You have been accumulating LinkedIn connections for years now and finally hit that 500+ mark.
Good for you!!
Now what can you do with this resource? There must be a way to put these connections to work in the talent acquisition process. After all everyone talks about it.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool if used correctly and creatively. You just have to know how.
Here are three tips to using LinkedIn connections to find talent for your business.
- Ask questions. We start with a series of questions to understand which LinkedIn connections will support talent acquisition in your organization:
- What do you want the ideal candidate to accomplish? You have to be very clear about the outcome you seek.
- What keywords, interests and accomplishments would the ideal candidate possess? Create a picture of the ideal candidate so you know who you are looking for. This does not mean physical characteristics like age, sex or race. The characteristics you are looking for transcend those physical characteristics.
- Where does the ideal candidate hang out? Understand where you can find the ideal candidate: geography, LinkedIn Groups, blogs they read, interests, companies, etc.
- Once you have these answers you can start identifying your talent pool. Use the Advanced Search function to identify people who describe themselves like your ideal candidate. Research your competitors, LinkedIn Groups and interest groups.
- Then you reach out to people who fit the criteria of the ideal candidate. Your goal is not just to add these people to your LinkedIn connections which of course you should do. Your goal is to talk to them. Exchange emails, ask questions, talk professional to professional about real issues. In this way you build relationships with people on LinkedIn who can fill your talent pool.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool useful for many purposes. Most people just accumulate connections. We encourage you to dig deeper to build relationships with people who can expand your talent pool.
A word of advice. You don’t have to be in Human Resources to do this. Every hiring manager should be utilizing LinkedIn to expand your personal talent pool. You are ultimately responsible for creating a strong team to accomplish your business goals. Don’t leave it to chance. Don’t delegate all of this responsibility. Start building relationships with the right talent today.
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