LinkedIn for Hiring – Great But Creates New Risks
LinkedIn for Hiring has changed the world. It needs some thought, however. Let me give an example.
Not long ago, we met a company from the US who was visiting Shanghai. They needed a service technician and had lined up a guy to interview, but they felt uncomfortable.
They want our help, so sent over the resume of this guy who they found on LinkedIn.
We saw his resume, and knew they should not get near him. He talked to him. Even before background checking, this guy was out of the process based on the data we got. The customer gave up on him.
We were stunned to see they had brought him to Shanghai to interview. We are not ones to judge just by resume, but this guy was far less than what they needed. His character shown in the interview meant no way. He is no longer in consideration while they would have likely made him an offer.
China Has More to Offer
How do companies get into these puzzles? It is true that you can find candidates anywhere in the world on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, it is also true that anyone can say they are anybody on LinkedIn. It is the wild west.
You can arrange interviews and make offers via LinkedIn. Using LinkedIn, we can get you an engineer in Rwanda in a few days even though we have no business there. LinkedIn and other services have made finding people worldwide feasible. However, the ability to know what is in the market in a different region of the world is a problem. These Americans brought this guy in and LinkedIn got them there. Indeed, to not know China at all and bring in this guy, not bad.
However, that is a long way from getting the right guy for the right price and in a proper model for the country you are interested in. See also, 11 Needs for Excellent Executive Recruitment China.
Now the reason they talked to me showed their wisdom. They felt a little uncomfortable as anyone should in this case. They sensed they could do better with help.
LinkedIn for Hiring – What about Trust?
The key question for them is getting a person they trust as they are an ocean away. That is our specialty.
Filtering candidates is one of two real high needs in getting the right people. It is so much more than getting a pool of people and filtering by resume data. If you give me 5 food service companies who want a logistics manager, the search for each will be remarkably custom for each company. The possibility to get a very good match now exists in more than just location and college degree and some experience. We need to know you well and also know what is possible for you at what price.
Another key to excellent recruiting is drawing in people who are not active in the market. This is a high skill. The best workers are hard to draw in. You cannot often get these people by sending a LinkedIn message. Finally, you need to know them better as people who interview well are often the most dangerous to your company.
LinkedIn is a huge asset to us. We work it every day and can fill all its gaps. SHI Group does not want to say LinkedIn is bad. We just think you need to have more than some resumes in a geography and then interview and hire. Hiring Talent is more important to your success than that. Better talent and definitely better character all need to be grasped. LinkedIn for hiring cannot get you there in China. Deep expertise can.