09/10/2023 | Written by: Emma | Category: EN HR solutions

Is LinkedIn still the ultimate recruitment channel?

LinkedIn is often considered the holy grail for many recruiters. But is it really so? Can you still find the candidates you’re looking for in LinkedIn’s global database today, or is the oversupply of job listings and a shortage of talent a blow to this social network?

A global concern is rising about the misuse of LinkedIn amongst many HR professionals. There are increasingly more users who close their LinkedIn profiles because they receive an overwhelming amount of messages. Recruiters who send the same messages every day to thousands of IT professionals or engineers are bombarding sought-after talent with messages, leading them to leave the platform.

In the current job market, what is the added value of LinkedIn? Where is the platform headed in the future? And should you invest in it if you’re only looking for a few new employees each year? We asked one of the top LinkedIn users at Select HR: Michèle Pauwels.

Michèle primarily recruits office, sales, and HR profiles in the West and East Flanders region of Belgium. She frequently uses LinkedIn because that’s where she can find her target audience: “In my experience, these types of profiles are not easily found in other database. Occasionally, I find them on Indeed, but LinkedIn remains my number one database for office, sales, and HR profiles.”

However, Michèle notices a change regarding LinkedIn compared to the past: “I have over 15 years of experience in the industry, and in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to find candidates, even through LinkedIn. I reach out to as many people as before, but I receive fewer responses. In addition to candidates I approach on LinkedIn, many candidates also apply in the traditional way, through the website. I find that I now achieve more success through that route than through LinkedIn. However, I couldn’t do without it. It’s still essential to expand your own database with new candidates.”

“Not every profile can be found on LinkedIn.”

Not every working human is active on LinkedIn. “You won’t find everyone on LinkedIn. My colleagues in the East and West Flanders region who are looking for sales representatives or drivers have more success on Indeed or other local jobboards. It depends on the profile, whether you can find them on LinkedIn.”

Some small businesses lack this experience, according to Michèle. “If you want to use LinkedIn as a recruitment channel for your small business, you’ll have to go through a learning process. You need to know how the tool works in practice, but also how to approach candidates effectively so they respond to your message. You invest a lot of time in mastering LinkedIn. At Select HR, we are on the platform every day, which is why clients rely on us. They don’t have to make the purchase or learn the tool; they trust that we can identify the right candidates.”

“LinkedIn is more than just a platform for finding candidates and recruiting new employees. I also use LinkedIn to learn more about specific companies. You can find all sorts of information about specific industries and trends. Finally, LinkedIn is also a way to stay up to date with people in your network: who is currently looking for work? Who has recently left a job?”

“Recruitment campaigns instead of sending random messages.”

Despite the lower number of responses, LinkedIn remains an indispensable recruitment channel according to Michèle. But she sees this evolving in the future: “The traditional way of recruiting is diminishing. I see more and more companies launching major marketing campaigns through LinkedIn to hire employees. These campaigns are not limited to LinkedIn alone.”

“We’ve all become a bit lazy and want everything at our fingertips on our phones, like delivering groceries or watching a movie instantly. As an employer, you must reach out to your candidates today, make it as easy as possible for them, and connect with them through the social media platforms they are active on, such as Instagram and TikTok. LinkedIn is not as popular in this regard.”

So, LinkedIn is slowly becoming less of a miracle, but it’s still a valuable platform to keep close at hand. However, you may find candidates more quickly on other social networks like Instagram and TikTok today. For tips on how to best reach your target audience, you can read our blog post “Recruiting through Social Media: Reaching Passive Job Seekers” where colleagues from EN HR Solutions offer some advice.

If you need innovation in your employee recruitment or want to set up a recruitment campaign on social media, or if you want to start using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool, turn to our professionals! Contact us through our website, and we’ll make sure your request reaches the right member of our team.

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9 October 2023

How to attract young talent?

How to attract young talent? Young talent is very valuable, especially in these times of scarcity. Vacancies are not easily filled, even by young starters. But how do you get young people on board as an organization these days?

If you want to reach a specific target group, you need to be where that target group is. It makes little sense to look for a bus driver for the Brussels region using posters in the streets of Kortrijk. If you want to reach young talent, you will need to share your job vacancy on the right channels.

Help! Where should I publish my job vacancy? Randstad published the results of a 2019 survey on job channels and who uses them. It turns out that those under 25 are less likely to search through public job sites like VDAB or LeForem, but instead, they use Google and Facebook more. Recruitment agencies are notably more popular among those aged 25-34.

