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Workers are in high demand in our current economy, which gives them their pick of employers. When you’re hiring, you have to stand out in the right way to the right job seekers to connect with the people who will help your company reach its goals.
A key step is putting your job listing in the right place. You have a lot of options for online job boards, but two major platforms jump out as among the most popular with candidates across industries and locations. In this comparison of Indeed vs. LinkedIn, we’ll cover the pros and cons of each platform and how to decide which is the best place to connect with job applicants for your company.
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Indeed vs. LinkedIn: At a Glance
Indeed and LinkedIn are two of the top go-to platforms for job seekers. But the user experience on each platform is pretty different. Indeed focuses on matching employers with candidates that match posted job listings while LinkedIn helps people to build their professional network and connect with others to move their careers forward. Job listings are an added bonus on the site, not the central focus.
Employers in most cases can benefit from posting open positions for free on both platforms at once, but the difference in how each platform connects you with candidates could determine where you concentrate your resources to connect with the right people.
FEATURED PARTNER OFFER
Indeed
Best used as
Job search engine
Cost for Sponsored Jobs
Stands out for
On-platform virtual interviews
Best used as
Job search engine
Cost for Sponsored Jobs
$5 to $499
per day
Stands out for
On-platform virtual interviews
Why We Picked It
Indeed has recently surpassed its competition to become the most-visited online job board in the United States, boasting 63.7 million monthly users. It’s become one of the first places job seekers go to find opportunities, making it the place many employers want to be.
Any employer can post a job opening on Indeed for free, and you can “sponsor” your post to give it an advantage in searches. Sponsored posts run on a daily budget that you set, between $5 and $499 per day, and you pay a variable rate whenever someone clicks on your listing. You can also search a database of job seekers’ résumés, and you can message potential candidates with a monthly subscription.
Indeed beats its competition in search. While the platform includes career advice, company reviews and salary comparisons similar to other job-posting sites, the emphasis is on the job search utility.
Pros & Cons
- #1 job search site in the U.S.
- Low-cost job ads
- On-platform virtual interviews
- Subscription required to contact candidates in résumé database
- No free trial for Indeed Resume Search
- Popular site means more competition for candidates
FEATURED PARTNER OFFER
Best used as
Professional network
Cost for Sponsored Jobs
Daily budget of your choice
Stands out for
Free network to search and contact candidates
Best used as
Professional network
Cost for Sponsored Jobs
Daily budget of your choice
Stands out for
Free network to search and contact candidates
Why We Picked It
LinkedIn is designed primarily as a social network, which gives it some advantages and some disadvantages compared to traditional job boards. It boasts a network of 770 million users—but that doesn’t mean 770 million active job seekers at any given time. People use the network for everything from connecting with colleagues to researching sales prospects.
Building the job search on top of an active social network means the platform has access to far more user activity than competitors to provide insights about who’s a good candidate for your position. It also means many workers use the platform all the time, not just when they’re seeking a job, so it’s a good place to connect and develop relationships outside of the rigidity of job descriptions and résumés. Job seekers can find you through your company’s activity on the platform, in addition to traditional job listings.
Anyone can search the network for relevant profiles—which act as a dynamic résumé of sorts—and you can contact most users on the platform for free. You can post a job on LinkedIn for free and promote it with a daily budget of your choosing. Companies with a high volume of hiring needs can upgrade to a Premium account with a Recruiter seat for more robust search options, easier contacting and a recruiter dashboard.
