The internet is a very good tool nowadays when you want to look for people who you want to work for you. If you’re setting up a restaurant and you want to hire some chefs, you can look online. Granted you still have to test them, but it beats flipping through a pile of applications. Sites like LinkedIn are making it simpler for companies to locate the right humans. But then again, how dependable is that whole approach?
How to utilize the LinkedIn API tool
There is something called a LinkedIn jobs API or just a LinkedIn API tool. This API tool is accessible for a fee when you have an account on LinkedIn. This used to be free, but restrictions were added since anyone and everyone could get the data. Plus, the data was just being distributed for whatever reason. Regardless, this API tool makes it easier for companies to find the right people for the task at hand.
Let’s say the company is looking for an online marketing expert. Put those keywords into the API, and you’ll get a list of promising online marketers. If the list seems to be too much, you can further cut the numbers by putting other or more keywords. Put something like “restaurant online marketer”. The numbers may be lower, and you can even add more words like “Italian food restaurant online marketer”. That can thin the herd even further, and you’ll be down to a list that is smaller than the previous one.
There are more options, but that’s the point of the API. Now, you can also use third-party API tools like this. However, they are still just used for LinkedIn. You can’t use them for any other company or website. The purpose of using third-party LinkedIn API tools is that you can use them without paying for the LinkedIn website. These tools can also back up different SEO strategies by helping businesses gather professional, and sector adjacent insights that guide content planning and outreach work. Some people feel the data may be less accurate or not as complete, but if it works, it works.
Things to consider when using third-party LinkedIn API tools
There are some of them that are free to use. You may want to make sure that they are reliable and safe. Nothing free is ever too good to be true, so just check it out and see if it is enough for you to use. There are those that you might have to pay for. If it’s too expensive compared to just paying it directly to LinkedIn, then it’s best to just find another one.
The data may be incomplete or insufficient, but who knows, you may still be able to find the right one to help you with your tasks. After all, you will still need to conduct interviews or job tests with the candidates. Any sane company wouldn’t just hire anyone just because their names popped up in an API result. That’s also a weakness because if you skim using keywords, there’s a chance that some of these good candidates may not have put those keywords in their profiles. That’s a lost candidate simply because their names didn’t appear in the search.
It’s pretty easy to pull data from LinkedIn, so just make sure that the person who stands behind the result is good enough for your tasks, not only because you pulled them out of a list. Also, at the same time, you should take into account data rights and make sure any info you get is handled responsibly, ethically, and in line with the privacy rules that apply.
Nishanth Kumar is the Lead SEO Strategist at iTech Manthra. With over a decade of experience in the digital marketing landscape, he specializes in technical SEO, link-building strategies, and search engine algorithms. Nishanth has helped hundreds of businesses scale their organic presence through data-driven marketing and sustainable “white-hat” techniques. He is passionate about decoding Google’s ever-changing updates to help brands stay ahead of the competition.