s LinkedIn the ultimate business networking and recruitment tool?
The use of LinkedIn for recruitment heralded the end of head hunters and the start of cheaper and more efficient in-house recruitment .
The dawn of professional online networking allowed employers and recruiters to reach out and connect directly with contacts quickly and easily whenever the need arose.
A win-win for employers and employees. Or is it?
Here’s something you probably haven’t considered when using LinkedIn for recruitment…YOUR reputation.
A bad employee can not only cost you big bucks, affect staff morale and lose you valuable clients, but they can do untold damage to your reputation even after they’re no longer employed by you, simply through being associated with you on LinkedIn as a previous employee.
Gaming the System
It’s a fact that people game the system when it comes to their LinkedIn profiles. At the end of the day a LinkedIn profile is written by the profile owner with cherry picked endorsements from others.
Endorsements can be old or out of date or simply not accurately represent the skills someone is or isn’t proficient in. Everyone looks good on LinkedIn, making it hard to separate the good from the bad when recruiting.
That’s not to say that using LinkedIn for recruitment is all bad and that everyone is padding the truth on their profiles, but you must do due diligence and validate a potential employee through other data sources, too.
The risk to your reputation and your business’s bottom line is simply too great to rely solely on LinkedIn when recruiting new employees. A great profile does not guarantee a good fit in your company or workplace. LinkedIn is simply one tool in the recruitment tool kit of a good HR consultant.
Your Recruitment Tool Kit
LinkedIn in the hands of a great HR consultant is the perfect solution to help you recruit staff that add to and enhance your company’s reputation both now and in the future.
LinkedIn integrates poorly with other data sources, making the checking of an applicant potentially time consuming and easy to miss important details. A HR consultant is familiar with all the tips and tricks and can quickly and efficiently screen and check applicants. They can even save you more time by interviewing selected candidates you’ve found via LinkedIn.
A good HR consultant has been around the block, so to speak, they know how the Linkedin system works and how people work the system. There is no doubt that LinkedIn is the best way to keep track and organise your professional network and it CAN be a highly useful recruiting tool – in the right hands.
Using LinkedIn for recruitment can be useful, as long as you’re aware of the pitfalls. Don’t fall for a profile that sounds too good to be true and pay with a damaged reputation by association for years to come.
Want to learn more about Recruitment and Onboarding?
If you’re interested in our full Recruitment and Onboarding service, the first step is to book a free 15 minute phone consult with Harrison Human Resources.
We’ll lend an expert ear to your concerns and discuss some suggested steps for moving forward.
Simply click here to request your obligation-free phone consult today. Or give us a call on 1300 001 447
Claire Harrison is the Founder and Managing Director of Harrisons, a flourishing HR consulting business that sprouted in 2009 from Claire’s passionate belief that inspiring leaders and superstar employees are the key success factor to any business. With over 20 years’ experience, Claire has worked as a HR Director of multi-national organisations, as a Non-Executive Board Director, and a small business owner. Claire’s corporate career includes working with companies such as BHP, Westpac, Fonterra and Mayne Nickless.
