As a recruiter, the power of your connections on LinkedIn starts with building a strong and robust network. If you are in the recruiting business—chances are if you are reading this—you probably have a vast network of people you have connected with on LinkedIn. However, if you are not utilizing your connections through networking and sourcing, then maybe it’s time to start.
Here is why your LinkedIn connections can be a secret weapon in the competition for top talent, and how you can tap into this valuable resource:
An active networker makes you one step ahead of the game – Meaning?
If you have an already actively and engaged network of candidates that you keep in touch with or you are constantly touching them with content you push out, you are one step ahead of the competition. Even if your candidates aren’t good fits at the specific time you need them, you never know if in the future when you will have a job where the shoe fits. A good way to always stay engaged with connections is to comment, like or share any content they push out. The same goes with you as well—to stay relevant in the ever-evolving recruiting space, it is always a good idea to be sharing content that your connections can engage with. It is called social media for a reason—it’s a two-way street.
A robust network of connections boosts your SEO – Say what?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization—aka how searchable someone (like yourself) is on the internet. When searching on LinkedIn, if you’re a first-degree connection with more people, you’ll show up more often in searches making it easier for candidates to find you and for you to find them.
Stranger danger is still a thing.
Candidates will be more willing to trust someone they have 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree connections with more than they will trust someone they have no connections with.
LinkedIn makes it easy build connections.
On LinkedIn when you connect to one person, you also connect to everyone that they know and everyone that those people know. There is no other networking site that does this. LinkedIn is giving you access to connect with more people—especially if you consider that every connection you make is a potential candidate!
A good recruiter just connects and doesn’t actually engage and understand the power of their connections. A GREAT recruiter is always working and tending to their network. Once you get in the swing of things, we know you can stay on top of your connections and on top of your recruiting game.
Want to learn more about LinkedIn? Check out our white paper, Are you a LinkedIn Benchwarmer!