LinkedIn Master ClassHow to be a Rock Star Recruiter

You recruit like a rock star when you...

Stop sourcing. Start networking. Is your existing database your only fall back for all vacancies?Widen your reach with social professional networks.

Stop interviewing. Start connecting. Do you have a list of must-ask interview questions?Try a new approach to connect with candidates even before the interview.

Stop hiring. Start nurturing. Do you think hiring is a one-time exchange?Plan a career path before you bring a new hire on board.

Who is this book for?

Recruiting managersTalent acquisition leadersHiring managersLine managers

There are two sides to a recruitment story

The recruiter and the candidate. Talent connects the two. Read on as 8 rock star recruiters tell you how they build relationships and hire outstanding candidates.

Rock Star Recruiter Meter

Lesson 1: Build for the future

Lesson 2: Make relationships matter

Lesson 3: Leverage social for wider reach and niche skills

Lesson 4: Focus on candidate journey

Lesson 5: Be a brand advocate

Summary: Rock Star Recruiter Check List

Additional resources

Discover yourself on our Rock Star Recruiter MeterMark Yes/ No to the following set of questions

This quiz should take you approximately 5 minutes to complete

04

Have you initiated steps to building a personal brand online?

02

Can you leverage your network of followers to help you connect with the right talent?

03

Are you synonymous with your employer brand and can people link the two?

05

Do you engage with candidates and stay in touch with them via social platforms?

01

Have you put in a conscious effort to research and identify talent hubs?

06

Have you built or are a part of talent communities that you tap into for your hiring needs?

07

Have you built a talent pipeline for your hiring needs in the future?

08

Have you segmented talent pools as per your hiring needs?

09

Do you ask your candidates about their dreams and aspirations and map it back to their role?

10

Do your recent hires talk about an excellent candidate experience journey?

12

Are you a new age recruiting practices evangelist in your organization?

11

Do you track new age recruiting practices regularly?

Y

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Time for your results!Count the number of Yes and No on your sheet

NO

On your sheet you see...Mostly yes? Mostly no? It’s a tie Mostly Yes

Congratulations rock star! Check out how your peers navigate the recruiting maze

You’re a rock star in the making! Record your journey of transformation and allow our rock stars to guide you

Is it a tie?Try marking unanswered questions as “No”Pick a side and run with it!

Mostly No

The anatomy of a Rock Star Recruiter

Social recruitment savvy

Intuitive

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Builds candidate relationships

Wears multiple hats - data guru, artist, marketer

Stays on top of professional networking

Is a brand advocate

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Is there a Rock Star in your midst?

Let the master class begin!

Lesson 1: Build for the futureGetting you prepared for talent pipelining

Gopi Krishnan R

Talent Sourcer- APAC

Paypal

Leverage LinkedIn projects for talent pipelining

“Building a talent pipeline is very useful for future requirements and also helps us improve turn around time and return on investment. I build talent pipelines using LinkedIn projects”

What excites you about social recruiting?

“It helps me find & connect with leaders in my industry. It gives me access to a vast global talent pool. That’s more than I can ask for as a recruiter!”

jobs closed via social networks

90%

2 day response time for a job post on Linkedin

hired through LinkedIn last year

85%

InMailsfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

Stay on track with LinkedIn projects instead of maintaining records manually

Gopi’s social recruitment dashboard

(PQJ�,SJTIOBO�TBWFT�QPUFOUJBM�DBOEJEBUF�QSPmMFT�JO�SFMFWBOU�GPMEFST�using LinkedIn projects. He keeps in touch with his talent pipeline by sending messages and engaging with their content e.g. liking their updates. When a relevant opening comes up, he feels connected enough to directly interact with them.

01 Optimize search and screening 03 Stay on track effectively

How to use LinkedIn Recruiter for talent pipelining?

02 Manage projects effectively

a. Tags Recruiter lets you add custom tags to DBOEJEBUF� QSPmMFT�� 6TF� UIJT� GFBUVSF� UP�NBLF�QSPmMFT�FBTZ�UP�TFBSDI�

b. Projects

Recruiter lets you save searches into TQFDJmD� QSPKFDUT�� 6TF� UIJT� GFBUVSF� UP�create a talent pipeline.

c. Connection path

Recruiter shows current employees to potential candidates. Connect with them for an inside opinion.

a. Reminders

5BHHJOH�SFNJOEFST�UP�DBOEJEBUF�QSPmMFT �team members and projects helps you stay connected.

