Authored by Phil Cohen
Social media offers the perfect platform for keeping in touch with people around the world. Each social app or website has its own specialties, of course. While sites like Facebook are geared toward entertainment, LinkedIn is entirely business-based. Though staffing agencies can use Facebook to recruit candidates, LinkedIn holds the reputation as the all-things-job-related website. LinkedIn offers temporary staffing agencies the opportunity to contact and recruit valuable employees all in one spot. Because so many professionals are available on LinkedIn, it’s important to know how to use it to your agency’s advantage. We’ve created a complete guide to LinkedIn for staffing agencies.
Here’s how your staffing agency can use LinkedIn to recruit employees:
Set Up Your Profile
Before you begin using LinkedIn to recruit, you must first create a profile. Your LinkedIn profile should have all the essential information to allow potential employees to find and recognize you or your staffing agency easily. Having said that, you can either create a personal page or a corporate page. Using both together is beneficial, but they should be used for different recruiting purposes.
Personal Page:
Like other social media sites, you want your personal LinkedIn page to have a profile picture that shows your face clearly and appropriately, a headline that states important information (e.g. your current place of work, your job position, your current or previous education, etc.), and a summary about what you’re doing or would like to do.
Say you work as an Account Manager for our company. Your profile header might look something like this:
While it’s simple, people visiting his page can clearly see what John Smith looks like, where he works, the position he holds at our company, where he obtained his degree, and where he is living. Keep in mind that this view of John’s page is similar to what you would see when you view your own profile. When you search other people’s personal pages, you will also have the option of connecting with them under their description. Connecting allows you to keep up with their progress or get in touch at a later date.
Company Page:
When setting up a company page for your staffing agency, you’ll need to use a personal page as an administrator. You can find the option to create a company page when you log into your personal account and select “Create a Company Page” in the drop-down menu under the “Work” button.
Once you click the button, you will be redirected to a page that looks like this:
Here, you can create a page devoted to your staffing agency. The purpose of this corporate LinkedIn profile is more so to let aspiring candidates follow your business and keep up with any job postings available. Your personal page, however, should be the one used actively seek out and recruit suitable candidates.
Check out this example from KeyBank:
Notice KeyBank’s “About Us” portion. The paragraph touches upon many different areas in which KeyBank specializes. Explicating your company as such allows viewers to familiarize themselves with your agency’s work, especially if they are not aware beforehand. Once interested employees connect on your company page, you can use your personal page to recruit.
Connect with New People
Adjust Privacy Settings
Once you have both of your pages set up, make sure your privacy settings are adjusted appropriately. You can make these adjustments by clicking on “Settings & Privacy” in the drop-down menu under the “Me” button.
This screen offers in-depth privacy options. You can change who can see every aspect of your profile from followers, to your profile picture, to your last name. Or, you can adjust using a simpler screen by changing your “Public Profile Settings”—an option available on the right side of your screen when you click on your profile:
Whichever settings you decide to use, the main goal is to ensure that people can find you. After all, making yourself invisible to potential candidates defeats the purpose of using LinkedIn to recruit. The privacy settings for your personal page should not necessarily be the same as those for your staffing agency’s page. Regardless, make sure you are making yourself visible to the right people to make recruiting easier.
Personalize Your Connections
Now that your privacy settings are adjusted accordingly, it’s time to connect! The most effective way of searching for candidates on LinkedIn is to search based on job title. If your employment agency was looking for nurses, for example, your search would look something like this:
You’ll see thousands of results pertaining to your job title search. LinkedIn will automatically filter the results so that nurses closest to your location will show up toward the top of your results. Once you find candidates you think will make good additions to your team, feel free to connect with them. Connecting allows you to reach out and stay updated with potential employees.
When you find a candidate, make sure to add a personalized message to your invitation:
People don’t like feeling like they’re just part of the masses. So, make your potential employees feel like they’re one-of-a-kind by saying something personal to them. This message can be as simple as an individualized greeting, or it can include details that highlight their unique job experiences or credentials.
Join or Create a LinkedIn Group for Recruiters
Another great way to connect with people on LinkedIn is by joining or creating a group. LinkedIn Groups are pages that allow like-minded professionals to share ideas, answer and ask questions, post and view jobs, and make new contacts.
