If you’re not there, building a strong presence, you may be missing some golden opportunities.
Want solid proof that LinkedIn is one of the best places online to be found by recruiters and hiring decision makers vetting top executive candidates?
Two days ago, this question was posted on LinkedIn’s Q&A:
Here’s a sampling of answers from hiring professionals and an executive job seeker:
“I use LinkedIn as part of any search I undertake. I find it really useful in unearthing candidates, but like to rely on traditional methods (telephone) to actually make approaches.”
“I too use LinkedIn as one of my recruitment tools. It is a good tool to use to locate passive candidates. I use it to evaluate general management competence of passive candidates by reviewing their contributions to Questions.”
“I find Linkedin excellent for filling in the gaps. If you have 1 bit of information on a company, job title etc you can run searches to find the relevant person. Often you find the decision maker, if you don’t you will usually open up another avenue to search down.”
“The answer seems obvious. You need to go wherever potential candidates congregate. If that includes Linked, Facebook, or other social networks (which seems obvious that they would do so), then by all means and all methods reach out to them, research them, and follow up with them there. You probably should remember that real people congregate in real places, too–as opposed to only looking for them online.”
“It is a great way to connect with people that you would have never ever gotten a hold of. I find that most candidates may want to “explore” but not full-fledge be active in searching by posting their resumes on monster.com or other job sites. Plus by posting, they risk on being called out by peers or senior management. So Linkedin provides a “professional avenue” to socialize and connect with fellow people in the industry as well as be open for recruiters and HR professionals to test your availability.”
“Yes, I used LinkedIn as a resource for identifying passive candidates. Short of having a firm directory, it’s the best resource to come around for recruiters in a long while.”
Your takeaways:
Build a strong, brand-driven LinkedIn profile and make participating in LinkedIn Q&As one of your regular executive career management best practices:
- Search questions and answers to learn from the experts.
- Post questions to gain consensus on important issues, build visibility, and generate interest in you.
- Post answers to build personal brand recognition and visibility while positioning yourself as a thought leader and niche expert.
Related posts:
Get the Best Out of LinkedIn for Your Personal Brand, Networking, and Executive Job Search
More Tips to Brand Up Your Flat LinkedIn Profile and Get More Attention In Your Executive Job Search