Why You Should Respond When Recruiters “Slide Into Your DM’s”
If you have a LinkedIn profile, there’s a good chance you have been contacted by a recruiter regarding a job opportunity at some point. Typically, recruiters who send these types of messages claim that “after coming across your profile, they believe you would be a good fit for role X at company Y.”
Typically, in their “InMail” DM’s, recruiters explain how impressed they are with your profile and sound eager to meet with you to discuss the role. Because of this, these types of messages can provide students, and anyone else who is building their resume, with a nice little ego boost.
Speaking from personal experience, these messages can even give you something to brag about at family dinners when you get asked the typical “So where are you working now?” and “So where do you plan to work after graduation?” questions. By responding with “well, I was actually contacted by Microsoft the other day about a job opportunity…” my family knows I have offers and am not a total lost-cause, and I get to feel a little bit better about my resume too. It’s a win-win.
With that being said, I never used to respond to DM’s from recruiters. Either I wasn’t interested in the job, or I wasn’t actively job hunting, so I just didn’t see the point. However, now that I am job hunting, I am beginning to realize the potential benefits of responding to these messages, regardless of whether or not I am interested in the role.
You Will Be Remembered
Responding to recruiter’s messages may make them more inclined to consider you for other opportunities in the future. They likely message hundreds of potential candidates on LinkedIn, and if you are one of the few who actually reply, even if it’s to say that you are not interested at this time, but would like to hear if anything else comes up in the future, you are bound to be more memorable than others, and therefore a more likely candidate for future roles.
You May Have Mutual Connections With the Recruiter
This happened to my friend. She received a message about a job offer, and when she told her sister about it, she found out that the recruiter was her sister’s friend’s uncle. Because of this, she was able to skip the group interview and was given a one-on-one interview straight away. Oh yeah, and she got the job! Clearly, expanding your network can be highly beneficial. It really is all about who you know.
It Takes 2 Minutes
LinkedIn even provides you with ready-made responses to indicate whether you are interested or not. I recommend personalizing these responses a little bit so you stand out, but regardless, these suggested or “template” responses serve as a great starting point, and will make crafting a polite and professional response that much easier.
Essentially, if you want to keep your options open and make job hunting a little less painful, you should consider responding to messages from recruiter’s. After all, the whole point of having a LinkedIn is so that you can build your professional network. What better way to do this then to reply to the people offering you jobs?