LinkedIn is a powerful tool for recruiters – but only if you use it correctly. A LinkedIn recruiting study from Passport Photo Online found most recruiters are making common hiring mistakes that doom their recruitment efforts before they even start.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the worst hiring mistakes recruiters make on LinkedIn. And how you can avoid them.
Job Ads Matter
The first and most common mistake is creating a boring job ad.
Your job ad is the first thing candidates see. So, you need to ensure it’s attention-grabbing and tells them what to expect from the role. A best practice is to keep your job ad short and sweet, with a clear focus on the most important aspects of the role.
For more than a half of surveyed professionals, the most important sections of a job ad are:
- the title (69%),
- location (62%),
- job summary (61%),
- the type of employment, so if it’s remote, on-site, or hybrid (58%),
- perks and benefits (58%),
- key duties (54%)
- essential skills and experiences required (53%).
So make sure your job ad includes these key elements!
Ageist and Sexist language
Using ageist or sexist language in your job ad is a huge mistake. This might immediately turn off potential candidates, especially if they don’t feel like they fit the “mold” you’re looking for. For example, using terms like “digital native” or “tech-savvy” can be interpreted as ageist because they exclude older candidates.
According to Passport Photo Online’s study, 69% of the respondents said they are likely or very likely to skip job ads on LinkedIn with gender-coded or ageist language. So, be careful with the words you use!
What about salary?
Even though a vast majority of professionals (95%) want to see the salary information in the job ad, and even 69% are likely or very likely to skip job ads on LinkedIn without a salary range, only 12% of recruiters include it.
The lack of transparency about salary is a massive turn-off for candidates – especially if they’ve already taken the time to apply.
Speaking about the time…
Candidate Expectations in the Application Process
The application process is another area where recruiters often drop the ball. 64% of professionals say it’s annoying to fill in an application after submitting a resume through LinkedIn.
SHRM says that 60% of people give up on a job application if it’s too long or hard. So, it’s a good idea to make applying for a job quicker and aim for it to take less than 15 minutes.
Job applicants are also unenthusiastic about interview duties. 14% find it extremely annoying, 34% – quite annoying, and 15% – slightly annoying.
You could offer compensation to make up for the time spent on interviews, especially if they take a lot of time.
Candidate Outreach and Communication
Professionals like it when employers reach out to them on LinkedIn. But, they also hate when you ghost them (i.e., not responding to their applications or questions).
Ignoring job seekers makes the company look bad. It seems unprofessional, messy, and like they don’t care. This bad impression can quickly spread and hurt the company’s reputation.
And, 63% of the respondents said they are likely or very likely to avoid applying for jobs from employers guilty of ghosting them in the future.
So, if you want to avoid losing top talent, make sure you promptly respond to all job applications and questions.
If you are being responsive but not hearing from candidates, here’s why they might be ignoring you:
5 reasons why candidates ignore recruiters
- messages are too generic (according to 58% of professionals),
- the job opportunity doesn’t fit the candidate’s experience and/or skills (57%),
- the company has a poor LinkedIn presence (55%),
- the recruiter overuses corporate jargon and buzzwords (52%),
- grammatical mistakes in outreach message (51%).
So, what’s the takeaway?
If you want to avoid making mistakes when hiring through LinkedIn, make sure:
- your job ad is interesting and informative
- the application process is short and simple
- you’re using inclusive language
- you’re being transparent about the salary
Don’t forget to respond to all job applications (and questions) quickly.
This is a guest post from Michal Jonca:
Michal Jonca is passionate about travel and food experiences who visited 40+ countries on four continents. He is a Travel Leader at the largest adventurous travel company Solisci and the Community Manager at PhotoAiD.
After spending a couple of months in Thailand, he currently enjoys a new workation adventure in Georgia and Armenia. You can follow his Instagram profile @opowiescipodrozne.