This LinkedIn Group, for example, is specifically for leaders working in the education system:
Interested members can easily join a group page or create a new one. LinkedIn has a page for virtually any interest or profession, including employment agencies. Not only do these groups serve as an effective way to build community, but they also provide the perfect hub for recruiting professionals in your field. Functioning as an active member of a LinkedIn Group easily connects you to potential employees, customers, and partners.
For some ideas on groups to join as a staffing agency, check out this top 10 list of the best LinkedIn Groups for recruiters.
Publish Posts
One of the best ways to stay relevant on LinkedIn is to regularly post status updates:
These posts give you the opportunity to create a business persona for your staffing agency, as well as establish a brand voice. Regular status updates are also a great way to build engagement and get your agency noticed. Whenever someone engages with your post by liking or commenting on it, the status automatically re-posts to their newsfeed. Therefore, the better your statuses, the more likely others will notice your staffing agency. Moreover, make sure you make an effort to engage with your followers in return. Start conversations on their posts, share updates, like their updates, etc. Doing this will show your connections that you are interested in their progress and in potentially recruiting them if they are available at any time.
If you want to write lengthier posts, consider writing articles on professional topics. You can do this by clicking the “Write an article” button under the status update box.
Once you click the button, LinkedIn will direct you to a page that allows you to create a blog post that looks a lot like the one you’re reading right now. Here, you can write articles about any topic related to your staffing agency, business practices, or whatever else you think your audience would find useful. Like a blog post on any other website, use relevant keywords to boost your SEO score. These keywords will make your posts easier to find and will compel people to click on your articles.
Advertise Jobs
Apart from reaching out on your personal page to connect with candidates, take the opportunity to post jobs on your staffing agency’s LinkedIn page. Double Negative, a film industry based in London, sets up their company’s page so that their available jobs are easy to find:
Once you click the “See Jobs” button, you are able to learn about many different available positions at their company. Check out this job ad for a Recruitment Administrator:
Here, they provided an extensive description of the Recruitment Administrator job. They also made it very easy for interested job seekers to apply by providing a button that redirects web traffic to the company’s website.
Like Double Negative, make sure the job opportunities your staffing agency posts on LinkedIn have sufficient descriptions. Omit outrageous skill requirements and must-haves that would prevent genuine candidates from applying. A lot of skills can be learned during employment, so they shouldn’t be listed as requirements beforehand. Let candidates know what sorts of skills they will learn and what their duties will be once they accept the job. Other requirements should include only what is necessary for them to be immediately qualified for the position.
Paid LinkedIn Features
When you first create a LinkedIn profile, you automatically sign up for a free account. While this account includes the basic amenities LinkedIn has to offer, you also have the option of upgrading to a premium membership:
Premium subscriptions are available for both personal and business accounts. These plans allow you to connect to and contact others easily—the degree to which you do this is entirely up to you and what best suits your purposes. A LinkedIn Business plan subscription will likely cost around $60 per month. If you decide that the plan you chose isn’t quite what you needed, you can change it anytime you want. These premium subscriptions, however, are mostly geared toward making outreach easier. For recruiting purposes, there’s another LinkedIn plan.
LinkedIn Recruiter
Employment agencies can consider signing up for LinkedIn Recruiter. With Recruiter, your staffing agency will have nearly unlimited access to potential employees. This software allows you to narrow your search based on the kinds of candidates you’re looking for. Then, it alerts you when viable job-seekers are available or view your profile. If your staffing agency is in need of some serious recruiting work, LinkedIn Recruiter may be the best and fastest option for you. If you’re looking to test the waters, there is a Recruiter Lite package that allows for sending 30 InMails per month. A Recruiter Lite subscription is estimated to cost around $120 per month. The cost of a LinkedIn Recruiter subscription isn’t displayed on the site, but it’s safe to assume it’s pricey.
Overall, LinkedIn is an incredible platform for business professionals to come together. Make sure you take advantage of everything and everyone it has to offer your staffing agency! From recruiting to marketing, LinkedIn will give you the leg-up you need to get ahead in the recruiting game.
Now that you’ve figured out how to use LinkedIn for your staffing firm, it’s time to get a payroll system that works for your agency. It’s time to look into funding for payroll. How does payroll funding work? It’s simple to set up and a flexible funding option that enables your business to get paid faster for invoices. Back office support is also available, so you’ll have assistance with all those pesky office tasks, like payroll and taxes.