Secret LinkedIn hacks for recruiters
Recruitment is a highly competitive game. These days, top candidates and clients receive hundreds of messages per day–with the average now being 120 per day.
So, standing out in a crowded market takes venturing beyond the usual "posting a job & connecting" routine.
Here, we'll go over a few LinkedIn hacks that'll help you get a leg up on your competition and will have you strategically sourcing and attracting A-players in no time.
1. Optimize your posting time
According to Sprout Social, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, are the best times to post content on LinkedIn.
It’s important not only for your optimization but for your workflow and productivity to pick a particular time to post and stick with it.
2. Search for candidates via Google
You can use Google as a tool to search for a candidate if you’re not ready to buy LinkedIn Recruiter. For example, if you want to find a Frontend Engineer in San Francisco with experience in React, just use your normal Boolean search but add “site:linkedin.com” in the beginning:
site:linkedin.com (title: frontend engineer OR "front-end engineer" OR "front end engineer") (keywords: react OR "react js") (location: "San Francisco Bay Area" OR "San Francisco")
Breaking it down:
- site:linkedin.com: This limits the search results to LinkedIn.
- (title: Frontend engineer OR "front-end engineer" OR "front end engineer"): This searches for profiles with relevant titles in the title field.
- (keywords: react OR "react js"): This searches for profiles that mention "react" or "react js" in the keywords section.
- (location: "San Francisco Bay Area" OR "San Francisco"): This specifies the desired location as either "San Francisco Bay Area" or "San Francisco".
Granted you may not always get the exact candidate, but it’s pretty close–and it’s free to use.
Additional Tips:
You can further refine the search by adding keywords related to specific skills or companies:
- (skills: javascript typescript css html): Search for profiles mentioning relevant web development skills.
- (company: "Google" OR "Meta" OR "Apple"): Target specific companies.
3. Like & Comment
It’s not enough just to post on LinkedIn and remain idle. The biggest LinkedIn gurus spend time (or employ someone else) to like and comment on relevant posts to boost their algorithms and gain exposure.
If you want rapid growth on LinkedIn, choose 40 relevant posts (you’ll most likely encounter them if you follow the right people and scroll through your feed) and ‘like’ 20 and comment on a further 20. This will boost your visibility in other feeds.
4. Deploy an automation tool
There are a couple of automation tools that allow you to automate sending connection requests, messages, and liking posts on LinkedIn. These tools link to your LinkedIn account and perform tasks on your behalf. The best ones are
It’s important to set activity limits and deploy these tools once your account has been active for 2 years as your LinkedIn account can get flagged for spam if you do too much. Be sure to sign up for a demo beforehand.
5. Track your Social Selling Index
LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index is a tool that measures how popular and how successful your profile is on its platform. For example, suppose you have a low acceptance rate when sending LinkedIn connections or have a low message response, in that case, your SSI score will go down and will affect your profile visibility, potentially land you in the spam folder, and prevent you from being established as a thought leader, so hold it in high regard.
On average people have a social selling index score between 40 to 50. High performers have a sales SSI above 65 and top LinkedIn social sellers in the 1% have a score above 75.
Check out and track your SSI here.
6. Create Carousels
LinkedIn Carousels get 5 times more clicks than any other type of content.
You can create a signature carousel template on Canva and come up with ideas by researching Reddit or Medium.
Aim to do one carousel a week–it shouldn’t take you any longer than an hour from start to publish.
7. Add a certificate
You may already know everything there is to know about recruiting, however, obtaining a certificate from LinkedIn holds significant weight. It establishes you as a professional and also puts you in a suggested category if someone is looking for help in filling a role.
8. Create a hashtag
It’s worth creating a hashtag for yourself or your recruitment agency for people to follow. It’ll help you organize and track your content and give potential candidates an easy way of getting notified of your latest posts. Come up with a name and start hashtagging it in your posts, i.e. #agencyX or #thesassyrecruiter.
9. Utilize video content
Another way to go viral or increase your clout on LinkedIn is by creating video content. Creating 30 to 60-second videos announcing new roles that you’re recruiting for is an underdog in winning the engagement algorithms.
People will automatically “play” the video when scrolling through their feed and those ‘views’ will count as engagement.
10. Find a past client of your competitor
If you want to find a potential past client of your competitor, simply type in the job title, i.e. CTO, in the search bar and hit enter. On the right, click on ‘All filters’ and scroll down. Then click on ‘Followers of’, type in your competitor's name, and hit enter.
You’ll soon have a list of all the CTOs that follow your competitor. You can then add them up.
11. Customize your URL
Create a custom URL that makes it easy for people to remember your profile on LinkedIn. Click on your profile and on the right, you’ll see a ‘Public profile & URL’ where you can edit.
12. Get endorsements
Getting endorsements is a great way of solidifying yourself as a thought leader in your space and showing some social proof. Always ask candidates and clients to give you a recommendation after you’ve worked with them, and return the favor.
13. Add a custom button
Add a custom button that gives candidates and clients an easy way to book a meeting with you.
Click on edit info on your profile and scroll to the bottom where you’ll see the “create a custom button” feature. You can then add a meeting link.
14. Scrape Alumni
If you want a free hack to find candidates in your niche, go to the Alumni page of a university on LinkedIn. Filter out the search by what they studied or their current location. You’ll have access to a free list of potential candidates without needing LinkedIn Premium.
15. Write articles on LinkedIn
Writing articles is a great way of stamping your authority in your recruitment space. Find something relevant in your niche (tips, insights, or news) and write a 1,000 to 1,500-word article about it.
LinkedIn’s system and algorithms are very fond of articles being published on their platform and reward publishers with a boost in their SSI and visibility. Writing articles can also give you inbound leads.
Aim to write one article a month. It’ll take you more or less a day’s work to research, write, review, and publish.
FAQs
What is LinkedIn’s limit on connection requests?
The maximum number of connection requests you can send per week is 100. This number is slightly higher (around 120) for those with an SSI score above 75.
How do I find relevant profiles to follow?
Start by following a hashtag, this will boost the chances of getting relevant content in your feed. Then, only like and comment on relevant posts, your profile will auto-suggest the right content and people to follow. Also, utilize Reddit and Medium to find thought leaders and follow them on LinkedIn.
What are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections?
- 1st-degree connections are people who are in your network.
- 2nd-degree connections are people who you're not connected with but have mutual connections.
- 3rd-degree connections are people with whom you have no mutual connections.
How do I increase my LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) score?
You can improve your SSI score, by performing the following:
- Increase engagement with your content: Likes, comments, views, and reposts
- Increase your InMail responses (write personalized, relevant InMails)
- Increase your LinkedIn connection acceptance rate
- Write articles
- Get endorsements
Stick to this and over time your SSI score will go up. Avoid sending generic messages, only send connections to relevant people, and switch up your content for better engagement.
Utilizing the hacks above can help you gain a leg up in the recruitment world. Stay tuned for part 2!
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