LinkedIn has become the center of recruitment and talent hunt online. It has more than 300 million active profiles and over a million recruiters. Professionals find it much easier to build their business networks and stay in touch with each other through this platform.

However, many LinkedIn users struggle to find the right way to connect with employers and influencers. If you have found it difficult to get a response for your inquiries, you can change your approach to improve your response rate. Here are some tips and little-known LinkedIn hacks on how you can get better responses:

• HAVE A COMPLETE PROFILE

Your profile should present an interesting image of you as someone that people would want to connect with. Don’t be shy about highlighting your achievements and skills. It should give an aura of confidence and success, without sounding arrogant.

Make sure all the sections are complete (this is key to LinkedIn prioritising you) and have something interesting to say about yourself. Profiles without a photo don’t get as many views and clicks, so make sure you have a clear, eye catching photo to gain the attention of recruiters and business execs – no kids, palm trees or anything else in the background. (If you want to ensure that it is a professional search engine optimised profile, we can do this for you.)

• JOIN GROUPS

Joining Groups is one of the only ways you can allow recruiters to message you (or connect to you) for free. Recruiters pay significant premiums to LinkedIn, so they’re eager to contact professionals who belong to a shared Group and pay a little less, which is one of the site’s “loopholes” for easy connection.

• PERSONALIZE YOUR MESSAGE

When you send messages to people, try to build a relationship with them from the very first line. Find out something that you have in common and establish a link from there – mutual connections? Same university? Same previous employer? Mention a post they added recently)  People are more likely to respond to someone who shares similar interests with them.

A personalised concise message (see below) also shows people that you took the effort to connect with them. Generic messages can be very off-putting especially if the person gets dozens of them each day.

• SHORT AND CONCISE

Business executives have busy lives. No one has the time to read three page long messages. Try to keep your message short and concise. Only one call-to-action.

Twitter used to allow only 140 characters, yet it became one of the most popular social media platforms online. This is quite telling about people’s preferences. Short but powerful messages get attention and responses better than long essays.

• MARKET YOURSELF

People are more receptive when you tell them what you can do for them, instead of how they should help you. When you apply for a job, you are providing a service in exchange for an income. It is a mutually beneficial exchange and you should keep that in mind when messaging someone on LinkedIn.

Before you send a message, think about how working with you will benefit the recipient. Market yourself as an opportunity for them to grow their business, rather than asking them to help you earn an income. If you are creative and smart about this, you are more likely to get a response for your query.

LinkedIn hack alert! In the current job box, add your preferred job title eg. “Senior Manager, Sales and Business Management – Investment Funds” because employers search for candidates by their sought-after job titles not by current position titles. In this section list the functions which you are capable of doing as recruiters will look for those, eg.

I am skilled at…

I am capable of…

I am experienced in…

I have extensive knowledge of…

• ASK QUESTIONS

It is an innate habit of people to try and solve problems or find answers to questions. When you send your message with questions for the receiver, you are more likely to get an answer compared to simply telling them something. Ask their opinion or advice.

If you lack the time or require technical assistance effecting the above, please don’t hesitate to contact me at melanie@trevisansocial.com