Pros & Cons
- Use of robust public data and activity on applicants
- Free profile search and candidate contacting
- Build ongoing connections with candidates and new hires
- Costly monthly subscription for Premium features
- Job seekers may be less active than on job board sites
How the Platforms Stack Up
Indeed | ||
---|---|---|
Free Posting Option | Yes | Yes |
Cost for Premium Posts | Pay-per-click pricing based on a daily budget between $5 and $499 per day | Cost per unique view on a daily budget you choose |
Search Résumés | Yes, subscription required to contact candidates ($100 to $250 per month) | No, but profile search is free and open to all users |
Employer Dashboard | Free | Included with free posting, advanced features with Recruiter Lite for $119.99 per month |
Unique Features | Schedule and conduct virtual interviews on-platform | Social network, learning resources for ongoing employee engagement |
Free Trial | N/A (free by default) | One free month of Premium |
Customer Support | Online FAQs, email support form | Online FAQs, email support form; live chat and phone number for sales |
Read Indeed Review | Read LinkedIn Review |
Job listings on each platform are similar, but the context for connecting with candidates differs quite a bit. Indeed is primarily a search engine while LinkedIn is primarily a social network. Job seekers go to Indeed to find information on available roles; they go to LinkedIn to foster professional relationships. Keep this context in mind as you develop a plan for promoting and recruiting for open roles.
Highlighting Top Applicants
As applications pour in on these popular networks, you need a way to vet them quickly. Indeed uses the information included in your job listing to group top applicants based on their résumés. Top applicants appear at the top of your list, so you know where to direct your attention.
LinkedIn utilizes its access to user data to match applicant profiles with your job listing and company profile to highlight top applicants for you.
Candidate Ranking
As applications come in on LinkedIn, you can rank candidates’ fitness for the role. Once you mark candidates as “good,” LinkedIn will use their profile and application information to show the job listing to similar job seekers.
On Indeed, you can rank your top candidates and let Indeed automatically decline the other applicants for you.
Virtual Interviews
Through Indeed, you can schedule a virtual interview with a candidate and conduct it directly on the platform.
Bottom Line
The mechanics of job posting on Indeed vs. LinkedIn are similar―you can post for free and boost a listing as much as your budget allows. But the basic purpose of each platform makes the experience of connecting with candidates unique.
LinkedIn might be a better platform for a small company if you want to make a more personal connection with candidates before hiring. Job seekers get to follow your company’s profile and check out current and past employees to see how they might fit into the team, and you can reach out with a direct message that might feel more personal than one on a job-search platform.
Indeed is set up to streamline your hiring process with easy job posting, integration with applicant tracking systems (ATSs) and on-platform interviews. The search engine is a lot more accurate and useful for job seekers than LinkedIn, which could help your post get in front of the right people.
In most cases, however, you can benefit from using both platforms for free to get your listing in front of more people. Determine your priorities and the candidates you’re targeting to decide where to put more resources if you’re going to boost listings or use more advanced hiring tools.
FAQs
Do employers actually reach out on Indeed? ›
Your Indeed alias - We provide all job seekers with an Indeed auto-generated email address alias to help protect and secure your real email address information. All email communication from employers with your Indeed email alias is still sent directly to your email inbox.
What's better than Indeed? ›- ZipRecruiter: Best Overall Indeed Alternative. ...
- Monster: Best for a Job Board. ...
- Snagajob: Best for Hiring Hourly Employees. ...
- LinkedIn: Best for Networking. ...
- SimplyHired: Best Indeed Alternative for Free Job Posting. ...
- Craigslist: Best for Hiring Locally.
Racking up Points for Recruitment
With more than 58 million companies listed on the site and 52 million people searching for jobs on LinkedIn every week, it's no surprise to find out that 77% of recruiters regularly use LinkedIn.
Indeed Delivers 65% of Hires and 72% of Interviews From Job Sites.
Is Indeed better than LinkedIn? ›Bottom Line. Neither Indeed nor LinkedIn is the “better” job platform. Indeed is the better choice to find the greatest number of open positions, while LinkedIn is more likely to help you find specialized positions. LinkedIn also has the advantage of giving you a permanent profile on a popular professional network.
Why is no one hiring me on Indeed? ›Your achievements don't match with the employer's preferences. Your resume has typos and grammatical errors. Something's missing in your cover letter. You've listed too many jobs on your resume.
What is the #1 most effective job search method today? ›NETWORKING Networking is the most effective way to learn about careers and ultimately to land a job. Research consistently shows that networking leads to a job far more often than other job search methods such as responding to postings, attending job fairs or sending out unsolicited resumes.
