Employers and recruiters use LinkedIn’s premium Recruiter tool to find, vet, and contact candidates using advanced filters like job titles, skills, location, current and past companies and industries. They scan profiles for relevant keywords, measurable results, and work history, and use paid LinkedIn InMail to reach candidates directly.
Recruiters further narrow talent pools by using Boolean queries which lets them combine keywords with operators like AND, OR, and NOT—to find candidates with precise skill sets.
Additionally, they can identify people who are actively seeking opportunities and specific job titles. Once they find a potential match, they scan profiles for consistency, proper spelling and grammar, experience gaps, and potential red flags. They can also look for skills and recommendations to validate candidates’ expertise.
LinkedIn Recruiter is pricy but may be worth it to find top candidates. It is based on a per-person, annual, or monthly contract model ranging from Recruiter Lite ($170–$180/month per person or $1,680–$2,040/year) to the fully team-interactive Recruiter Corporate version which costs between $900–$1,080+ per person/month, or $10,000–$12,960 per person/per year.
BE FOUND ON LINKEDIN
To increase your chances of being recruited by employers, optimize your profile’s headline to include your preferred job titles and impressive specialties. Turn on “Open to Work – Recruiters only.” Incorporate your contact information and an in-depth description of what makes you uniquely qualified in your About summary. Add relevant keywords in your Skills section, and comprehensive details about your duties and accomplishments in your Experience section work entries.
Kathy Bernard (kathy@wiseru.com), CEO of WiserU.com, is a St. Louis-based LinkedIn consultant/trainer who equips businesses to maximize LinkedIn for sales, marketing, or fundraising.