Do you ever see a face at a conference or corporate meeting and think, ‘I recognise that person but I can’t think why?’ This real life scenario is no different to your network on LinkedIn – you may have 500+ connections, but remembering how or why you connected with all of these individuals is a difficult task.
That’s where the new ‘connections history’ feature comes in. LinkedIn will now tell you when you connected with someone, as sometimes a date is enough to trigger your memory of where you may have met.
Adding an extra tool to our kit
As a recruiter, you’ll have hundreds, potentially thousands, of contacts on LinkedIn. Remembering when you connected with an individual will allow you to work out which positions you have contacted them for. It will also provide a useful timeline for updating your information on that individual’s requirements/personal information. LinkedIn are sure that the new feature will improve our networking:
“Ever wonder when you met someone? We’re making this easy for you with easy access to your connection history. Simply go to a connection’s profile and click on “Contact and Personal Info” to see when you first connected. This is a great way to add some personal detail when you reach out.”
Why is this useful for recruiters?
· Provide a context for conversation – If you know when you connected with an individual, it allows you to figure out which meetings or conferences you attended around that date. This may act as a trigger for you to remember why you connected, being able to add to a message: ‘Hi, we connected previously after meeting at the UK Recruiter Conference’. This turns a message from speculative contact, into something more personal.
· Plan your activity with a contact – Knowing where you started in terms of connection history allows you to work backwards and map out your contact with that individual, record which job roles you have contacted them about, or they have applied for.
· Relationship building – As with any contact you make, you’ll have familiarised yourself with a potential candidate’s personal information, work history and experience. Knowing when you connected allows you to add that personal touch to a message.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect
In the competitive world of recruiting, it is all too easy to be left behind and lose fantastic candidates to other players who are at the top of their game. By using the new connection history feature on LinkedIn, you have an opportunity to add a personal touch to your recruiting, ensuring that candidates will reply to your messages and see you as a credible authority in the recruitment world.
To chat to an expert on LinkedIn, speak to us today;
Please email [email protected] or call us on 01483 719020.