5 Clever LinkedIn Hacks for Recruiters

Is LinkedIn a good recruiting tool?

LinkedIn is the powerhouse of the recruitment world, connecting over 470 million candidates and recruiters. It’s estimated that new employees sourced through LinkedIn are 40% less likely to leave the company within the first 6 months. And over 75% of people who recently changed jobs used LinkedIn to inform their career decision.

LinkedIn has released a series of great features over recent years. These updated features are built to help you engage with your network, boost your presence and show a little personality:

LinkedIn Stories
Live videos
Polls
Reactions
Name pronunciations
Carousel images
Video meetings
Photo frames
AI feedback
Keyword suggestions
Profile views

93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find qualified candidates today. That’s a sizeable stat that showcases how invaluable of a tool it is - if you're not leveraging it properly, there’s a lot you could be missing out on.

But not everyone is ready to pay extra for premium LinkedIn features. If you’re not convinced to upgrade to a paid LinkedIn account yet, here are 5 quick and easy LinkedIn recruiting hacks:

1. LinkedIn Alumni

LinkedIn Alumni is an invaluable addition that’s seen on any college or university profile.

Great if you’re looking for new candidates that share the same school experience – a warmer way for recruiters to introduce themselves.

Here’s a quick walk-through:

Click here. It’ll take you to a page that looks like this:

You can type in the college or university name in the search bar. In this case, we’ve chosen Cambridge University as an example.

Now you’re presented with a goldmine of relevant data. You’ll see here there are 334,562 alumni from this specific university, and you’ll also get insight into:

where they live
where they work
what they did
what they studied
what they're skilled at

Want to be even more efficient? Utilize the filters and narrow down the search results.

For example, you're looking for a Cambridge University alumni with a background in accounting. You'll search the keyword "accounting" and it’ll update to show the number of alumni relevant to your search – in this case, 3,853:

Now let’s say you’re looking for new graduates to apply for your new graduate scheme.

You can select a date range that will narrow down the results to candidates who’ve graduated within that specific period:

Scroll down even further, and you’ll be able to see alumni relevant to your specific search:

2. Build your database (No InMail required)

Find a recruiter network with a substantial amount of followers
Follow their profile
Hover over the more button
Share a direct message

3. Export your connections

What if we told you that it’s possible to import all your LinkedIn connections to your recruitment system or software database?

1. Under My Network, click on Connections

2. Click on the "Manage synced and imported contacts" button on the top right of the screen

3. Click on the "Export contacts" button on the right

4. Complete the information to request an archive of your data

4. Going beyond the 100 search results limit

How frustrating is it when you hit the 100 search quota? Let’s explore a LinkedIn hack that allows you to go beyond the 100 search limit.

Recruitment Geek’s LinkedIn Xray Search requires a bit more knowledge on Boolean searches but all you need to do is type in the relevant skills and hit enter.

This method is tried, tested, and proven to be effective time and time again. First, let’s explore the benefits:

unlimited searches
completely free of charge
no sign-up

5. The hashtag strategy

You thought hashtags were strictly for Instagram or Twitter, right? Or maybe you assumed it’d be too casual for LinkedIn? Many recruiters are now embracing this hack to search for candidates with relevant job skills or industry experience.

A few hashtag hacks:

do a quick search to find common hashtags relevant to a job
make sure they’re simple and neutral
if you're a page Admin, monitor effective keywords using LinkedIn analytics
keep an eye on trending hashtags

Including hashtags related to a role in your posts can also easily boost post engagement and help build your network. You can also search and follow industry-relevant hashtags to search for networks or potential candidates.

Just like how you see here:

Bonus LinkedIn growth hacks, questions & best practices

Is Linkedin still relevant in 2023?

LinkedIn’s rightfully earned our trust and has become an invaluable platform for all recruiters worldwide. As of 2022, the platform’s user base has grown to a staggering 830 million. It's still the world's largest professional network - and is every recruiter’s helping hand to find top talent.

How does the Linkedin algorithm work for recruiters?

The LinkedIn algorithm aims to make newsfeeds more relevant and attractive to users. LinkedIn has implemented a four-step process to distribute content that helps users avoid spam and irrelevant posts.

Not only does the algorithm rule out inappropriate content, but it's also designed to surface the most relevant candidates to recruiters. During this process, various factors are taken into account:

relevance to organization
skills
experience
recruitment trends

How can a recruiter stand out on Linkedin?

LinkedIn is a battlefield for recruiters competing for top-notch candidates. It can be tough to make your profile or company page stand out.

Here are a few LinkedIn growth hacks that will help attract candidates and grow your talent pool:

Use keywords strategically: Keep up to date with keywords that will resonate with your target audience. Scatter these terms throughout your content to grow your reach and make an impression.
Expand your network: If you want to shine, you have to nurture your profile and build your network. Don’t shy away from passive candidates – connect with as many industry-relevant people as possible. Building your network will help showcase your content on more people’s newsfeeds, and even to potential candidates you might have missed.
Engage with people's posts: LinkedIn credits you for engaging in other people’s content, so be as active as you can. This means likes, comments, reactions, and viewing stories. It’s such a simple way to grow your network with minimal effort.

Final words on LinkedIn hacks

LinkedIn is the godfather of any healthy recruitment pipeline. With an ever-expanding user base, frequent updates, and a wealth of features and tools, it's highly unlikely that its position as the top social network for recruitment will be challenged.

Now you’ve learned a few LinkedIn hacks that allow you to work more efficiently. Implementing these small and simple methods has the potential to make a big impact on your daily operations.

If you want to skyrocket your recruitment operations even further, consider investing in recruitment agency software. At Vincere, we've designed our platform to make your recruitment processes that much simpler. And if LinkedIn hacks themselves aren't enough, our platform has powerful multi-channel sourcing and filtering tools to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.