See & Recruit India Pvt. Ltd.

Networking and staying professionally relevant is as significant as getting your 'aadhaar card' nowadays. Social isolation is a huge no for any working professional, as it is considered sheer negligence in the corporate circle on the individual's part. In fact, obtaining an active LinkedIn profile on the global platform can be effectively beneficial from several professional perspectives.

LinkedIn is a professional networking website that also acts as one of the mediums where job seekers have the exposure to connect with recruiters, talent acquisition firms, headhunters, and HRs. As experts in the field of recruitment, we can confidently say that over the years, it has emerged among popular, convenient, and user-friendly social channels for job searches amidst working professionals across countries. However, reaching out to recruiters in your desired industry on LinkedIn and networking with them is a craft, as one requires to follow some steps to do the same. And if you are wondering how to approach them, this article is a must-read.

  1. Possess A Strong & Active LinkedIn Profile: Create a new LinkedIn profile if you already don’t have one, and ensure it’s duly filled. Not even a single section should be left, a strong headline or a succinct summary. Using keywords in the headline and summary helps your profile appear more in searches. Also, do not forget to put a background image alongside a gregarious yet decent profile picture in formal attire.
  2. Focus On Adding Skills: LinkedIn has a unique feature wherein one can add up to 50 skills to your profile from the LinkedIn Skills Directory. Thus, adding 5-10 skills is a good idea! If you can get them endorsed by your connections, you must, as it gives a good impression about your skill set to the recruiters visiting your profile. Doing so will increase your probability of accelerated profile views, and you will appear in the search results for recruiters looking for specific skills.
  3. The Open To Work (OTW) Feature: Activate your profile’s “open to work” feature if you seek job opportunities. You can enable this feature by clicking Me > View profile> Open To >Finding a new job. However, you choose to make your OTW visible to every LinkedIn member or recruiter as per your preference. If you enable the feature for everyone, an open-to-work photo frame gets added to your profile picture.
  4. Connect With Recruiters & Interact With Them: Connecting with people in your workspace, especially adding known connections, is always a great way to kickstart your networking journey on LinkedIn. Doing so, you can further trace some mutual connections as well. In terms of a new search, type recruiters on the search bar, and you will be amazed to see the infinite names from varied industries. For example, talent acquisition firms, headhunters, or executive search firms like See & Recruit prioritize leadership hiring or HRs.
  5. Opt For Location-Based Search & Join Groups: You can filter the search according to your location or a group. Connect with them once you land up with specific names according to your need. You can send them a request to be a part of their network or use InMail in case of a premium LinkedIn account. Always send a personalized request with a message highlighting a quick introduction, aka brief about your personality, and mention commonalities, if any.
  6. Spotlight Search: Being a job seeker, your priority is an opportunity to find a good job that suffices your necessity. It started as an initiative where LinkedIn showcased the most viewed & engaging professionals on the social media platform. Hence, growing your network can help you get noticed by recruiters, HRs, and talent acquisition firms via the Spotlight feature. Spotlights are insights that help recruiters spot candidates that are ‘open to work’, have company connections, candidates interested in their company, past applicants etc.
  7. Approach Recruiters & Send Them An Eloquent Message: As soon as the recruiters accept your request, don’t delay dropping a personal thank you message. Type a crisp and professional message with a humble tone, and ensure to pass on your thoughts clearly; that means writing only what’s essential. Then, politely ask if you can share your resume with them. Once they revert positively to the same, initiate a conversation about job opportunities. If you want to inquire about a particular opening, mention it and submit your application if the position is still open. This message is your chance to network with them and convey that you are looking for a new job and are available to discuss new opportunities.
  8. Follow-Up Is Necessary & Be Accessible: Following up with recruiters is crucial when networking on LinkedIn. Since these talent specialists go through hundreds of resumes dailyoverlooking yours is no big deal. Thus, simply assuming that recruiters will get back to you themselves isn’t a great idea. Ideally, one must follow up with them consistently. Drop messages or emails in the same regard and patiently wait for a revert. However, being polite with them is imperative; the criteria is to keep communication open. Next, being a jobseeker, ensure your availability and avoid demonstrating your image of someone careless and uninterested. Even when you’re not interested in a role, you still decline it respectfully. Finally, be approachable and share updated contact details so you don’t miss out on any opportunity in the future.
  9. Foster The Association: For any professional association to be rewarding, you must foster that relationship by staying in touch. Keeping in touch shows the recruiter that you are serious about your profession and not wasting their time. The only thing that you must avoid is looking desperate for a job; bombarding the recruiter with messages might make you look like a spammer. And nobody likes a spammer, and you may get blocked.

From the recruiter’s perspective, even though LinkedIn is a great platform. Yet one must understand that all talent acquisition firms, HRs,& recruitment firms have their respective talent pool. Hence, staying in touch with them is always beneficial. Maintaining interaction will make the recruiters recognize your efforts, and they will approach you for some good opportunities sooner or later.