What job app is most successful? ›- LinkedIn. Did you know that 77 percent of recruiters rely on LinkedIn to find prospective job candidates? ...
- Jobs by CareerBuilder.com. ...
- Snagajob. ...
- JobAware. ...
- Remotely Job Search. ...
- Indeed Job Search. ...
- Good&Co Culture Fit Job Finder. ...
- Glassdoor.
- Internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent in any company is its existing workforce. ...
- Employee referrals. ...
- Past employees. ...
- Job boards and websites. ...
- Placement drives. ...
- Job fairs. ...
- Social media platforms. ...
- Media promotions.
When you receive a LinkedIn message regarding an open position, you may wonder how this person found you. Many people don't know that recruiters have a special version of LinkedIn that they use to find candidates for positions they are looking to fill.
Do hiring managers look at LinkedIn? ›
The answer is, overwhelmingly, yes. Hiring managers read whatever they can find. While most said it's rarely a deal-breaker if a candidate doesn't have any recommendations, they agreed that a handful of really good ones makes a positive impression.
Do employers look at LinkedIn assessments? ›Recruiters can look for people who have passed assessments for specific skills as part of their search parameters and filters. Badges appear with prospect profiles in search results lists, helping recruiters prioritize profiles even if they didn't filter by skills assessments.
What is the difference between Indeed and LinkedIn? ›Indeed is primarily a search engine while LinkedIn is primarily a social network. Job seekers go to Indeed to find information on available roles; they go to LinkedIn to foster professional relationships.
Do employers look at Indeed reviews? ›Employers can see all of their Indeed reviews, but not necessarily who each review was written by. No employer has access to your application history or any information you've shared on the platform where you've asked to remain anonymous.
How do I increase my chances of getting jobs on Indeed? ›- Set up a profile. ...
- Add your resume. ...
- Use the "easy apply" feature. ...
- Browse by location. ...
- Set up job alerts. ...
- Use the mobile app. ...
- Apply right away. ...
- Research companies.
According to a recent report from Jobvite, a company that helps businesses find talent, 77 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates.
What are the benefits of using Indeed? ›- Easy to search relevant jobs by keywords, title, industry, and location. ...
- Suitable for posting for all kinds of work including internships, freelance, and part-time.
- Candidates can upload and store their resume to quickly apply to jobs.
While LinkedIn's Easy Apply can be a great tool when you're on a time crunch, applying through a company directly gives you far more autonomy and flexibility, which allows you the space to express yourself, connect with the company, and set yourself up for success.
How do you know if you're a top candidate? ›- They are super responsive when following up with you. ...
- They introduce you to other team members and give you unplanned tours. ...
- They ask if you're interviewing with anyone else.
The best way to get around this is to look for entry-level positions or internships in the field you're interested in. By starting at the bottom, you can work your way up and gain the experience required for the job you want. You can also try to get some relevant work experience by volunteering or interning.
Why is it so hard to hire right now 2022? ›
The No. 1 reason businesses struggle to fill open jobs is that wages are too low, according to a survey of more than 3,000 hourly workers conducted by employer payment platform Branch. Fear of exposure to Covid-19 at work came in second with 46% of the vote.
What is the strongest predictor of job performance? ›The best predictors for good job performance are volunteering, putting in extra effort, cooperating, following rules and procedures, and endorsing organizational goals.
What is the most effective job search strategy? ›- Build an online portfolio or an “About me” page. ...
- Try to predict the interview questions. ...
- Share your knowledge on LinkedIn. ...
- Define your expectations. ...
- Network whenever possible. ...
- Contact companies directly. ...
- Create a timeline and reward yourself. ...
- Pay attention to job title variations.
The most effective technique when collecting information for a job analysis is to obtain information through direct observation as well as from the most qualified incumbent(s) via questionnaires or interviews.
Is ZipRecruiter better than Indeed? ›Both sites have a variety of plans that cover most needs, but ZipRecruiter posts listings to more job boards, which could lead to finding a candidate faster. Overall, we find Ziprecruiter more intuitive and easier to use for most employers. For job seekers, consider signing up for both services since they are free.
