LinkedIn: Asset or Adversary?
A decade ago, the arrival of the
job board brought with it a sense of foreboding amongst recruiters who were
fearful that the technology would render their profession redundant. Yet, far
from signalling the dying breath of an entire industry, the job board has instead provided a breath of fresh air,
revolutionising the role of the recruiter.
We are witnessing history repeat
itself in the case of LinkedIn. That LinkedIn is ‘killing’ the recruitment
industry is a well-worn discussion; one that I believe is somewhat off the mark
but, given the authority that LinkedIn is accumulating, a regrettable
inevitability.
It is difficult to envisage a
time when LinkedIn, jobs boards or any other disruptive technology might pose a
genuine threat to the future of the entire industry. Through LinkedIn,
identifying candidates is now easy, but no technology can ever replace the
personal element that forms the basis of the recruitment process. Neither will
LinkedIn remove the demand for intermediaries to carry out the recruiting
legwork – the time spent in sourcing, understanding the requirements of the
vacancy and matching the candidate to them, or enticing the candidate to the
role. In short, recruiters needn’t start clearing their desks yet.
It’s time to move beyond seeing
LinkedIn in ‘friend or foe’ terms, and instead ask: how can it best serve the
needs of recruiters? Clearly, as a professional network with 161 million
members in over 200 countries, LinkedIn is a vastly important resource, acting
as a live database that can be easily searched. As social recruiting continues
to gain popularity, the need to build a strong online network of contacts will
only increase, and LinkedIn will undoubtedly be the tool of choice for doing
so.
LinkedIn has also significantly
impacted on the dynamics of larger agencies and network ownership. Rewind five
years and individual recruiters would not have dreamed they could get ahead in
the industry without the contacts associated with working at a big agency. In
the past recruiters working for such agencies were often forced to leave their
database of contacts behind when they moved on, but now, thanks to LinkedIn,
they have complete ownership of their networks. This, alongside solutions like
Sonovate that provide the infrastructure and support needed to go it alone as a
recruiter, has made it far easier for entrepreneurial, experienced recruiters
to achieve success outside of the larger agencies.
Nonetheless, in the rush to tap
into LinkedIn’s rich reserve of contacts, it can be easy to neglect other
tried-and-tested channels. While LinkedIn is an extensive source of candidates
there are other, often more targeted and meaningful, channels that shouldn’t be
forgotten – the good old telephone, for example, remains a more personable way
of achieving results in the faceless world of social media and shouldn’t be
forgotten.
It is only when we stop thinking
about LinkedIn in terms of ‘friend’ or ‘threat’ that we can measure its true
value to the recruitment profession. The shrewd recruiter, while bearing in
mind that its position may change as it continues to evolve, will recognise the
strengths (of which there are many) and weaknesses of LinkedIn, incorporating
them into their recruiting strategy.
Great post. I personally love LinkedIn and the ease of recruitment it provides. Again, brilliant and obviously well-thought-out post. Thanks.
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