LinkedIn Master Class
How to be a Rock Star Recruiter

You recruit like a rock star
when you...
Stop sourcing. Start networking.
Is your existing database your only fall back for all vacancies?
Widen your reach with social professional networks.
Stop interviewing. Start connecting.
Do you have a list of must-ask interview questions?
Try a new approach to connect with candidates even before the interview.
Stop hiring. Start nurturing.
Do you think hiring is a one-time exchange?
Plan a career path before you bring a new hire on board.
Who is this book for?
Recruiting managers
Talent acquisition leaders
Hiring managers
Line managers

There are two sides to a
recruitment story
The recruiter and the candidate.
Talent connects the two.
Read on as 8 rock star recruiters tell you how they build
relationships and hire outstanding candidates.
Rock Star Recruiter Meter
Lesson 1: Build for the future
Lesson 2: Make relationships matter
Lesson 3: Leverage social for wider reach and niche skills
Lesson 4: Focus on candidate journey
Lesson 5: Be a brand advocate
Summary: Rock Star Recruiter Check List
Additional resources

Discover yourself on our Rock Star Recruiter Meter
Mark Yes/ No to the following set of questions
This quiz should take you approximately 5 minutes to complete
04
Have you initiated steps to building
a personal brand online?
02
Can you leverage your network of
followers to help you connect with
the right talent?
03
Are you synonymous with your
employer brand and can people
link the two?
05
Do you engage with candidates
and stay in touch with them via
social platforms?
01
Have you put in a conscious effort
to research and identify talent
hubs?
06
Have you built or are a part of talent
communities that you tap into for
your hiring needs?
07
Have you built a talent pipeline for
your hiring needs in the future?
08
Have you segmented talent pools
as per your hiring needs?
09
Do you ask your candidates about
their dreams and aspirations and
map it back to their role?
10
Do your recent hires talk about an
excellent candidate experience
journey?
12
Are you a new age recruiting
practices evangelist in your
organization?
11
Do you track new age recruiting
practices regularly?
Y
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N
Y N

Time for your results!
Count the number of Yes and No on your sheet

NO
On your sheet you see...
Mostly yes? Mostly no? It’s a tie Mostly Yes
Congratulations rock star!
Check out how your peers navigate the recruiting maze
You’re a rock star in the making!
Record your journey of transformation and allow our rock
stars to guide you
Is it a tie?
Try marking unanswered questions as “No”
Pick a side and run with it!
Mostly No

The anatomy of a
Rock Star Recruiter
Social recruitment savvy
Intuitive
Builds candidate relationships
Wears multiple hats - data guru, artist, marketer
Stays on top of professional networking
Is a brand advocate
Is there a Rock Star in your midst?
Let the master class
begin!

Lesson 1: Build for the future
Getting you prepared for talent pipelining

Gopi Krishnan R
Talent Sourcer- APAC
Paypal
Leverage LinkedIn projects for
talent pipelining
“Building a talent pipeline
is very useful for future
requirements and also
helps us improve turn
around time and return on
investment. I build talent
pipelines using LinkedIn
projects”
What excites
you about
social
recruiting?
“It helps me find & connect with
leaders in my industry. It gives me
access to a vast global talent pool.
That’s more than I can ask for as a
recruiter!”
jobs closed via
social networks
90%
2day response
time for a job
post on Linkedin
hired through
LinkedIn last year
85%
InMails
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
Stay on track with LinkedIn projects instead of
maintaining records manually
Gopi’s social recruitment dashboard
using LinkedIn projects. He keeps in touch with his talent pipeline by
sending messages and engaging with their content e.g. liking their
updates. When a relevant opening comes up, he feels connected
enough to directly interact with them.

