Hiring? Here's How to Stretch Your Dollar with LinkedIn's Recruiting Tools

If you’re looking to expand your team, you’re not alone. According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 63 percent of small businesses reported hiring or trying to hire in May 2023. 

With such a tight labor market, attracting and securing the right talent is not an easy task. Longer vacancies can mean more dollars spent on hiring efforts and less time available to dedicate to hiring due to overextended teams. So, it’s important to be smart about your recruiting tools. 

LinkedIn can be an efficient and effective recruiting platform—even for small businesses—but it can also be pretty expensive. Let’s take a look at how to stretch your investment. With some forethought, you’ll be ready to hook the right candidates without breaking the bank. 

Start small if you can. 

Before you turn up the dial on your LinkedIn spending, explore low-cost options. Depending on your recruiting needs and urgency, you might not need to pay for LinkedIn at all. You can post one free job at a time, even if you’re not a Premium user. 

Alternatively, try your luck promoting your job. This can help you get more eyeballs—and applicants—on your post. LinkedIn allows you to cap your spending with a daily budget. Plus, don’t underestimate the power of your network. Simply getting the word out to your existing connections might be all it takes to find your new teammate on LinkedIn. 

Learn More: Check out this article for three free ways to get recruiting traction on LinkedIn. 

Consider a subscription that can do double duty. 

LinkedIn offers two recruiter-specific premium options: Recruiter Lite (great for individuals) and Recruiter (great for companies). And while there’s no denying both include robust recruiting tools, they’re not always necessary. If you’re hiring for a role but your title is not “recruiter,” I recommend a Sales Navigator premium plan instead. 

Why? First, Sales Navigator is cheaper (about $40 less per month at publication). Plus, it gives you access to many similar features you would get in Recruiter Lite—like advanced searching, InMail credits, and lead lists—and you can use it for the other “hats” you wear in your role, like sales. Multipurpose tools for the win!

Learn More: Trying to make sense of all the LinkedIn premium lingo? Check out my free comparison guide, “Should You Pay for LinkedIn?”

Factor in the value of long-term data access. 

Enterprise-level licenses (i.e., Recruiter) are, by nature, more expensive. So, individual subscriptions (i.e., Recruiter Lite) make the most sense financially for many businesses. That said, it’s essential to factor in the value of long-term data access. What do I mean by that? Recruiter Lite and Sales Navigator are individual subscriptions, so if the subscription holder leaves your organization, any recruiting data goes with them. You might be willing to take that risk if your turnover is low. On the other hand, if your recruiter position is a revolving door, an enterprise solution, like Recruiter, might be worth the extra spend. 

There’s no one right way to use LinkedIn to propel your hiring efforts. For some, LinkedIn’s recruiting-specific licenses make the most sense. For others, LinkedIn’s free features are all it takes to find the right candidates. Consider the importance, urgency, and resources available to you to maximize your investment in hiring on LinkedIn. 

Before you advertise your job opening, don’t forget to touch up your profile first. Remember that candidates will be doing their research — and that will most definitely include checking out your LinkedIn profile. Don’t let a sloppy LinkedIn presence be the reason a great candidate doesn’t accept your offer. My free guide, Rock Your LinkedIn Profile, takes the guesswork out of optimizing your LinkedIn profile. In just three simple steps, you’ll be putting your best foot forward.