Should I Message a Recruiter on LinkedIn?

If you’re looking for work, and you have a LinkedIn account, then you have probably wondered if you should message a recruiter to ask about work.

Well, the clear answer is yes. But with some caution. You don’t want to approach recruiters in the wrong way and end up wasting your efforts.

Instead, what you should make sure that you message recruiters the right way. And that’s what we’ll discuss.

Don’t Blind Message Every Recruiter You Can Find

The first mistake some jobseekers make is to simply message every recruiter on LinkedIn. That’s a major mistake. You are wasting your time, and also probably leaving a bad impression on a recruiter who potentially might be useful.

If you simply blind message or send a template on LinkedIn to every recruiter, you’ll come across as someone with no soft skills. People who connect with no message, or send a template, simply look like they have no pointed sense of direction.

These are not the people who recruiters want to use.  Don’t be that person.

The only worse type of person on LinkedIn are the ones who post daily nonsense like they were on Facebook,

You Should be Selective When Messaging a Recruiter

Normal people already know this, but if you are misguided and for some reason want to message everyone on LinkedIn that has Recruiter as their job title…just don’t.

Are you a Java Developer? Well if not, why reach out to someone who recruiters for software devs. Are you a Nurse? Well, why reach out to a Nurse Recruiter?

The first step is to narrow your search by local. How will it look if you reach out to a recruiter in LA and you live in Chicago? Unless you’re relocating, they will think you’re incompetent.

Once you’ve narrowed your search to your city, then nest step is to narrow the search to your industry. That can be a bit tricky. But if you want to be successful, you will need to do some research.

Make sure that you’re reaching out to a recruiter that works at an agency that handles your specific career niche.

Are you an executive assistant? Then you probably would be wasting your time reaching out to WhiteGlove or Gotham staffing (they handle nurses and medical personnel).

The best way to do this is to check out the firms company website. They will normally give you a breakdown of the type of jobs that they staff for.  This way, you can zero in on the recruiters who actually have access to the jobs you want.

The other benefit to doing this sort of research is that you’re going to learn about the company. They might have a lot of bad reviews (not that you can always trust reviews of staffing firms).

Make Sure the Recruiter You Message Is Active

This is more about saving yourself time. Take a quick look at the recruiter’s profile. If they have an account and don’t have 500+ connections, then odds are that they are not an active recruiter.

Perhaps they recruit nurses and other medical staff who don’t use LinkedIn, or perhaps they moved jobs and never updated their profile.

It’s not going to hurt, but it will be a waste of time.

Don’t Send an Empty Message to a Recruiter

This is a big pet peeve for recruiters. They constantly get requests to connect but there is nothing in the message. That basically tells the recruiter that the person sending it is doing so mindlessly and without any effort.

Take the time to compose a tailored message to the recruiter. You can use one of the templates as long as you have LinkedIn premium and are able to customize them.

If you don’t have premium (and a lot of non-sales and non recruiters don’t have a premium LinkedIn) then you can simply create a template off line in word and then use than by copy pasting it into the message section.

Use the LinkedIn Message Feature Conservatively

Don’t over do it. LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. If you’re someone who is on LinkedIn posting news stories all day long, you are going to be dismissed by most recruiters.

People who rant on LinekdIn or post memes, business related or otherwise, are simply considered unprofessional.

LinkedIn is a professional network, not a social network. If your behavior is border line unprofessional in any manner, or if you “over share”, then any recruiter is going to want to steer clear of you.

Always Move the Conversation with the Recruiter Off LinkedIn

If you make a solid connection, and you’re interested in developing the relationship more, ask if you can send them your CV to their company email.

Some, if not all ATS systems, will have an integration for LinkedIn where the recruiter will be able to pull that info from LinkedIn directly.

However, not all recruiters know how to use their ATS system. And not all agencies use the same system that allows them to pull resumes from Linekdin. To try and avoid any headaches, make the offer.

Don’t Message a Recruiter on LinkedIn If You’re Not Looking for a Job

It should go without saying, but if you have no intention of looking for a job, then don’t bother a recruiter with a connection request.

This goes without saying, and anyone who works in sales understands this, but you would be surprised how many people connect with recruiters to just have them there “in case”.

Well, the fact is if you waste a recruiters time, you will be blacklisted in their agency database so that when “that time comes” you won’t get any service.

Of course, if you’re someone who is interviewing for the wrong reasons (to keep your interviewing skills sharp, or to get a offer to bring to your boss and demand a raise) then there’s no helping you. You will act accordingly regardless of it wasting other peoples time.