Specialist recruitment and LinkedIn
•03/10/2021•3 Minutes
There is no doubt that LinkedIn has revolutionised the way we develop and maintain our professional networks. If, like Brickfield, you are focused on a very specific sector like fund finance, its place as a forum to communicate with the people that matter to you on the issues that matter to you is assured, as is its relevance as a recruitment tool.
But how far does that relevance go? In fund finance, LinkedIn can be useful for hiring managers and HR to reach out to potential candidates via LinkedIn Jobs, as well as a way of scoping potential candidates.
For more junior or less specialized roles, this approach is often the most appropriate, but some of our recent conversations with clients and candidates have been illuminating.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
- A job posting for a highly specialized or senior role with a small pool of candidates that remains online for a long time can be damaging and seen as a red flag by potential applicants. Be sure you get the job spec right first time and that this role is a fit for LinkedIn.
- Although online applications through third parties such as LinkedIn are becoming the norm, some candidates in fund finance are still concerned about their privacy, an awareness that is heightened by the high degree of confidentiality required in the recruitment process.
- A formal application is not always the best starting point for the recruitment process, especially in a relatively small and close-knit business community like fund finance. Deciding when to begin discussions on an informal basis is never easy, but it can help determine very quickly if a more formal interview is appropriate.
- Your efforts will only bear fruit commensurate with the strength and relevance of the networks being searched. One of the reasons that Brickfield focuses solely on fund finance is that our network, both online and off, is kept compact, relevant and close.
LinkedIn is one of the areas we cover in our onboarding process with clients, and questions and issues like those raised above often emerge once onboarding is complete and search is underway. Usually, the question is not whether to use LinkedIn for talent search, it is about how and when, and perhaps most crucially, who should be using it.
Brickfield is the only international talent acquisition specialist dedicated to fund finance. If you are seeking to grow your fund finance team, or if you are looking to move to a new position in the space, contact Rory Smith at Brickfield Recruitment by email at [email protected] or by telephone on +44 7800 963 594.
