Recruiter Shares How She Finds And Evaluates Job Candidates On LinkedIn

Wonder how you might get discovered on LinkedIn? Curious about when a recruiter finds your profile, what are the criteria used to evaluate whether you’d be a good prospect for the opening they want to fill? If you have applied for the job when the recruiter goes to learn more about you on LinkedIn, will they be impressed by what they see?

“I’ve looked at thousands—yes thousands—of LinkedIn profiles,” said Theresa Chow, a senior recruiting manager at Clark Nuber. As we talked about how she does her job, it was apparent that most job hunters have no idea how the search process works and what a recruiter’s role involves. Like most recruiters, she said, “I spend the majority of my day on LinkedIn. You could say I live and breathe it when I have many positions to fill.” Chow recommends that everyone needs a good presence on LinkedIn. “Many people are the face of the company. That’s true for HR people, executives, sales managers, and hiring managers. Candidates go and check them out and often will connect. If you are a job hunter, you must represent yourself in the best possible light. Connecting to recruiters is a smart idea too.”

A common misconception is that the recruiter only works on that one job you applied for. Yet, they often balance several searches simultaneously. This can become overwhelming when you review numerous applications, look at LinkedIn profiles, and then reach out to potential talent.

To help you develop an impressive profile, let’s examine the process the recruiters undertake, define what they want to see, and outline mistakes to avoid.

How Recruiters Conduct A Search For Candidates

Exactly how a recruiter discovers potential talent seems a mystery to most job seekers. “You are likely to have hundreds—if not thousands—of profiles to review when conducting a search,” says Chow. “The recruiter must be strategic to source the appropriate candidates. Most people are quite surprised to learn that when you use recruiter-level access on LinkedIn, just how much more information is visible,” Chow stated. Candidate searches are expansive, considering there are over 800 million profiles on LinkedIn. Recruiters must have tools and software to narrow down that field. Keywords are critical and typically searched with other parameters. “Recruiters can look for specific details like education.” An important way to find appropriate candidates is to identify a specific job title. Applying a location filter can narrow potential applicants to people who live in the region. In addition, they can limit results by searching for specific certifications, such as MBA, PMP, JD, ScrumMaster, etc. “One trick I use is to search for job titles at competitors’ companies to uncover potential candidates,” shares Chow.

When asked if someone were to make one change to improve their chances of being found by a recruiter, what would it be, Chow quickly responded and said, “Change the headline. This will help a lot.” LinkedIn automatically uses your current job title and employer as listed in your work experience area as the default headline. What’s more effective is to change it and add a job title related to the job you seek or one that reflects the type of work you do. Along with job titles, add some appropriate keywords. For example, note the niche you work in or any specialization you have. She recommends you narrow the field with a more targeted headline. That makes a difference. For example, instead of just stating “Engineer” be specific and list “Mechanical Engineer.” If you are also a Project Manager, be sure it is listed in the headline. In addition, it also helps to add the industry you work in, such as “automotive industry experience.”

Criteria Used To Evaluate A Potential Candidate

LinkedIn is the place to be as long as your profile is an asset, not a liability. Candidates forget they are still competing with other people for that job. Recruiters will typically check out a candidate’s LinkedIn profile when they apply through an online listing. “When I have an appropriate candidate, I always double-check the profile to ensure the info is correct and matches what’s on the resume. Sometimes they leave work history out. Unfortunately, if you have a skeleton of a profile, you may never come up in the search at all. Even if you do show up, I typically go right past you,” revealed Chow.

Recruiters say that a critical section they carefully review is the work experience. It should be a resume snapshot and what you did at each job. Don’t leave this area incomplete with only a job title and dates of employment. You need a complete work history with some accomplishments noted for each job.

Be careful what you post. When chatting with a group of recruiters, they confirmed they all investigate people’s activity, wanting to know what they publish. They look for negative comments about an employer or boss or complaining loudly about something they dislike that is essential to performing the job. If the potential candidate has any negative posts, they skip them and move on. A better option is to post industry news and only positive things about the employer or a manager.

Recruiters' Advice To HR Job Hunters

On a recent call with numerous recruiters, they offered some strategic ways job hunters can improve their profiles.

• Show you’ve made an effort to showcase yourself and your personal brand.
• Skip company job descriptions or lengthy info on what your company does. The profile is an advertisement about you, so keep it that way. It is results that are most influential. Be sure you highlight a few for each job you list.
• Write the ABOUT section in first person as this comes off more personal and authentic. Reveal why you like your specific job, such as, “I have a direct impact on improving people’s lives.” You can explain the type of manager you are. If you are unemployed, mention that you are available. State the job title you are looking for. Just remember to update it when you get hired.
• Have a professional-looking headshot and a nice background photo.
• List your education and any certifications or specializations you have.
• Include awards.
• Note your volunteer or community service work.
• Recruiters hate to be ghosted. If one reaches out to you, politely decline. That recruiter may have a better position later on or move to a new company you would be interested in and then could contact you about a better opportunity.
• Be a LinkedIn 1st connection to any recruiter you meet or seek out.
• Know what companies you want to work for. Follow their pages to get to learn more about the company, products or services, mission, values, work culture, and new things coming up. An employer is impressed when you are knowledgeable about all the things going on in their organization.
• Recommendations are very influential. If you don’t have any, or if they are pretty old, ask a few people to write new ones that point out your strengths performing in positions you’ve held.