How to Conquer Low Application Rates at Your Nonprofit Using LinkedIn Recruiter

Hiring employees for a nonprofit organization can be a challenge, especially if your job posts are not attracting enough qualified candidates. Wondering how can you get more job applicants for your nonprofit? The answer might be to go to them, rather than waiting for them to come to you.

LinkedIn Recruiter can help you find, connect with, and hire the right professionals for your nonprofit, especially for those hard-to-fill roles. Here’s how: 

Pinpoint professionals with the skills and experience your nonprofit needs

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with 810 million members and counting. The right person for your nonprofit’s open role is on the platform. But if they’re not actively looking for a new position, they might not see your nonprofit’s job post unless you approach them directly. 

So, how can you find them? LinkedIn Recruiter empowers you with advanced search capabilities that can help you quickly generate a list of great matches. Use filters like location, seniority, and years of experience to narrow down your search based on your organization’s needs and preferences.

LinkedIn Recruiter can also show you candidates who have previously engaged with your nonprofit on LinkedIn, including past applicants for jobs and followers of your nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page. You can even see at a glance whether a candidate has indicated that they’re open to hearing about new roles.

Establish meaningful connections in a professional environment 

When you find a professional that you think would be a good fit for a job at your nonprofit, LinkedIn Recruiter enables you to reach out to them and tell them about the opportunity using a feature called InMails. These are direct messages on LinkedIn, and you don’t need a person’s contact information to send them. 

Since LinkedIn members use the platform to network and find job opportunities, your message won’t look out of place, even if they’ve never heard of your nonprofit before. In fact, they’ll likely be flattered to hear from you, even if they’re not interested in a new job at this time. 

Check out our blog post on InMail best practices to increase your chances of a response, including tips for sharing next steps that can lead to a successful hire. And if a candidate seems impressed by your nonprofit but feels this particular job isn’t right for them, be sure to leave the door open for future interactions. You never know when the perfect opportunity might open up. 

Set yourself up for success and save time when your nonprofit is hiring

Whether your nonprofit hires only a handful of people each year or several dozen, you don’t have time to waste on a drawn-out hiring process. Using LinkedIn Recruiter, you can not only streamline your current search, but save time in the future by avoiding duplicated effort. 

Here are just some of the ways that LinkedIn Recruiter sets your nonprofit up for hiring success: 

• If you hire for a certain role repeatedly, save your search to avoid manually typing in your go-to search terms next time

• If a candidate catches your eye but they’re not the right fit for the role you’re currently hiring for, save their profile and keep track of their professional activity

• If you have several people involved in recruiting for your nonprofit, collaborate efficiently with the ability to share candidate profiles, notes, and more

Learn more about how LinkedIn Recruiter can help you hire employees for your nonprofit organization. Get in touch with our team today.