LinkedIn finally got all the functionality of a Job Board, and more

Recruiters and Hiring Managers have a few options for advertising jobs on the LinkedIn network:

  1. Using status updates. Your direct connections will see this update on their homepage.
  2. Post jobs in LinkedIn groups you are member of.
  3. Promote jobs via the LinkedIn profile i.e. write in your profile headline or summary that you are looking for specific skills (interesting option for ongoing recruitment of specific skills). Also the applications Google Docs, Slideshare and WordPress are very suitable for this.
  4. Send an InMail message to your direct connections (maximum 200).
  5. Paid Job Postings, 195 US$, to get listed in the Jobs module where every member can search for jobs.

 

From a Recruiter perspective, LinkedIn has never been an effective channel for advertising jobs, using the 195 US$ Job Posting. Convince me otherwise but I never heard from a Recruiter that they had success filling a role using this option.

Why? Because until now there were only 3 ways for members to find and see the paid Jobs:

  1. Active search for jobs (via LinkedIn Jobs)
  2. Adding a Jobs module to your LinkedIn homepage
  3. Follow selected Company Profiles

So the only way to find jobs was login into LinkedIn and search for it!

A long anticipated feature is to get notified by email when a new vacancy is posted that matches your criteria. In other words, a Job Search agent that you can find on almost every Job Board.

The good news is that this Job agent is now available! Simply search for vacancies via LinkedIn Jobs and the option to save a search will be shown to receive daily, weekly or monthly notifications via email:

With this small improvement they made a BIG step to become a fierce competitor to Job Boards by making it much easier for active Job Seekers. On top of that you get rich information about the Company (Profile), Recruiter or Hiring Manager, and your network who can introduce you for that specific role.

Final (?) step for LinkedIn to make it userfiendly for Recruiters would be to automate the Job posting process via Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or Job Advert Distribution Partners.

So tell me, are you still missing any functionality on LinkedIn which you’d expect from a Job Board?

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UPDATE for Recruiters: I just learned from a Job Advert Distribution Partner (Knollenstein) that there is already an API connection available to automatically post jobs from an ATS to LinkedIn Jobs. Hurrah! Also the Apply Now button can link to your ATS.

Please note that this functionality is not available for (free) posting directly into groups. Workaround is that you use an RSS-feed from your ATS and connect this with a group. Only Group Managers can add RSS-feeds to LinkedIn Groups.

© 2010 Jacco Valkenburg

About Jacco Valkenburg

Jacco Valkenburg is an international recruitment expert, trainer and author (5 books). He has more than 20 years experience in global recruitment strategies and execution spanning numerous countries for leading companies. As founder of Recruiter University and Recruit2 he provides companies with recruitment training and consultancy. His mission is helping companies ‘from good to great staffing’.

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