How to Use LinkedIn Recruiter in 2026

LinkedIn Recruiter costs between $120 and $835 per month depending on your plan. Most recruiters use about 20% of what it can actually do. They run basic searches, send a few InMails, and wonder why their response rates are low. The tool is powerful, but only if you know how to set it up properly and use its advanced features.

This guide walks through the complete LinkedIn Recruiter workflow, from initial setup to pipeline management. Whether you just got access to your first Recruiter seat or you have been using it for years and want to get more out of it, you will find practical steps you can apply today.

What this guide covers:

• How to set up LinkedIn Recruiter correctly (profile, email integration, saved searches)
• Creating project pipelines to organize candidates by role
• Using advanced search filters and Boolean search to find the right people faster
• The connection request vs. InMail decision (and why you should start with free outreach)
• Tracking, tagging, and managing candidates through hiring stages
• Why pairing LinkedIn Recruiter with a recruiting CRM multiplies your results

If you are deciding between LinkedIn Recruiter plans, our comparison of LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate vs. Lite breaks down exactly what you get at each tier.

Setting up LinkedIn Recruiter for success

Before diving into projects and searches, it pays to spend a few minutes setting up LinkedIn Recruiter properly. The first thing you should do after logging in for the first time is polish your recruiter profile. Candidates will almost always check who is reaching out to them, so make sure your photo is professional, your headline clearly states your role, and your summary highlights the types of positions you fill. A well-crafted profile builds trust and directly improves your response rates on InMails and connection requests.

Next, connect your email and calendar to LinkedIn Recruiter. This integration allows you to schedule interviews, send follow-up messages, and keep all your candidate communication in one place without switching between tabs. It is a small step that eliminates a surprising amount of daily friction once your pipeline starts filling up.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the dashboard layout. The main navigation is organized around four core tabs. Search is where you build and run candidate queries using LinkedIn Recruiter search filters. Projects is your hub for organizing open roles and saved candidate lists. Pipeline lets you track where each candidate stands in the hiring process. Reporting gives you visibility into team activity, InMail performance, and hiring funnel metrics. Understanding how to use LinkedIn Recruiter starts with knowing where everything lives, so click through each tab and explore what is available before you begin sourcing.

Once you are comfortable with the interface, create your first saved search. Define the job title, location, and key skills for a role you are actively hiring for, then save the search and enable email alerts. LinkedIn will notify you when new candidates matching your criteria update their profiles or signal that they are open to work. This means your candidate pipeline keeps growing even when you are focused on other tasks.

Finally, if you plan to source at any real volume, consider pairing LinkedIn Recruiter with a recruiting CRM from day one. Connecting the two systems early means every candidate you save, every message you send, and every stage change syncs automatically. Recruiters who wait until their pipeline is overflowing to set up a CRM often lose hours cleaning up data and re-entering notes. Starting with that integration in place lets you focus on what actually matters: building relationships with great candidates.

1. Create a Project Pipeline

What is a Pipeline Project?

LinkedIn Recruiter usability is based on projects to track and manage candidates. Dedicate each project to one job opening for a better organization.

You can track active and archived candidates, the ones you have yet to engage with, already contacted and replied.

How to create a project?

When you get a new job opening you want to source on LinkedIn, start by creating a project pipeline following these steps :

1. Click on “Projects”
2. Click on “Create new”
3. In the pop-up window that appears, add a Project name
4. Click ”Create new project”

2. Find Candidates with LinkedIn Recruiter Advanced Search Filters

Good job on creating your project pipeline! 

Now, it’s time to dig into some serious business to source candidates: LinkedIn Recruiter advanced search filters.

What are LinkedIn Recruiter Advanced Search Filters?

These advanced search filters are a set of powerful tools that allow recruiters to narrow down their search results for potential candidates based on specific criteria such as job title, location, experience, and more. For a complete breakdown of every available option, check out our detailed guide on LinkedIn Recruiter search filters.

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite offers more than 25 advanced filters and about 30 on LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services (RPS) and Corporate to help you find potential candidates.