01 Optimize search and screening 03 Stay on track effectively
How to use LinkedIn Recruiter for talent pipelining?
02 Manage projects effectively
a. Tags
Recruiter lets you add custom tags to
b. Projects
Recruiter lets you save searches into
create a talent pipeline.
c. Connection path
Recruiter shows current employees to
potential candidates. Connect with them
for an inside opinion.
a. Reminders
team members and projects helps you
stay connected.
b. Reports
Sharing actionable project reports with
your team to make timely decisions and
course corrections.
a. Saved searches
allows Recruiter to notify you of new
b. Update-me
By using this feature on Recruiter you can
stay updated on the career progress of

Lesson 2: Make relationships matter
Your journey to buiding stronger connections online

Ashrith Nonda
Social Media Recruiter
HCLTechnologies
Focus on building relationships
Identify the right pitch by understanding
career aspirations
“I advice recruiters to
build a connection with the
candidate and not just
limit interactions to filling
a particular requirement.
Integrating social media
into the recruitment
process can give you an
edge in building and
maintaining professional
relationships”
Ashrith Nonda ensures he maintins a healthy connection with his
potential candidates even if there are no openings available
immediately. He builds niche groups to attract the right kind of talent
and initiate connection with them and understand their career
aspirations.
opposed to an interview context.
On building
relationships
with LinkedIn
Recruiter...
“Start with an InMail, after this we
focus on building a personal connect
from interview to onboarding,
LinkedIn Recruiter helps us stay
connected at each step.”
jobs closed via
social networks
100%
1day response
time for a job
post on Linkedin
mid/
senior positions
filled last year
69
Tags
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
Ashrith’s social recruitment dashboard

Lesson 3: Leverage social for niche and wider reach
From tips on mastering search for sourcing to cracking the InMail code

Build influence while connecting
with varied talent pools
What excites
you about
social
recruiting?
“Social professional networks like
LinkedIn help us nurture our vast
network of existing relationships.
All my existing employees can be
potential recruiters here”
response time
for jobs posted
on LinkedIn
InMails
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
2 days
Shreetam Subhrankar’s existing network of Microsoft alumni and
current employees gives him an army of potential recruiters. He
the best ways to stay connected with this vast pool of potential talent
that may not be actively looking for jobs.
Leverage current employees as potential
recruiters while looking for talent
Shreetam’s social recruitment dashboard
senior profiles
closed in 3
months
4
Groups
preferred tool to
build influence
Shreetam Subhrankar
Staffing Consultant
Microsoft
“While we were looking for
an editor with new age
journalism experience for
MSN, we couldn’t rely on
traditional sources. One of
the major challenges was
accessing exclusive talent
in this niche. LinkedIn’s
advanced search feature
helped me create a funnel
of relevant candidates and
reach out to exclusive
talent via InMails”

01 They leverage their own network
4 ways rock star recruiters build reach differently
02 They make the most of LinkedIn groups
a. They explore beyond first degree connections
b. They invest time building links with their
extended network
a. They work on building influence with
candidates on groups
b. They use groups as a platform to reinforce
authenticity
03 They engage their profile views
04 Their existing employees are potential recruiters
a. They reach out to profile viewers outside of
their network
b. They actively work on increasing their
profile views
a. They motivate hiring managers to refer
star performers
b. They encourage employees to spruce up
their LinkedIn profile

Access niche talent pools across
experience levels
How do
targeted
search filters
help your
efforts?
“While developing a talent pool for
niche skills we look at applicants
from Top 50 technology schools in
US. LinkedIn was the fastest
channel to access this.”
response time
for jobs posted
on LinkedIn
Targeted
Search Filters
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
<24hrs
jobs closed via
social networks
80%
talent sourcing
via LinkedIn
Recruiter
Niche
Sivakumar Kairvelu proactively reaches out to candidates from the
degree connections while looking for niche talent. He uses the
advanced search feature to create a funnel of candidates from most
relevant to least relevant while connecting with talent.
Sivakumar’s social recruitment dashboard
Make the most of “suggested profiles” field
on LinkedIn
Sivakumar Kadirvelu
Recruiter
FlipKart
“The windows mobile app
development space is
niche. I was sourcing for
the role of ‘Mobile Product
Manager’ which is even
more niche, LinkedIn
helped me map relevant
applicants from
organizations that focus
on mobile talent in a quick
span of time, I presented 4
quality candidates to the
Hiring Managers, of which
1 got hired.”

