As a hiring manager, you already understand how important LinkedIn is for recruitment purposes. A profile is a place for potential employees to showcase their skills, passions, and experiences even further than the typical space allotted on a resume.
While most people have a basic LinkedIn profile, check these four areas that often get overlooked and can truly separate one candidate from the other:
1. Don’t have a LinkedIn
Not having a LinkedIn certainly doesn’t mean that the candidate is any less talented or less able to do the work needed for the position, but this may be a red flag. If a candidate has clearly put a lot of time and effort into preparing their LinkedIn profile, while the other has not even put the effort into creating one, this could signal the stronger work ethic of one candidate over the other.
2. Recommendations
Recommendations are arguably the most important feature on a candidate’s LinkedIn profile. A recommendation shows that someone else took the time out of their day to help this person because they truly believe in them. Recommendations can also speak to someone’s working attitude and how they come in to the office everyday, rather than showcasing figures and accomplishments.
3. Matches Company Culture
It’s often hard to tell simply from a resume what kind of hobbies and interests a potential employee is involved in. While employees’ personal lives certainly can be kept separate from the office (and in many situations should be kept separate) for many companies matching the culture is a crucial part of working there.
LinkedIn offers many areas, such as ‘Volunteering Experience’, ‘Causes You Care About’, and ‘Interests’ that shed a little light on what this potential employee might be like in terms of matching company culture.
4. Summary
A summary can be the perfect place on the profile for the person to express their hopes and goals. It shows vision and someone that is motivated. A summary is also a place to make sure that this candidate matches up to your industry. Because summaries normally include what kind of industry, job, and responsibilities this person is looking for, it shows whether their goals match the goals of the job position.
While you most likely know the importance of LinkedIn in recruitment purposes, there are certain areas that often get overlooked. These areas can separate one candidate from another and lead to the best hire.
If you have any other LinkedIn areas that often get overlooked, let us know in the comments!