7 Recruiting Alternatives to LinkedIn

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Building your personal and professional networks is essential in advancing growth. For individual employees, this can be a big step in advancing their career. For businesses, networks are important for leveraging their brand and recruiting top talent.

One of the fastest growing online recruitment methods is LinkedIn. Users can upload their resumes and credentials, share inspiring posts, and even post some of their own insights. LinkedIn allows people to interact with each other, acting as form of social media platform aside from a job hunting site.

But like any social media platform, LinkedIn still presents a certain risk when it comes to engagement. For employers, this potential risk involves the success rates of reaching out to talent online. Beamery’s Ben Slater notes that since LinkedIn relies on InMail success, there’s at least a 75% chance of it falling on deaf ears.

Key Takeaways:

• Many modern recruiting sites include extensive social networking features to help employers and potential recruits connect and network.

• Other alternatives to LinkedIn include sites that cater to specific industries or regions to narrow down their user-pools to like-minded individuals.

• While LinkedIn remains an excellent method for networking and recruiting, other alternatives should not be ignored, and the best recruitment strategy will incorporate multiple sites to reach the maximum number of potential hires.

7 LinkedIn Alternatives for Recruiting

So is there a better alternative to LinkedIn? Check out these options for better recruitment references:

1. Google+

   Google+ offers a seriously untapped potential for engagement. It’s similar to LinkedIn in its social media approach. Users can update their profiles, post statuses, and, most importantly, sync their contacts.

   ‘Plus’ offers more diverse opportunities for recruiters, since it’s connected to other Google apps, like Gmail and Hangouts. Since both applications have become essential in our day-to-day work interactions, this platform can be a handy tool in keeping your contacts in check.

   Google+’s Circles feature lets you add contacts in your email to a personal group. This makes it easier to manage a wide range of contacts, and even help organize the talent you’ll want to keep in touch with.

2. Opportunity

   LinkedIn may be a great social platform, but Opportunity can get you more leads, and find you better candidates. The recruitment site works on a specific algorithm that analyzes your own profile and uploads to match you with the best people.

   The great thing about it is that Opportunity isn’t just limited to recruitment managers who are looking for top talent. It also offers various opportunities for other people, including jobseekers and sales reps who want to increase their leads. The site’s main selling point is really its accurate algorithm.

   Want to find the perfect match when it comes to expanding your network? Try out Opportunity.

3. BranchOut

   As its name suggests, BranchOut is all about the network. And why not, since it’s the partner app of the world’s biggest social network to date – Facebook. Using just the right mix of social media and professional recruitment, BranchOut seeks to expand your networks and connect you with top talent online.

   Claiming to have as many as 800 million online profiles, BranchOut lets you add potential candidates as ‘friends’ while maintaining an air of professionality.

   Since the problem with adding both employees and employers on personal social media platforms has always been about the breach of personal life, maintaining a healthy distance that focuses more on professional credentials can actually improve your perception of a candidate.

4. Plaxo

   Plaxo looks like your average contacts-organizer. It syncs your connections through different platforms, making it easier to view. At the same time, since Plaxo is cloud-based, it automatically updates your personal circles on your behalf.

   Unlike a manual address book, you won’t have to worry about typing in new contacts all the time. But aside from these basic address book functions, Plaxo can also sync itself with your calendar, acting as a form of internal reminder system in case you’re running late with deadlines.

   Realizing Plaxo’s potential as a platform to search for talent is similar to Google+. Expanding your network may mean working with the network you already have, or segregating contacts for a better look at how your recruitment process is going with the people you’ve sent out emails to.

5. Doostang

   Sometimes the best way to find the talent you’re looking for is to zero in on the specific industry you’re hiring in. For instance, Doostang specifically offers young professionals a platform to network in the fields of technology, finance, media and entertainment.

   Conceptualized by Stanford University in 2005, Doostang has since been an effective method of searching for recruiters and talent alike. However, it must be noted that Doostang isn’t meant to be a networking tool in the way most social media interfaces are treated today.

   Unlike LinkedIn, Doostang’s design is solely for recruitment purposes. But the biggest strength in its simpler interface is that it really does focus on looking for talent fit for the job.

6. JobCase

   JobCase is a veteran of online recruitment, having gone through the transition from being simply ‘another recruitment website’ to a social media platform similar to LinkedIn.

   The site employs the best methods of algorithms analyzing your personal data to find a suitable match, and social media networking. In fact, it’s even integrated itself with some of the most popular social media platforms today.

   JobCase’s design is also very user-friendly for users looking for all types of engagement. Aside from its current database, JobCase is also synced with a number of other career recruitment sites like Career Builder. You can also sign up on the site itself, or log in through LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Twitter.

7. LocalsNetworking

   As they say, it’s best to start small. LocalsNetworking opens up social networking to a smaller and more intimate community. While this may sound counterintuitive, it’s actually a good way to find work for people who are into very specialized sectors.

   The premise of the site is to connect you to like-minded people whom you can meet on your own schedule. The method works like a referral system, cozy and not too formal, only as if you are meeting up with a friend, or a colleague. But it’s not just about looking for work in a specific sector, either.

   Taking off from that idea, LocalsNetworking lives up to its name and aims to build a community of collegial relationships between recruiters and talent alike.

LinkedIn Alternatives FAQs

1. Do people still used LinkedIn?

   Yes, people still use LinkedIn. While some people may consider LinkedIn outdated, its user base has in fact continued to grow, and it remains a highly popular tool for both employers and jobseekers.

2. Do I need a LinkedIn profile to get interviews?

   Yes, you might need a LinkedIn profile to get interviews, depending on your industry. In many industries and professions, having a LinkedIn profile might be part of the bare minimum for being contacted for interviews.

3. Do younger people use LinkedIn?

   Yes, younger people use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is used by professionals of all age groups; roughly 20% of LinkedIn’s users are between 18 and 29 years old.

Final Thoughts

The takeaway? You can reach out beyond LinkedIn.

Although LinkedIn could be said to be the face of online recruitment in recent history, it’s also not the only method out there. Some people might even argue that it’s not necessarily the best, either.

Make use of other essential recruitment tools at your disposal. Some may have the same interface and premise as LinkedIn, which makes use of a very social media-like platform, while others may be focused on building a smaller but more certain and intimate circle of connections.

Explore your options and find top talent online!

Author

Matthew Zane