Widen your reach across varied
geographies
Your proudest
moment in
social
recruiting?
Followers
favorite talent
pool to access
What are your
key drivers for
social
recruiting?
Reduced
Better
Reach
cost per hire
quality of talent
exclusive talent
senior positions
filled last year
25jobs closed via
social networks
70%
Surbhi’s social recruitment dashboard
Use analytics to identify talent pools across
geographies that may be potentially relevant
information that she can gather on LinkedIn to identify and connect
company pages that her potential candidates are following.
“Successfully hiring for US and
UK while based in India.
Delivering a seamless candidate
experience across the recruiting
life cycle with social recruiting.”
Surbhi Gupta
Senior HR Executive
Wipro
“The position for a Global
head of Treasury based out
of US was on escalation for
several months. I started
my search on LinkedIn
even though I had limited
knowledge of the US
geography. My first step
was to tap the right groups
where we built a series of
connections to finally
arrive at the right
candidate. LinkedIn helped
us access a global talent
pool from the comfort of
our local region”

01
02 You will always make an effort to personalize your InMails
03 You will refer to mutual connections as recommended by LinkedIn
04 You will demonstrate how you have been selective
05 You will use a conversational tone
Ten Commandments of rock star InMails
Follow these 10 commandments to initiate rock star conversations
06 You will make it brief
07 You will always highlight what’s in it for the recipient
08 You will always attempt to include useful and relevant content
09 You will always include a call to action
10 You will invite sharing by asking goals and interest levels in new opportunities

Lesson 4: Focus on the candidate journey
Unravel the art of making a lasting impact on your candidates

Stay connected with the candidate
from interview to onboarding
What excites
you about
social
recruiting?
“Good turn around ratio from
sourcing to offer and conversion
conversion. Cost effective
proactive recruiting channel”
response time
for jobs posted
on LinkedIn
Export
PDFs
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
<24hrs Leadership
Hiring
primary channel
LinkedIn
usage of
LinkedIn
Recruiter
Daily
Veena V makes an effort to ensure there are low drop out rates from
share updates, invite feedback and stay connected even with
candidates who are not actively looking for jobs in her talent
pipeline. She uses a hands on approach while preparing
candidates to join the company.
Veena’s social recruitment dashboard
Adopt a proactive approach while taking a
candidate through the recruitment process
Veena V
Senior Recruiter
AmazonDevelopmentCenter
“As a recruiter, I stay
connected to the candidate
till they come on board as
‘employees’. I share
company and job details,
prepare them for
interviews, address
queries at each stage, keep
them engaged & excited
about joining the
organisation, by
furnishing the right
information and work as a
team to get the right
person on board”

Keep them engaged with
scheduled communication
How has social
recruiting
improved
candidate
journey?
“The movement from agency based
recruiting to developing an in-house
focus on social media presence has
resulted in increased ownership of
the candidate journey”
response time
for jobs posted
on LinkedIn
Groups
favorite LinkedIn
Recruiter tool
2 days
jobs closed via
social networks
50%
mid/
senior positions
filled last year
69
Namita Vyas follows an inside out approach to ensure each
candidate journey is smooth and relevant. She starts with
understanding her hiring manager’s need and then connects
potential candidates and hiring managers for exploratory
discussions. She also leverages common contacts to keep
candidates engaged.
Namita’s social recruitment dashboard
Keep communication lines open between
potential candidates and hiring managers
Namita Vyas
Manager - Technology Leadership
InMobi
"While hiring candidates, I
make use of available
networks – employees, top
management and my own.
I keep them engaged from
initial connect message till
finalization. I partner with
the hiring managers to
ensure that there is a
continuous chain of
communication with the
candidates. Be it
exploratory calls or in
person meetings with the
hiring managers, or
regular status updates by
me, I keep the candidate
warm and engaged with
InMobi”

Lesson 5: Be a brand advocate
Find out the secret to bringing your brand to life in your conversations

