Great Manager LinkedIn Profiles as a Recruitment Tool

Competing for talent

I recently worked individually with a couple of senior executives and taught a workshop for a larger group of their managers at a very smart Silicon Valley company. They recognized that supporting their managers to have appealing LinkedIn profiles would be one of their most valuable tools as they recruit new employees in this very competitive market. Does it potentially mean those employees will also look more attractive to recruiters – yes, of course it does – but they are confident that the benefit outweighs the risk. I’m so impressed by their strategy, I’ve asked permission to write a about them as a future blog posting or white paper.

The #1 reason given that employees give for leaving a company is that it’s because of their manager. Your potential employees are therefore looking closely at potential employer LI profiles to try and get a sense of what kind of managers your company has and who they’d be reporting to.

Statistics showing how long someone will look at your profile before they make a judgment generally refers to recruiters and hiring managers looking at potential employees but they could equally apply to potential employees looking at potential managers’ profiles. You've got 3 seconds to make a first impression with your picture and headline. Then maybe 20 seconds for the summary and job description.

What do your company’s managers’ LinkedIn profiles say about them as leaders and about your company as an employer of choice?

• Do they have recognizable photos that shows them as approachable?
• Do their professional headlines clearly indicate what they do and what their expertise is? (i.e. will new employees learn anything from them? This is particularly true for technical managers.)
• Do their summaries show what kind of manager they are – or is it just a list of their accomplishments?
• Does their job history show them as a good example to follow and a likely mentor?
• Do they have recommendations from past or present employees that indicate what kind of manager they are?
• Do they show any personality in either their job descriptions or under “Interests” or “Organizations” they’re involved with?

Does your company actively encourage all your employees and managers to have great LinkedIn profiles? If not, is it because your company operates from fear – that great profiles are just going to mean your managers and other employees will get recruited away? Or are you confident that you have an environment that supports your current employees and you’d love to showcase your great managers and give potential employees a snapshot of what it might be like to work for your company? Heck – I ended up wanting to work for the managers where I did my most recent workshop – and trust me when I say our fields couldn’t be further apart!

Are your current managers talking about the company on LinkedIn?

Encouraging your current employees to talk about your company culture and successes is a great way to showcase an inside look to your workplace. In addition, let your current employees know when you are looking to fill a position at the company. They’re probably connected to a number of excellent potential employees on LinkedIn.

Convey your company culture through the voice of each manager

Take a look at your own LI profile or some of those of your managers. What do they say about your company? Would you want to work for them?

To see my upcoming posts in your LinkedIn news feed, click the "Follow" button at the top right of the page. If you would like to discuss more with me about workshops or coaching that can improve yours or your managers' LI profiles, please email me at Sandra@SVTrainingConnect.com.