How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for ... - GIT home page

keynote speaker. Given the professional speaking I do on creating
A-player teams, it looked like an interesting opportunity. I didn’t
know anyone associated with the group. Its headquarters are
located only 45 minutes from my office, however, so the chances
were good that someone in my network was familiar with it. A
quick search on the executive director’s name through LinkedIn
revealed that I was connected to several people who are also connected
to this individual. (I would never have figured this out
quickly without using LinkedIn.) I then followed up with two of
these contacts to see what they knew about the person and the
group. Neither of them knew much, but both volunteered to reach
out to their contacts to see what they could learn. Within days I got
their feedback—and it was not positive. My contacts’ contacts had
nothing good to say about this organization. As a result, I dropped
this group as a prospective client for me.
In this situation, I was the potential ‘‘applicant’’ searching for information
on the ‘‘employer.’’ LinkedIn enabled me to figure out
quickly which of my contacts were likely to be familiar with this
organization and get reliable feedback on the group. This ability to
pinpoint relevant contacts makes LinkedIn a powerful recruiting
tool (and saved me from taking on a potentially problematic client).
Let’s build on LinkedIn’s capabilities by exploring several specific
ways to use the system to find A-players.
Posting Jobs on LinkedIn
The Basics of Online Recruiting 129
A-Player Principle: LinkedIn is the recruiter’s tool of choice
for quickly making contacts, checking references, and getting
access to A-players. Once your own LinkedIn network is set
up, you’ll receive almost instant, no-cost insight into ‘‘who
knows who.’’
For $200 or less, you can post a job on LinkedIn. Individuals can
apply for the position, and you can view their LinkedIn profile