of your home page, then select “Manage job offers”. Find the advert for which you wish to view applications and click on “View candidates”. Or with the Recruiter Linkedin subscription, you can filter out people who are “Open to work”.