01 Participate in groups
Represent your
employer brand by
participating in niche
groups on LinkedIn
02 Personalized InMails
03 Connect key leadership 04 Information updates
05 Live brand experience 06 Continued interactions
Bhajneet Singh Dhingra
Senior Manager Hiring
SapientConsultingPvtLtd
Advocating the employer brand
across the recruitment lifecycle
“While sourcing a creative
technologist (director
level) our first bet was to
get a dedicated global
search firm which didn’t
work out for us. I took
charge of the search on
LinkedIn - from groups to
targeted InMails- a well
planned candidate
experience helped us
convert an exclusive
candidate.”
Bhajneet Singh Dhingra takes us through how he hired
exclusive niche talent by advocating the Sapient Brand
Plan and send out
personalized InMails
with relevant and
useful content
Connect candidate
with key leadership to
give complete clarity
on role and goals
Candidate specific
information updates
and updates on
company and brand
Invite candidates to
live brand
experiences like an
event (Sapient Xi)
Stay in touch with the
candidate at planned
intervals with relevant
updates till they join

Take charge of your candidate experience
Follow this 12 point to-do list to deliver a rock star candidate experience
A how-to video of your application process on the website
Detailed info on the website and LinkedIn Career Page
Introduction to employees on LinkedIn
Branded personlaized InMails with useful information
Clear instructions and information on your availability
Staged and planned process, non repeated questions
Weekly calls, InMails and updates
“Is there anything you didn’t get a chance to tell us today?”
What you can do
Real answers that enables improvement, feedback forms
Call and connect up don’t just sms or email a rejection
Nurture niche communities on LinkedIn
Make a planned process map and keep improving
Transparent application process
Know more about the existing team
Personalized and relevant emails
Option to check in and follow up
Smooth onsite interview
Stay in touch through the application process
What your candidate wants
Constructive and two-way feedback
Respectful rejection
Keep in touch even if they didn’t interview
Stay commmitted to their experience

Every brand advocate needs a stellar profile
Follow these steps to build a rock star personal profile on LinkedIn
02 Dress it up with rich media
03
04 Make your updates interactive
05 Add recommendations
01 Craft a catchy opening
Include presentation, videos, portfolio items that can
help potential candidates set quality benchmarks.
The perfect way to showcase your experience and to
strike up a conversation with a new candidate.
Recommendations from team members on a hiring

The Rockstar Recruiter
Check List
You have a plan for talent pipelining
You are ready to build relationships online
You have access to varied talent pools
You have a well planned candidate experience
You can pack more power into InMails now
You are an employer brand advocate
Are you ready to unleash your
inner rock star on LinkedIn?
Let the rock star
recruiting begin!

Meet the authors
Megha Nayak
Associate Field Marketing Manager
Megha is a Marketer with a passion for
business, technology and new ideas. She
is a part of the trade marketing team in
India.She plays enabler in helping talent
leaders leverage the power of LinkedIn.
Aadil Bandukwala
Senior Customer Success Consultant
Aadil is a Social Talent Evangelist who
consults with LinkedIn’s Enterprise
Customers in India on their Talent
Strategy and advises them on their
Employer Brand. SHRM India has ranked
Aadil as one of India’s Top 20 Most
Influential People in Human Resources
on Social Media for two consecutive
years.

LinkedIn India’s Customer Success Team
Ketaki Kadekar
Associate Customer Education Consultant
Somi Jacob
Customer Education Consultant
Aditya Kumar
Senior Technical Consultant
Sebastian John
Associate Customer Education Consultant
Gunjan Govani
Senior Customer Success Consultant
Jacqueline Azariah
Senior Customer Success Consultant
Mahesh Prabhu
Senior Customer Success Consultant
Niraj Vasani
Customer Success Consultant
Ragini Jaswal
Customer Success Consultant
Sani Sharsar
Customer Success Consultant
Vandana Singh
Customer Success Consultant
Rudra Prasad Nanjundappa
India Head, Customer Success
Aadil Bandukwala
Senior Customer Success Consultant
Prachi Banga
Senior Customer Success Consultant

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