b. Reports

Sharing actionable project reports with your team to make timely decisions and course corrections.

a. Saved searches

4BWJOH�#PPMFBO�TFBSDI�TUSJOHT�BOE�mMUFST�allows Recruiter to notify you of new DBOEJEBUFT�UIBU�mU�ZPVS�TFBSDI�DSJUFSJB�

b. Update-me

By using this feature on Recruiter you can stay updated on the career progress of DBOEJEBUF�QSPmMFT�ZPV�SF�JOUFSFTUFE�JO��

Lesson 2: Make relationships matterYour journey to buiding stronger connections online

Ashrith Nonda

Social Media Recruiter

HCL Technologies

Focus on building relationships Identify the right pitch by understanding career aspirations

“I advice recruiters to build a connection with the candidate and not just limit interactions to filling a particular requirement. Integrating social media into the recruitment process can give you an edge in building and maintaining professional relationships”

Ashrith Nonda ensures he maintins a healthy connection with his potential candidates even if there are no openings available immediately. He builds niche groups to attract the right kind of talent and initiate connection with them and understand their career aspirations. $BOEJEBUFT�mOE� JU� FBTJFS� UP� JOUFSBDU� JO�B�HSPVQ�EJTDVTTJPO�TFU�VQ�BT�opposed to an interview context.

On building relationships with LinkedIn Recruiter...

“Start with an InMail, after this we focus on building a personal connect from interview to onboarding, LinkedIn Recruiter helps us stay connected at each step.”

jobs closed via social networks

100%

1 day response time for a job post on Linkedin

mid/ senior positions filled last year

69

Tagsfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

Ashrith’s social recruitment dashboard

Lesson 3: Leverage social for niche and wider reachFrom tips on mastering search for sourcing to cracking the InMail code

Build influence while connectingwith varied talent pools

What excites you about social recruiting?

“Social professional networks like LinkedIn help us nurture our vast network of existing relationships. All my existing employees can be potential recruiters here”

response time for jobs posted on LinkedIn

InMailsfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

2 days

Shreetam Subhrankar’s existing network of Microsoft alumni and current employees gives him an army of potential recruiters. He mOET�TPDJBM�QSPGFTTJPOBM�OFUXPSLT�XJUI�GFBUVSFT�MJLF�HSPVQT�BT�POF�PG�the best ways to stay connected with this vast pool of potential talent that may not be actively looking for jobs.

Leverage current employees as potential recruiters while looking for talent

Shreetam’s social recruitment dashboard

senior profiles closed in 3 months

4

Groupspreferred tool to build influence

Shreetam Subhrankar

Staffing ConsultantMicrosoft

“While we were looking for an editor with new age journalism experience for MSN, we couldn’t rely on traditional sources. One of the major challenges was accessing exclusive talent in this niche. LinkedIn’s advanced search feature helped me create a funnel of relevant candidates and reach out to exclusive talent via InMails”

01 They leverage their own network

4 ways rock star recruiters build reach differently

02 They make the most of LinkedIn groups

a. They explore beyond first degree connections

b. They invest time building links with their extended network

a. They work on building influence with candidates on groups

b. They use groups as a platform to reinforce authenticity

03 They engage their profile views

04 Their existing employees are potential recruiters

a. They reach out to profile viewers outside of their network

b. They actively work on increasing their profile views

a. They motivate hiring managers to refer star performers

b. They encourage employees to spruce up their LinkedIn profile

Access niche talent pools acrossexperience levels

How do targeted search filters help your efforts?

“While developing a talent pool for niche skills we look at applicants from Top 50 technology schools in US. LinkedIn was the fastest channel to access this.”

response time for jobs posted on LinkedIn

Targeted Search Filtersfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

<24hrs

jobs closed via social networks

80%

talent sourcing via LinkedIn Recruiter

Niche

Sivakumar Kairvelu proactively reaches out to candidates from the iTVHHFTUFE� QSPmMFTw� mFME� PO� -JOLFE*O� BOE� FYQMPSFT� VQ� UP� �SE�degree connections while looking for niche talent. He uses the advanced search feature to create a funnel of candidates from most relevant to least relevant while connecting with talent.

Sivakumar’s social recruitment dashboard

Make the most of “suggested profiles” field on LinkedIn

Sivakumar Kadirvelu

RecruiterFlipKart

“The windows mobile app development space is niche. I was sourcing for the role of ‘Mobile Product Manager’ which is even more niche, LinkedIn helped me map relevant applicants from organizations that focus on mobile talent in a quick span of time, I presented 4 quality candidates to the Hiring Managers, of which 1 got hired.”

