How To Contact Recruiters on LinkedIn by Top Resume

If you’ve been searching for a job for any length of time, you already know this cold, hard truth: Searching for a job is hard. It’s not always fun, and sometimes it can be downright terrifying.

But although it might feel strange to be so direct, reaching out to recruiters on LinkedIn is completely socially acceptable. After all, that’s what the platform is for—don’t be shy! 93 percent of hiring managers use LinkedIn to find candidates, so this is a platform you need to take advantage of.

If you’re struggling with exactly how to reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn, here are a few tips.

Make sure you have the right person

Before you can start thinking about how to approach recruiters on LinkedIn, make sure you have the right person in mind. The best way to search for recruiters is to type your industry and the word “recruiter,” e.g.“marketing recruiter.”  You can also narrow your search results by region to find local recruiters in your area. Just don’t forget to make sure the recruiter is still active and hasn’t moved on to a different job or field.

Don’t start with LinkedIn

Although this may seem counterintuitive, you should make your initial point of contact on a platform other than LinkedIn, such as following a recruiter on Twitter, where they will receive a notification with your name. That way, when you do connect with that person on LinkedIn, they will recognize your name and face.

After connecting with a recruiter outside of LinkedIn, view their LinkedIn profile and make sure to tweak your privacy settings to allow others to see your name and headline after you’ve viewed their profile. This will allow the recruiter to view your full profile in return––and sometimes the recruiter might even ask to connect with you before you can request to connect with them.

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