Recruiting with Michelle Krebs
The Labor Department recently announced that 4.3 million people quit their jobs in December 2021, compared to 3.4 million in December 2020 (1). Many experts believe that this trend will continue in what’s being referred to as the “Great Resignation” (2). There are currently over 10 million open jobs in the US. Everyone is talking about how to recruit the right talent. There are 77 people submitting job applications every second and 4 people are hired every minute on LinkedIn (3). LinkedIn has started 2022 with 800M users and 57M companies, making it a critical element of any recruiting strategy.
Michelle Krebs is a Consultant at Bridges Consulting helping people, teams, and organizations reach their potential and drive results through coaching, assessments, and talent acquisition consulting. Michelle has over 20 years of recruiting and talent acquisition experience that she uses to help companies find the right candidates. She took the time to answer some of the most common questions about recruiting in today’s extraordinary environment.
How do you use LinkedIn as a recruiter?
I use LinkedIn multiple times a day to find talent, but I also use it for my own branding as a Talent Acquisition leader. I used the LinkedIn Recruiter tool as well as the “normal” LinkedIn platform.
What are the biggest mistakes you see companies making on LinkedIn when recruiting?
Many companies are utilizing the ATS feed to LinkedIn for an easy way to post their jobs. In theory, this is great because it's easy for recruiters to post open roles, but the end result is a "blah" looking, unimaginative post that doesn't capture people's attention. I'd encourage Recruiters and companies to take the extra step and create a unique post to put their own spin on why somebody would want this job at their company.
How do you suggest companies get started when they are trying to fill a new role?
The first step to filling a new role is writing a killer job post. I still can’t believe the boring, cookie-cutter job posts that exist on most company websites, listing out bullet points of all the tasks they need the candidate to do and the qualifications they need to have. Reinvent your job post by thinking about what’s in it for a candidate. What skills will they gain if they take this job? What exciting projects will they get to work on? How will this role help their career development? In a candidate market, a good job post will be the difference in a prospect scrolling by your job and clicking the link to learn more.
When looking at all the tools you use for recruiting, how do you see LinkedIn?
We, recruiters, have become pretty reliant on it and it is a very effective platform. There are some industries where it’s not as effective, like IT, Education, and Engineering to name a few. My advice for recruiting teams is not to get lazy and ONLY rely on LinkedIn. You still need to know how to do a good Boolean search and use your other sourcing techniques.
How important is LinkedIn for recruiting in 2022?
It is vitally important as the workforce is very open to new opportunities, so strike while the iron is hot.
How do you find the right candidates for a role?
My strategy has several prongs. I’ve spent years building my network, so I tend to get comments and referrals from posts I create. At the same time, I also like searching for candidates based on keywords and job titles to see who could be a match for an open role. I’ll start by reaching out to 10 people who have profile matches for the job I’m trying to fill, asking if we can chat about their career goals. It’s important not to shove your own agenda down their throats and know the conversation might not go anywhere right now but could lead to a great match later.
What’s the biggest problem you see when people are recruiting on LinkedIn?
Somebody told me long ago that you can't just "take" from your network. You can't post job after job and think people will respond. You have to give back by commenting on other people's posts, offering advice where needed, and providing useful resources. Also, the generic posts I referred to earlier make me cringe. I see people continue to post every week with no comments, no context, and little imagination.
When should someone get outside support from a consulting company like Bridges?
We support clients in several ways. Some are start-ups and don't have the resources to staff open roles on their own. Others have too many openings per recruiter and need support to catch them up. We also help clients set up their Talent Acquisition function, improve employer branding, and train leaders on how to interview. Our goal is to help fill a gap, no matter the stage of growth they are in.
Looking for more information on job search and recruiting on Linked? Check out Job Search and Recruiting with Zac Engler
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1 - https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t04.htm
2 - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/business/economy/job-openings-coronavirus.html