So, it's crucial to publish your job vacancy on these channels or reallocate your budget to certain channels. If your job vacancy is not on Facebook, the chances of attracting young talent are smaller.

Away from traditional channels EN HR Solutions, a Dutch company and a member of the Select Group specializing in job marketing, understands that not everyone is reached in the same way. If you have difficulty finding candidates, the professionals at EN HR ensure that your job vacancy is marketed in a way that reaches the right target audience.

Lodi Planting from EN HR Solutions explains, "Before you publish a job vacancy, you need to have a target audience in mind and empathize with their world. In the example of young talent: they have less faith in traditional media channels. They don't read news through newspapers but rather through social media, where news is shared among peers. Young people attach more importance to what their 'peers' say because it is authentic. So, make sure you are active on social media."

"Additionally, the way young people absorb information is changing. A job vacancy on a website consists of a lot of text, while young people prefer to see images. That's why social media platforms like TikTok, WeChat, and Instagram are gaining more ground." In short: If you want to reach young people, immerse yourself in their world. Ensure that your job vacancy is on social media and has an attractive image or even better, a video.

Tailor your offer to your target audience Did you know that fringe benefits like health insurance or a company car rank second as the least important reasons for young people to choose a job? This is revealed in a survey conducted by VDAB & youth organization De Ambrassade among 940 young people aged 16-30.

What do young people look for in a future employer then? A good salary is an important factor, especially for job-seeking young people, but it is only indicated as the most important reason by 50.87% of job seekers and 28.84% of working young people.

However, salary is only in third place. Job content and location are slightly more important. Flexible working hours are also important for young people. They want autonomy, the ability to organize their work, and a job they enjoy. Varied tasks and friendly colleagues make work meaningful.

Conclusion: Attract young talent by… Publishing your job vacancy where young people are active: social media Using images and videos Focusing on aspects that appeal to young people for a job (job content, location, colleagues) If you find it difficult to reach your target audience with your job vacancy despite these tips, contact our colleagues at EN HR Solutions via https://enhrsolutions.com/en/contact/. They can help you further.

No time to create a job vacancy yourself? Turn to the consultants at Select HR. They will publish your job vacancy on the right channels and select suitable candidates based on your criteria. You can find an HR professional near you on the Select HR website.

Who do you reach through social media?

On the one hand, there are more and more job vacancies. On the other hand, there are fewer and fewer jobseekers; the pond in which all these organisations fish is getting smaller. Those who publish on well-known jobsites like VDAB, Indeed or Jobat do reach actively job-seeking candidates. But this is only a small percentage of potential candidates. If you want to reach the non-active jobseekers, social media is the quickest way.

How do you recruit through social media?

Recruiting via social media is more than just sharing jobs on your LinkedIn page. You want to use social media to make your employer brand known to the world: what is it like to work for your company? What are your values? Make sure potential applicants become fans of you as an employer. Within Select Group, EN HR solutions is busy with recruitment via social media every day. From targeted campaigns for vacancies to reaching a specific target group or setting up an employer brand. We asked our colleagues from EN HR solutions for some tips.

Tip 1: Use the right channel

Want to attract a young audience? Then it is best to create an account on Instagram or TikTok. Experienced sales and HR profiles are usually more likely to be found on LinkedIn, technical profiles can be reached on Facebook. Of course, this is very simplistic, also consider location, sector, age category. Test, measure and adjust your channels.

Tip 2: Don't limit your postings to exclusively vacancies

Use your social media to give an insight into your company. Share what you stand for as a company, show what it is like to work for your organisation. That way, you'll get people excited about joining your team even before a vacancy is shared. If you only share job vacancies, your followers will not know what it is like to work for you and will be less likely to apply.

Tip 3: Think one step further

A cool ad is nice, but also make sure candidates can take a follow-up step. Do you direct them to your website? Then make sure they can easily view the vacancy and apply there. Want to make it even easier for candidates? Let them apply without asking for a mandatory CV. Many visitors who come via social media do so on their phones and do not have a CV at hand. Make your website and application process mobile-friendly. Are you unable to reach the right candidates via social media? Call in the help of EN HR solutions. They are experts in finding out where your potential candidate is and know how to reach him or her with the right advertisements. Get in touch via our website or check out EN HR solutions' website. Curious about how Select Group recruits via social media? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.