In this article, we’ll take a look at four leading LinkedIn tools: LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services, LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate and Sales Navigator. This comparison of features, advantages and disadvantages will help you make a wise choice, tailored to your specific business.

Whether you own a recruitment agency or work independently, you will find the information you need to make an informed decision.

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite

A basic version with an interface dedicated to sourcing tasks. We can divide our searches into projects in order to maintain order and the history of our work. Projects are very valuable because roles often repeat themselves or have similar requirements and in such a situation we can go back to the candidate pool from a past project and use it instead of doing a search from scratch.

In my experience of working with this tool and comparing it to the more expensive RPS version, Lite is no worse than RPS in terms of filtering. The most important and commonly used ones are also available in the cheaper version (I mention them below).

For whom?

It is best suited to individual recruiters and small teams in small and medium-sized companies with low recruitment needs.

Functionalities:

  • Available online as a monthly or annual subscription
  • Possibility of a free 30-day trial period for new users
  • Ability to cancel subscription at any time
  • Low cost compared to other versions
  • Identical interface and most functionalities to more expensive tools
  • Features the most important filters: search by past and current job title, location, keywords field, years of experience, current or past company or language skills + more than 15 other filters
  • Access to notifications of new candidates matching the project
  • 30 inMails per month available
  • Reporting: we have access to simplified reports summarising inMails sent or response rate, but it is not possible to share them
  • Included in the price we have access to publish one ad on Linkedin

Disadvantages:

  • Limited access to a network of contacts – unfortunately results are heavily based on our network and 2nd and 3rd line of contacts. You need to remember to expand your network on a regular basis to get the most results.
  • If you work in a team, there is no possibility to share projects or messages with other colleagues
  • No possibility to send multiple messages at once

LinkedIn Recruiter Services

A powerful tool that gives access to the majority of users on Linkedin. We use it at Team Up on a daily basis, it very much supports our Team Sourcing methodology. The user’s network matters here, but not as much as with the Lite version. A good network can allow you to find new candidates faster. The interface of the tool is identical to the Lite version. We have access to personalised notifications and, most importantly, team projects. We can add new people to a project and set sourcing strategies together, sharing, for example, the location in which each person is looking for candidates.

 

For whom?

It is a very sophisticated recruitment tool, dedicated exclusively to recruitment agencies.

Functionalities:

  • Access to 3 lines of contact (most people on the portal)
  • Advanced search filters, including options such as years in current job/position
  • Advanced reporting + data can be accessed by your manager
  • 100 inMails per month available
  • 40+ filters
  • Ability to send multiple messages at once

Disadvantages:

  • Higher cost compared to other versions
  • With this version, there is no possibility for testing and simple cancellation
  • The contract is usually signed for a minimum of one year

LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate

Recruiter Corporate is the tool where we have access to the full pool of potential candidates, even those outside the 3rd line of contact. It is also the most expensive tool, while the functionalities from the RPS version are the same.

For whom?

A tool dedicated to corporate companies that are not recruitment agencies, i.e. internal recruitment departments.

Functionalities:

  • Full access to the Linkedin network without restrictions
  • Advanced search filters
  • 150 inMails available
  • Possibility to send multiple messages at once

Disadvantages:

  • Higher cost compared to LinkedIn Recruiter Services, while functionality remains the same.

Sales Navigator

It may come as a bit of a surprise that I am mentioning here a tool that is not dedicated to recruiters, but to those involved in customer acquisition. I tested Sales Navigator for some time and it positively surprised me. Although it is a tool for salespeople, it can be used to contact candidates as we still have access to 3 lines of contact and we have the possibility to use inMails. What’s more, Sales Navigator has very similar filters to the tools previously mentioned, and even filters that you won’t find in the above tools. For example, in Sales Navigator we have a split filter of Position Name into past and present name which gives great sourcing possibilities. I would very much like to see a filter in this form come to the RPS version. The problem with Sales Navigator is certainly the completely different interface. Evidently, it was not developed for recruitment/sourcing needs, but it is possible to get used to it.

Functionalities:

  • Access to the entire Linkedin network
  • Search filters, very similar to the previously mentioned tools
  • Possibility of a 30-day trial
  • Possibility to buy for individual users and to resign at any time
  • InMails are available: 50 per month

Disadvantages:

  • A completely different interface. Unfortunately, if you are used to the interface from Recruiter Lite or RPS, switching to Sales Navigator may take some time.
  • It is not a tool dedicated to recruiters by default, so other functionalities that are more useful for contacting potential new clients are prioritised
  • IMPORTANT – using it for purposes other than new customer acquisition, including recruitment, is against the tool’s terms of use, allowing LinkedIn to disable access to Navigator without refunding the fee

Sales Navigator is divided into Core and Advanced versions, but the differences in features are not in the areas of recruitment, and there are 50 inMails in each, hence if you are an individual recruiter then Core will suffice.

Summary

In summary, if you are a freelance recruiter, I would encourage you to try both Recruiter Lite and Sales Navigator. Recruiter Lite costs between PLN 366 and PLN 493 per month and Sales Navigator costs between PLN 289 and PLN 350 per month and you can cancel at any time. In my opinion, Lite has a clearer interface, but if, for example, you are a 360 recruiter and also source clients, then Sales Navigator may be right for you.

For recruitment teams and larger and smaller companies, I would definitely recommend the Linkedin Recruiter Services and Corporate versions, because of the support for teamwork. Prices start from PLN 1326 (RPS) although to a large extent the price depends on the needs of the teams and is decided individually.

The final choice depends on the specifics of your business. Let the decision you make respond directly to your unique recruitment needs. This is the key to success in today’s demanding world of recruitment.