Is LinkedIn killing the recruitment market?

Let me start by saying that I am a LinkedIn advocate. Having used it for approaching 20 years, it should be a friend when boasting 24,000+ connections. Having a professional networking site like a Facebook networking platform is particularly useful in recruitment. And I really like how we can run pages for our specialist recruitment company, share knowledge, assistance, intelligence, and job opportunities to those who follow. I also like how I can follow companies and inspirational leaders too. But Microsoft has cottoned on very quickly on how to build a business out of this platform, charging lots of monies for their services. And I mean lots. However, there is a huge problem – this is encouraging companies and staffing firms to becoming clones of each other, in regard to how they now hire or attract talent…

…If everyone only uses Linked In, then you will not get different outcomes or unique results.

I understand and respect that advertising a role on LinkedIn it is cheaper than using a recruiter, and it also sends out a positive message to those who are on the platform that the relevant company is hiring. However, is everyone on LinkedIn actively searching for work? No. Is every jobseeker only using LinkedIn to find a new opportunity? No. Does advertising a role on LinkedIn also send out a message that the company is more concerned about costs than attracting and investing in the right talent? Yes. Especially considering we hear nothing but negative feedback from hiring managers post-LinkedIn advertising campaigns, and how this process does not attract enough relevant and sometimes quality profiles for them to consider.

Some companies are reluctant to use a recruiter after a LinkedIn campaign has finished because they have already paid a fee to LinkedIn. Considering most hires are urgent, you have then wasted time trying to focus on what LinkedIn brings, when you can have at least asked a specialist recruitment company to show you what candidates they have at the same time. A contingent recruitment process is free to see CVs and interview those candidates represented by a staffing agency and can add instant comparison to what profiles and interest you have generated yourself via LinkedIn (and other sources).

What flabbergasts me is that now it feels that LinkedIn is fast becoming the go-to platform, preferred and sometimes a sole strategy to try and attract talent. I would argue that it is killing the recruitment market, and as mentioned we hear many negative stories about how unsuccessful it is for businesses. Much to the profitability of Microsoft.

It is worth highlighting that I meet many recruiters as part of my hiring processes, and it is annoying to hear that most businesses train their staff to predominantly use LinkedIn to find candidates. I always have to ask an interviewee to detail other ways they find candidates, and most are sometimes flummoxed. How can they find a different candidate to their competition, to stand a chance of making a fee, and to be able to service their client well by giving them a plethora of options to chose from.

You cannot just rely on LinkedIn. Everyone is theoretically fishing in the same pool of potential candidates as everyone else, not forgetting how many recruiters will then approach a prospective client, “chasing a lead” as you have announced to the world you are hiring. Which must be frustrating for the hiring team or manager, to receive so many unsolicited approaches. So many companies are still (after a week or two of paying the noticeable LinkedIn fees) are sitting on their hands magically waiting for the perfect “unicorn” of a profile to press “easy apply.” This is not going to attract the best talent. You can’t even contact a potential candidate unless you pay a substantial amount to buy InMail credits / upgrade your subscription (another great revenue stream from Microsoft), nor can you talk to anyone unless you are connected to them, and if you do connect and don’t change your settings, then LinkedIn announces your new connection to all of their network. And let us face it, LinkedIn fees are increasing well above inflation rates too. The price for recruiters is incredibly high.

This soleless advertising process, which gives companies the chance to filter through the applicants, gives opportunity to not even send an acknowledgement, or update the candidate on their application. This is the biggest issues we constantly hear from candidates, where they are not receiving any update nor have a point of contact to follow up with to make them standout in the crowd of applicants. This lack of communication will not paint your company in a good light. Not forgetting that the only candidates you will see apply are the same candidates who are realistically applying for multiple roles (whether they are relevant or not), and where they are entertaining multiple roles, then counteroffers will be rife when competing for that one good candidate which everyone has found. It becomes a dog fight to hire them, leading to inflated salaries. You will realistically only see the candidates waving the “pick me” flag, who typically have the time to actively look at LinkedIn 24hours a day, and tech-savvy enough to follow this process. We find that the best candidates are more passive on LinkedIn. However, many people are spending less time on Linked In now due to sheer volume of unsolicited approaches they are receiving. It is becoming annoying for many – no one really likes unsolicited approaches or sales. Even I get on average twenty messages from people trying to sell me everything for energy in my office, telephone deals, “get fit in 30 days” services. The list goes on.

I have had many hiring managers say to me they know when one of their team is looking to move on, and that is because it is as soon as someone updates their LinkedIn profile! #opentowork! Consider this – do you think that potential candidates are going to announce on LinkedIn, in front of all their connections and potential colleagues, that they are looking for work! Not if they are employed. But by ticking the “open to opportunities” button, or updating your profile, it certainly sends out that message to their network.

Every company looking to hire should always try and attract their own talent directly. This is something we promote. No one will ever sell their own company, team, role, and culture with credibility as well as their own staff or hiring teams. But please consider the situation where the person who is leading their campaign is not skilled in recruitment, like us professionals who are well trained – this is what we do for a living and how we pride ourselves on partnering with the businesses we staff. This could cause an unsuccessful recruitment process, especially when most peoples LinkedIn profiles are not as detailed as their CV, and their relevant skills are not displayed to successfully obtain an interview. We should also highlight that sometimes candidates’ applications can be enhanced and sometimes perverted, especially with how AI on LinkedIn will help draft an application and messages on LinkedIn now. This is a recipe for disaster for candidates, exaggerating their talent or writing abilities, and just creates a false impression of their skills.

Businesses should be asking their current employees for recommendations at first, because if they are good enough to work them, then realistically so will someone that they deem good enough to work there too. “Ducks fly with ducks” is an old saying one of my first ever recruitment managers used to say to me. But if your asking of internal recommendations process is exhausted, you should use a specialist recruiter because this is what we do every day and night. We find candidates that you cannot find yourself, and a lot of our candidate attraction derives from asking good or relevant candidates for a recommendation.
Job seekers like using recruiters because we provide a consultative experience, where we can give guidance on their resume, share knowledge of the company, what the hiring manager is looking for, assist with their interview preparation, and act a broker throughout the process. Clients seem to have somehow forgotten that this benefits their hiring and interview processes too.

The number of roles we see, after an unsuccessful LinkedIn campaigns, is significant. Many in fact. And from companies that we have long standing relationships with. Largely because of the sheer volumes of irrelevant profiles that are received because you can hit the “easy apply” button without qualification. We are not saying do not use LinkedIn but just do not rely on it. It does not yield the best results. It is not unique. It wastes a lot of time. Yes, you might find that unicorn, and yes, it is cheaper than a recruitment fee, but it certainly feels like LinkedIn is killing the recruitment world. It is cloning everyone.

We are just pleased our clients come back to us to step in to resolve their staffing issues when LinkedIn does not give the results they are looking for.