Is Indeed the best job app? ›Indeed, the best overall, takes the cake for being the biggest job site in the world, with new jobs being posted every second in a wide variety of categories. The other best picks excel in specific ways, like focusing on startup or manager positions.
What is the number 1 app in the world? ›#1) TikTok
It is at the top of the list of most popular apps. By now, it has been downloaded over 2 billion times overall globally. The rise was also due to the worldwide lockdown due to the pandemic.
- Start with building a stellar resume. ...
- Explaining a gap in your resume. ...
- Treat LinkedIn as your strongest ally. ...
- Tailor your experience and conversation.
- Tips for Informationals. ...
- Take time to prepare for the interviews.
- Attend a hiring event. ...
- Apply to a company with multiple openings. ...
- Use your connections. ...
- Apply for jobs that closely match your skill set. ...
- Take a job as a starting point. ...
- Apply for an internal position. ...
- Use a recruiter. ...
- Craft a great cover letter.
With over 830 million users, LinkedIn is one of the most popular job sites that recruiters use for hiring candidates, be it part-time, full-time, freshers, senior management, and all other specifications that recruiters look for.
Why am I not getting recruited on LinkedIn? ›
Even if you are not an active jobseeker, but you notice executive search consultants or corporate recruiters are not calling you with any regularity, it is possible your LinkedIn profile is not SEO optimized OR you have your settings switched in a way that limits how people find and reach you.
Why am I not getting headhunted on LinkedIn? ›In order for recruiters to find you, it's benefical your profile status is 'open to new opportunities'. To do this, go to the same settings as before (Click profile picture or icon in upper right corner on homepage, click Settings & Privacy, click middle option Privacy) and scroll down to the 'Job Seeking' heading.
Why is no one reaching out to me on LinkedIn? ›Your connections.
You've got to get to at least 500 connections so that others see you as an active player on LinkedIn. Also, recruiters will typically look within their existing connections, and the people those connections are connected to, for potential candidates. Anybody else is an unknown quantity.
Recruiters won't be able to see your score. If you pass the assessment, recruiters will see the badge on your profile, if you choose to display it.
Does the hiring manager decide who gets hired? ›And while the recruiter manages the process, it's the hiring manager who actually closes the deal. So, hiring managers are the decision-makers; they have the final say as to who gets hired and who gets rejected. They own the outcome of the recruiting process.
Is it OK to tell interviewer you looked at their LinkedIn? ›The answer is Yes.
In fact, we would suggest that this is an absolute must. Looking at an interviewer's LinkedIn is a key part of your interview preparation.
LinkedIn assessments are an excellent way to give proof of your skills to potential connections, recruiters, and others with whom you're networking. And even if you fail in passing them, it won't hurt your profile.
What score do you need to pass LinkedIn assessment? ›If you score in the 70th percentile or above, you'll receive a passing score and be awarded a “badge”.
Is LinkedIn assessment badge worth it? ›The assessment feature is awesome for several reasons:
Just like Upwork's tests, LinkedIn Skill Assessments are only available for completion once in 3 months. That is how platforms make sure that a professional will actually grow expertise without passing the test 10 times in a row.
Lots of employers trust Indeed to help them find great fits for their open roles. You may have heard of tools such as Sponsored Jobs, which appear optimally in Indeed's search results, making them over 3.5 times more likely to result in a hire.
Is there a better job site than Indeed? ›
The best job search site is Glassdoor, LinkedIn, or Indeed, depending on your needs. Use Glassdoor for salary data, LinkedIn for networking, and Indeed for straight search power.
Do companies look at Indeed assessments? ›Scores for Indeed Assessments that are sent to you by an employer can only be seen by that employer. They cannot share your scores with other employers.
What is Indeed success rate? ›Indeed Delivers 65% of Hires and 72% of Interviews From Job Sites.
What are the pros and cons of LinkedIn? ›- Pro: Research Prospective Companies. ...