Widen your reach across variedgeographies

Your proudest moment in social recruiting?

Followersfavorite talent pool to access

What are your key drivers for social recruiting?

ReducedBetterReach

cost per hire

quality of talent

exclusive talent

senior positions filled last year

25jobs closed via social networks

70%

Surbhi’s social recruitment dashboard

Use analytics to identify talent pools across geographies that may be potentially relevant 4VSCIJ�(VQUB�EFFQ�EJWFT�JOUP�HFPHSBQIZ�TQFDJmD�BOE�SPMF�TQFDJmD�information that she can gather on LinkedIn to identify and connect XJUI� QPUFOUJBM� DBOEJEBUFT�� )FS� mSTU� TUFQ� JT� UP� FYQMPSF� HSPVQT �company pages that her potential candidates are following.

“Successfully hiring for US and UK while based in India. Delivering a seamless candidate experience across the recruiting life cycle with social recruiting.”

Surbhi Gupta

Senior HR ExecutiveWipro

“The position for a Global head of Treasury based out of US was on escalation for several months. I started my search on LinkedIn even though I had limited knowledge of the US geography. My first step was to tap the right groups where we built a series of connections to finally arrive at the right candidate. LinkedIn helped us access a global talent pool from the comfort of our local region”

01���:PV�XJMM�TIBSF�B�SFWJFX�PG�UIF�SFDFJQJFOUT�QSPmMF

02 You will always make an effort to personalize your InMails

03 You will refer to mutual connections as recommended by LinkedIn

04 You will demonstrate how you have been selective

05 You will use a conversational tone

Ten Commandments of rock star InMailsFollow these 10 commandments to initiate rock star conversations

06 You will make it brief

07 You will always highlight what’s in it for the recipient

08 You will always attempt to include useful and relevant content

09 You will always include a call to action

10 You will invite sharing by asking goals and interest levels in new opportunities

Lesson 4: Focus on the candidate journeyUnravel the art of making a lasting impact on your candidates

Stay connected with the candidatefrom interview to onboarding

What excites you about social recruiting?

“Good turn around ratio from sourcing to offer and conversion conversion. Cost effective proactive recruiting channel”

response time for jobs posted on LinkedIn

Export PDFsfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

<24hrs LeadershipHiringprimary channel LinkedIn

usage of LinkedIn Recruiter

Daily

Veena V makes an effort to ensure there are low drop out rates from PGGFS�UP�KPJOJOH��4IF�mOET�-JOLFE*O�3FDSVJUFS�UP�CF�BO�BQU�QMBUGPSN�UP�share updates, invite feedback and stay connected even with candidates who are not actively looking for jobs in her talent pipeline. She uses a hands on approach while preparing candidates to join the company.

Veena’s social recruitment dashboard

Adopt a proactive approach while taking a candidate through the recruitment process

Veena V

Senior Recruiter Amazon Development Center

“As a recruiter, I stay connected to the candidate till they come on board as ‘employees’. I share company and job details, prepare them for interviews, address queries at each stage, keep them engaged & excited about joining the organisation, by furnishing the right information and work as a team to get the right person on board”

Keep them engaged with scheduled communication

How has social recruiting improved candidate journey?

“The movement from agency based recruiting to developing an in-house focus on social media presence has resulted in increased ownership of the candidate journey”

response time for jobs posted on LinkedIn

Groupsfavorite LinkedIn Recruiter tool

2 days

jobs closed via social networks

50%

mid/ senior positions filled last year

69

Namita Vyas follows an inside out approach to ensure each candidate journey is smooth and relevant. She starts with understanding her hiring manager’s need and then connects potential candidates and hiring managers for exploratory discussions. She also leverages common contacts to keep candidates engaged. Namita’s social recruitment dashboard

Keep communication lines open between potential candidates and hiring managers

Namita Vyas

Manager - Technology LeadershipInMobi

"While hiring candidates, I make use of available networks – employees, top management and my own. I keep them engaged from initial connect message till finalization. I partner with the hiring managers to ensure that there is a continuous chain of communication with the candidates. Be it exploratory calls or in person meetings with the hiring managers, or regular status updates by me, I keep the candidate warm and engaged with InMobi”

Lesson 5: Be a brand advocateFind out the secret to bringing your brand to life in your conversations

01 Participate in groups

Represent your

employer brand by

participating in niche

groups on LinkedIn

02 Personalized InMails

03 Connect key leadership 04 Information updates

05 Live brand experience 06 Continued interactions

Bhajneet Singh Dhingra

Senior Manager Hiring

Sapient Consulting Pvt Ltd

Advocating the employer brand across the recruitment lifecycle

“While sourcing a creative technologist (director level) our first bet was to get a dedicated global search firm which didn’t work out for us. I took charge of the search on LinkedIn - from groups to targeted InMails- a well planned candidate experience helped us convert an exclusive candidate.”

