With millions of companies and decision-makers on LinkedIn’s business and professional network, around 35.5 million candidates have been hired by a person they connected with on the site, according to a study. Whether you’ve applied for a new position or completed the first round of interviews, there is still another opportunity to increase your chances of not only receiving visibility, but an offer.
Do you know that 77% of recruiters use LinkedIn to scan profiles and resumes when hiring new talent? Studies show that the process of scanning resumes lasts about 7.4 seconds on average. If you are qualified for the position, experts highly recommend making a first impression by reaching out to the company’s headhunter or recruiter.
According to LinkedIn, eight people are hired every minute for jobs, 480 people are hired per hour, and 11,520 people are hired per day. Former Disney recruiter Simon Taylor told CNBC Make It that candidates are doing recruiters a “favor by contacting them on LinkedIn and putting your name right in front of them.”
He added, “The recruiter’s job is to find people for these roles. And they have to go through dozens of resumes—sometimes more—to do that.”
Here are a few tips that can help you make the first move in connecting with recruiters sooner than never.
HOW TO FIND A RECRUITER
- Search for the desired company’s profile on LinkedIn.
- Look for a full employee list and jot down the names whose titles fall under recruiter, headhunter, talent scout, etc.
HOW TO MAKE THE FIRST CONNECTION WITH RECRUITER
- Tap into InMail, a premium LinkedIn feature that allows you to directly message LinkedIn members who are not in your network. You must upgrade to a Premium account to use InMail messages.
- If you prefer to send a personalized connection request, be sure to note that there is a character limit, and you can only message 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections in your network. This is based on mutual connection.
HOW TO GRAB A RECRUITER’S ATTENTION
- Clearly articulate the purpose of the InMail message with a “killer” subject line
- Tailor the message by sharing something personal in a sentence or two. For instance, do you live in the same city? Or have a mutual connection?
- Though your LinkedIn profile can act as a resume, be sure to attach a hard copy of the document to the message.
Thanks to LinkedIn, these email examples can help you gain an advantage no matter what stage you are in the application process.