LinkedIn is made to build and maintain professional connections unlike other social media platforms designed for communicating with friends and family. Most people utilize LinkedIn to further their career and grow professionally. The social networking hub provides a broad range of experts and professionals looking for strategic partnerships in one place. This is why it’s beneficial to connect with people especially a recruiter on LinkedIn when taking your career to the next level.
Reaching out to a potential employer online seems unnatural though – mostly because it’s an option that hasn’t been around for very long. It can feel overwhelming when deciding on the best way to message a recruiter on LinkedIn. In fact, a whopping 93% of recruiters use the platform to find candidates, making it a wonderful place to find leads and locate potential opportunities.1
Employers and job seekers are connected every single day through LinkedIn, and many of them have been generous enough to share their tips and tricks for finding the perfect connection. Today, we’re going to be examining some of the top tips for messaging a recruiter on LinkedIn.
1. Be Clear About Why You’re Messaging
A recruiter on LinkedIn is responsible for sorting through lots of different messages. They typically already know within the first few lines whether you’re someone they’re interested in learning more about. The first thing when you message a recruiter on Linkedin is to add some personalization to your message. Let them know the exact position that you’re looking for. This shows drive and cuts through all the unnecessary fluff.
2. Take Advantage of the Subject Line
As mentioned above, LinkedIn recruiters receive quite a bit of digital mail. One of the best ways to help your message stand out is through an eye-catching subject line. The subject line is going to be what grabs the recruiter’s attention and makes them decide whether they want to even open the message at all. Make sure that you use professional language and wording that offer clear clues into what the message will be about.
3. Focus on Quality
Quality over quantity is often the rule, and the same can be said of messaging recruiters on LinkedIn. Avoid mass-emailing the same copy-and-paste message. Carefully choose the ones worth spending time on. Not only does increase the likelihood of scoring a position in your desired field, but it also builds a potential connection.
4. Ensure Your Profile is Complete
One of the biggest mistakes a candidate can make when messaging a recruiter is to overstuff the email with too much personal information. Try not to spend too much time focusing on typing this up for every single message you send. You can put that information into your profile. Completing your profile on LinkedIn allows you to highlight different accolades, point out specific skills, and discuss other achievements employers might find interesting, without sounding too braggy.
5. Stay in Touch
Just because a recruiter might not have a position that fits your skillset at the time of your message, doesn’t mean you should leave the conversation forever. You’ve now developed a connection, and you should spend time fostering it. Don’t spend time focusing on your fears of being too pushy or facing another rejection. Try and learn new ways that you can connect with this person.
Mistakes to Avoid When Messaging a Recruiter on LinkedIn
- Ignoring the Greeting: This is so important! Avoid being generic in your message with greetings like “To whom it may concern”, instead opt for more direct and customized approaches. Use the recruiter’s name, and ensure it is spelt properly. Place it at beginning of your message to give it a personalized feel. This will show them you’ve done some research.
- Copy and Pasting: One of the worst mistakes you can make is to write up a generic message, copy it, and then paste, and send it to dozens of different recruiters. Not only is this completely impersonal, but significantly increases the likelihood of your message simply being deleted.
- Not Proofreading: When messaging a recruiter about a potential job opportunity, one of the worst mistakes you can make is to appear unprofessional. Take the time to proofread your message before hitting that send button.
- Not Selling Yourself in Your Profile: Avoid the temptation of selling yourself in the message. Instead, use that space to be direct, professional, and to the point. An interested employer will then visit your profile; this should be loaded with meaningful statements about yourself and your experience. Don’t forget to upload a professional profile picture to polish it off.
Final Thoughts
As the world continues to move further into a digital space, learning skills relating to sending professional messages and emails is becoming more important. View the opportunity to message a recruiter on LinkedIn as an ability to connect and build your professional network. And, look at each message you send as a chance to grow and learn. Messaging a recruiter doesn’t have to be a daunting task, especially when you know the steps to send a quality message with a high chance of being read. So get out there, and start sending messages!