Business must be getting better. Why do I say this?
 
Because more and more business leaders are asking me how they can best use LinkedIn to find great new employees.
 
So I have put together a list of the best ways to use LinkedIn, the world's largest database of business professionals, to find the perfect candidates.

choosing employees 
Job seekers, pay attention to this list as well because it will help you understand how companies are looking for you and what steps you should be taking to increase your chances of being found on LinkedIn.

 
8 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find Your Next Great Employee
 
1.     Individual Status Update Box.  Post a status update to ask your network if they know of anyone who is qualified for the position you are attempting to fill. After all, this is your network, and the people in your network know you well and understand the nature of your company. If someone in your network is aware of a prospective candidate, he/she should be able to quickly introduce you to the candidate.
 
This is the easiest and most efficient way to find your next hire. That being said, I would not post this question in your Status Box every day, but try to limit this question to a couple times per week at different times of the day, maybe even once on the weekend.
 
To get additional exposure, ask a few of your most connected coworkers or friends to "Like" the post. That will get the post in front of all their connections as well.
 
I know a president of a local company who found a new VP for his company in just five days after using the status update to ask his network for help. Think of the time and money that saved him.
 
2.     Company Status Update.  On your company page, post a similar status update. This shares the information with all followers of your company page. Job seekers interested in working for your company are probably among your followers.
 
To get more viewers of this update beyond your company followers, ask all employees in the company to "Like" this update so all their connections view it as well.
 
3.     Company Followers.  Review the list of your company followers periodically to look for good candidates.
 
Several HR directors have told me they found people just by clicking the word "followers" on their company page (located on the top right of the page).
 
4.     Jobs Discussion.  Start a jobs discussion in the groups you belong to, especially groups related to the specific industry your potential candidate would work in. Consider joining new groups just for the purpose of looking for this candidate if you are not involved in groups where this person would usually hang out.
 
5.     Advanced People Search. Consider these criteria when building your Advanced People Search: 

  • Title.  Be sure to try some different words for the same job.
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  • Keywords.  Here you can get very creative, using things like specialty software, skills, specific industries, territories or regions of the country, etc. Find interview-ready candidates by including words like "pursuing," "seeking" or "looking."
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  • Company field. Put your competitor's name(s) here. You can choose current, past or both based on your desire to hire someone who is still there, has left their employ, or either. This is really helpful. It's how I found the last employee I hired.  

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6.    Saved Searches.  Once you have landed on a search or searches that brought you some good potential candidates, save that search by clicking the word "Save" on the top right of the Results screen. Then on an ongoing basis LinkedIn will look for more potential candidates by regularly searching your network, including new connections people in your network are making.

 

7.     Alumni Feature.  Use the Alumni feature to find potential candidates who attended a specific school. Fellow alumni of the schools you attended is a good place to start. 

 

Access this by clicking the name of one of the schools on your profile or by selecting Education under the Interest tab on your top toolbar. Then click Schools and type in the name of the school.

 

You can sort the individuals by:

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  • Where they live
  • Where they work
  • What they do
  • What they studied
  • What they are skilled at
  • How you are connected

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8.   Job Board.  Finally, the obvious one, post a job on LinkedIn's Job Board. Currently this costs about $200 per month per posting. There are some multiple-job discounts. Find this by clicking the Jobs tab on the top toolbar and selecting Post a Job 

 

LinkedIn recently announced FREE job postings for all intern and entry-level positions for a limited time. Click here for details.

 

I have gotten mostly positive reviews from companies who have used LinkedIn's Job Board. Some companies are using it in addition to their favorite online job boards, but others are solely using LinkedIn.

 

Once you have used the above techniques to find a few good candidates, spend some time studying each candidate's profile, especially the recommendations. There is a wealth of information included on the profile that may either bring the candidate to the top or sink him/her.