Bhajneet Singh Dhingra takes us through how he hired exclusive niche talent by advocating the Sapient Brand

Plan and send out

personalized InMails

with relevant and

useful content

Connect candidate

with key leadership to

give complete clarity

on role and goals

Candidate specific

information updates

and updates on

company and brand

Invite candidates to

live brand

experiences like an

event (Sapient Xi)

Stay in touch with the

candidate at planned

intervals with relevant

updates till they join

Take charge of your candidate experienceFollow this 12 point to-do list to deliver a rock star candidate experience

A how-to video of your application process on the website

Detailed info on the website and LinkedIn Career Page

Introduction to employees on LinkedIn

Branded personlaized InMails with useful information

Clear instructions and information on your availability

Staged and planned process, non repeated questions

Weekly calls, InMails and updates

“Is there anything you didn’t get a chance to tell us today?”

What you can do

Real answers that enables improvement, feedback forms

Call and connect up don’t just sms or email a rejection

Nurture niche communities on LinkedIn

Make a planned process map and keep improving

4JNQMJmFE�BQQMJDBUJPO�QSPDFTT

Transparent application process

Know more about the existing team

Personalized and relevant emails

Option to check in and follow up

Smooth onsite interview

Stay in touch through the application process

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What your candidate wants

Constructive and two-way feedback

Respectful rejection

Keep in touch even if they didn’t interview

Stay commmitted to their experience

Every brand advocate needs a stellar profileFollow these steps to build a rock star personal profile on LinkedIn

02 Dress it up with rich media

03��"EE�DFSUJmDBUJPOT

04 Make your updates interactive

05 Add recommendations

01 Craft a catchy opening

.BLF�UIF�NPTU�PG�UIF�mSTU�����DIBSBDUFST�PO�ZPVS�QSPmMF��*ODMVEF�TLJMMT�UIBU�NBLF�ZPVS�QSPmMF�EJTUJODU��

Include presentation, videos, portfolio items that can help potential candidates set quality benchmarks.

*ODMVEF�BMM�DFSUJmDBUJPOT�UIBU�BSF�SFDFOU�BOE�SFMFWBOU�

The perfect way to showcase your experience and to strike up a conversation with a new candidate.

Recommendations from team members on a hiring NBOBHFST�QSPmMF�XPVME�IFMQ�QPUFOUJBM�DBOEJEBUFT�

The Rockstar Recruiter Check List

You have a plan for talent pipelining

You are ready to build relationships online

You have access to varied talent pools

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You have a well planned candidate experience

You can pack more power into InMails now

You are an employer brand advocate

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Are you ready to unleash your inner rock star on LinkedIn?

Let the rock star recruiting begin!

Meet the authors

Megha Nayak Associate Field Marketing ManagerMegha is a Marketer with a passion for business, technology and new ideas. She is a part of the trade marketing team in India. She plays enabler in helping talent leaders leverage the power of LinkedIn.

Aadil BandukwalaSenior Customer Success ConsultantAadil is a Social Talent Evangelist who consults with LinkedIn’s Enterprise Customers in India on their Talent Strategy and advises them on their Employer Brand. SHRM India has ranked Aadil as one of India’s Top 20 Most Influential People in Human Resources on Social Media for two consecutive years.

LinkedIn India’s Customer Success Team

Ketaki KadekarAssociate Customer Education Consultant

Somi JacobCustomer Education Consultant

Aditya KumarSenior Technical Consultant

Sebastian JohnAssociate Customer Education Consultant

Gunjan GovaniSenior Customer Success Consultant

Jacqueline AzariahSenior Customer Success Consultant

Mahesh Prabhu

Senior Customer Success Consultant

Niraj Vasani

Customer Success Consultant

Ragini Jaswal

Customer Success Consultant

Sani SharsarCustomer Success Consultant

Vandana SinghCustomer Success Consultant

Rudra Prasad Nanjundappa

India Head, Customer Success

Aadil BandukwalaSenior Customer Success Consultant

Prachi Banga

Senior Customer Success Consultant

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