LinkedIn Is So Yesterday

Hi TA leaders,

We talk a lot about the importance of the human touch in recruiting. But, I think we need to talk more about how to open our eyes to the new possibilities created by AI and how they can free us from some of the industry’s most limiting habits (and how that actually does get us back to being more human).

For years, LinkedIn has been the face of modern recruiting. It’s been the go-to platform, database, and network. But, for a long time, I’ve been encouraging folks to reconsider the TA industry’s over-reliance on such a limited resource.

So, I’m once again asking folks to consider the question: Is it time to rethink our relationship with LinkedIn?

Before you clutch your LinkedIn Recruiter license like a life raft, hear me out. We’re not talking about a total breakup (yet). But, maybe it’s time to stop relying so heavily on our habits and start exploring how AI and open-web sourcing can completely change the game.

It’s Not You, It’s Me

It’s not that LinkedIn isn’t useful. It’s that we’ve let it become our default. And, when something becomes a default, we stop questioning it.

Having centralized access to talent and some engagement levers used to be the big value. That’s no longer unique. Still, costs go up, and with everyone competing for the same candidates, in the same channel, your business, industry, and impact lose context in the eyes of job seekers. Therefore, candidates and recruiters spray and pray the masses, with little intention, which results in interview processes and eventually hiring selections that were more groomed by the ‘game’ than any strategy.?

But, here’s the thing … if your company has been hiring for any meaningful period of time, you should already have 99% of your total addressable talent market in your ATS. Every past applicant, every sourced lead, every silver-medalist candidate—they’re already there. And, if they’re not? AI can now scan the open web and access talent marketplaces to fill in the gaps.

So, why are many teams still acting like LinkedIn Recruiter is their only option?

You Already Have the Database. Use It.

Recruiters have been trained to think that the first step in any search is heading to LinkedIn and running a Boolean string. Now? Most hiring teams should be able to completely remove that first step. Your best candidates are already in your system. The problem before was a matter of having outdated or unreliable data and the massive undertaking to manually maintain quality data.

In the last couple of years, AI has solved this problem. (And, very soon we’re going to see AI be the one holding the recruiter’s hand for anything that has to do with the top of the hiring funnel).

Think about it—how many times has your team gone out and sourced new candidates when a perfect fit was already sitting in your ATS? How much time (and money) has been wasted rediscovering people who were already in the pipeline?

Today’s ATS and CRM tools can do far more than just store resumes. With AI, they can:

• Automatically enrich outdated candidate profiles with fresh information from the open web.
• Deduplicate entries, so you’re not engaging the same person over and over under different profiles.
• Match, rank, and segment past candidates based on current job openings, so you can re-engage people who already know your brand.
• Actually, see how warm and open a candidate is to your outreach.
• And, indicate, based on historical data, the likelihood of a candidate being a successful hire.

This means that your team can build precise, high-quality shortlists without ever leaving your database.

Let AI Handle the Heavy Lifting

One of the biggest myths in recruiting is that hiring success comes from constantly sourcing more people. But, we don’t have a sourcing problem—we have an engagement problem.

Recruiters don’t need another platform full of passive candidates who may or may not respond. What they need is a system that surfaces the right candidates, provides context on when and how to engage them, and allows for real, meaningful outreach that isn’t lost in spam marketing and sales InMails.

What else is happening in hiring?

• Google Moves Away from Diversity Hiring Goals
• Investigators Cracking Down on Disingenuous Hiring Practices in Corpus Christi, TX
• Workplace Flexibility Now a Basic Element of Competitive Compensation

Dan’s Corner

Recruiting runs on habits—where we source, how we engage, and the tools we default to. LinkedIn became the go-to not because it was the best, but because it was the most familiar. The same applies to outreach. We keep sending more messages, expecting better responses, instead of rethinking our approach entirely.

Next week’s webinar is all about breaking that cycle. Just like we need to expand beyond LinkedIn, we need to evolve how we engage candidates—leveraging automation to personalize at scale, connect more effectively, and work smarter, not harder. Don’t miss this session on Feb 19 at 12:00 PM CT—Sign up now and start transforming your outreach strategy.