- Con: All Employers Don't Post Jobs on the Site. ...
- Pro: Connect With Existing Contacts. ...
- Con: It Can Be Hard to Get Noticed. ...
- Pro: Easily Expand Your Network.
- Ensure your post is relevant by making it specific, clear, and keyword-rich.
- Sponsor your post, so it gets prominently featured in search results.
- Follow Indeed's rules about posts, such as not using discriminatory or offensive language.
Here are a few of the most common reasons you may not be getting interviews: The applicant tracking system may have missed your resume. Your qualifications and experience don't meet the employer's needs. You are overqualified for the position.
Why is nobody getting back to me on Indeed? ›Your achievements don't match with the employer's preferences. Your resume has typos and grammatical errors. Something's missing in your cover letter. You've listed too many jobs on your resume.
What does it mean when an employer reaches out to you on Indeed? ›They're hiring. The recruiter's employer is actively hiring and looking for qualified candidates.
How long does it take for employers to reach out on Indeed? ›This will vary on the team you are applying for. Due to the high number of applications we receive for almost all positions at Indeed, it may take a few days for the recruiter to connect with the hiring manager/team to sync up and discuss each candidate that was screened. Anywhere from a few days to a month.
How long does it take for an employer to contact you on Indeed? ›It generally takes from one to two weeks to receive a response after applying for a role.
Do jobs actually contact employers? ›
Most times, they will speak with the human resources department or your previous supervisor. However, employers most often contact previous employers to verify you are accurately representing your experience with them, rather than get a review of your time with them.
How do you know if you've been rejected on Indeed? ›*Applicants whose answers do not meet your required criteria will be marked as Rejected. These candidates will not be notified of their application status, unless you send them a response via one of our easy-to-use templated email updates.
How do you know if hiring manager wants you? ›- The discussion extends beyond what you had anticipated. ...
- They're not at all distracted. ...
- Your interviewer asks you questions about your long-term objectives. ...
- The interviewer speaks specifically about salary and other compensation. ...
- At the end of the interview, the hiring manager offers positive information about the next step.
Receiving a message from a recruiter is a good sign that you're on the short list. After all, a Glassdoor survey covered in Inc. says that the average corporate job receives 250 resumes, with only four to six of those people getting called in for an interview.
What are the signs that you will be hired after an interview? ›- They discuss the next steps. ...
- They ask when you can start. ...
- Their body language is positive. ...
- They contact your references. ...
- You meet the team. ...
- You discuss perks and benefits. ...
- You receive a positive follow-up response. ...
- You're invited to connect on LinkedIn.
You might lack relevant work experience within that role and/or that industry. You probably won't get an interview if you don't have the right experience. You might have applied for a job that was a step or two further up the career ladder.
Can an employer blacklist you on Indeed? ›Blacklisting is illegal in California, but some employers are vindicative. These businesses may resort to defamation, where a past employer simply lies about the employee's character or performance to ruin their future prospects.
What is the average time to hear back after an interview? ›But while any and all of the above can (and sometimes does) impact how long it takes for you to get a response after a job interview, Work says, “In most cases, you should hear back within one to two weeks max after a job interview, unless the recruiter or team lets you know it will take longer.”
Why is no one hiring me? ›You don't have enough relevant experience.
This is the most obvious reason why you might not be getting hired. If you're applying for jobs that require a certain level of experience, you don't meet those qualifications, then it's no wonder you're not getting hired.
Most employers will call your references only if you are the final candidate or one of the final two. Occasionally the final three or four. Every now and then an employer will check all the people they interview, although to me that's inconsiderate of the reference.
Do employers actually call past employers? ›
Nobody likes it when people talk about you behind your back, but that's an inevitable part of the job search process. Of course, you'll gather references who will sing your praises, but the interviewer will still typically vet your former employers to verify your former job title and dates of employment.
Can employers see if you quit a job? ›You are right to be aware that your prospective employer may check on the reasons you left your job. Most employers conduct background or reference checks during the interview process. If you've been terminated for cause, it may well come up during their investigation.