These filters are divided into categories as followed:

• Candidate details
• Education & experience
• Company
• Recruiting and candidate activity
• Spotlights

Here are the most commonly used filters:

• Job Titles: Utilize the most commonly used job titles for the role you are searching for.
• Keywords: Identify relevant skills and phrases found on profiles. The job description’s qualifications section can be a valuable source to select relevant keywords.
• Location: Specify any preferred location or time zone for the role
• Companies: Identify companies known to have a reputation for producing quality candidates for the role you’re searching for.
• Years of Experience: Consider the minimum years of experience required for the role, or the number of years typically needed to gain the necessary qualifications.
• Spoken languages (only in RPS and Corporate): Select the desired languages mastered by the potential candidates for the role. It is treated by default as an “OR” boolean operator.

Unique interesting filters:

• All groups: Identify candidates who are currently involved with specific LinkedIn groups, such as alumni groups, non-profits, or open-source communities.
• Network Relationships: Maximize your existing network by identifying candidates who are connected to people you know and trust.
• Recruiting Activity: Revisit qualified candidates from more than 3 months ago to see if they’re still on the job market or have gained additional experience that makes them a better fit for the role.
• Spotlights (only in Recruiter Pro and Corporate): Identify candidates who are open to work or more likely to respond.

Pssst! Here’s the complete LinkedIn Recruiter documentation on advanced filters.

How to use advanced search filters on LinkedIn Recruiter

Here are some tips to effectively use advanced searches in LinkedIn Recruiter:

1. Keep your search criteria realistic and relevant to your needs.
2. Use unique search queries relevant to the job specifications to uncover talents that may not be easily visible on LinkedIn’s “Most Relevant” search results page.
3. Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to refine your search criteria and narrow down your results. For a deep dive into crafting powerful queries, see our guide on LinkedIn Recruiter Boolean search techniques.
4. Save your search criteria and set up alerts to receive notifications when new candidates who meet your criteria join LinkedIn or update their profiles.

For a hands-on walkthrough of search strategies that go beyond filters, see our guide to 7 sourcing techniques on LinkedIn Recruiter covering both Pro and Lite.

Note that you can only view profiles from your 3rd degree connections with Recruiter Lite. A LinkedIn Recruiter Pro license allows you to unlock 30 profiles outside your network per month.

Also, you can view up to 2000 profiles per day on Recruiter Lite but it is unlimited for RPS and Corporate licenses.

How to add candidates to your project pipeline

Once you have found interesting candidates profiles, it’s time to add them to your project pipeline:

1. Click on the”Save to pipeline” button next to the candidate you are interested in

Or you can also do it in bulk:

1. Check the boxes to select the candidates you are interested in
2. Click on “Save to Pipeline” at the top of the search results section

3. Reaching Out to Potential Candidates

LinkedIn Recruiter is a powerful tool for sourcing talents. But it’s not enough to just find the right people. Once you’ve added potential candidates to your pipeline, you need to engage a conversation with them.

That’s where InMails and connection requests come in.

What are InMails?

InMail is LinkedIn’s messaging system that allows you to send messages to LinkedIn members who are not already in your network. 

As a LinkedIn Recruiter user, you have a limited number of InMails you can send each month, so it’s important to make them count. You get 30 InMail credits per month with LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, 100 per month with a Professional Services license and 150 with a Corporate Licence.

You can get back your InMail credits if the candidates answer you. So you better focus on your response rate, even if you get a rejection.

But you better save your credits as much as you can. That’s why you have a first option before spending them all.

First option: Send a connexion request

Before spending your precious InMail credits, ask to join the candidates LinkedIn’s network. 

You can add a personalized note in your connection request to specify the reason for your outreach. They have a better response rate than Inmails.

If they accept you, it will be much easier and cheaper to engage with them afterwards.

Here is how to send a connexion request from LinkedIn Recruiter:

1. Open the candidates profile in LinkedIn Recruiter
2. Click on “Public profile” to open it in a new tab
3. Click on “Connect” and add a personalized note if you want to

LinkedIn purposely makes it difficult to use free means to engage with people because they want you to spend your InMail credits. 

You can counter-measure it with a recruiting CRM such as Leonar to automate your connection requests along with your InMails outreach. Discover the best LinkedIn Recruiter automation tools to scale your candidate engagement without burning through InMail credits.

Second Option: Send an InMail

It’s been a few days since you sent a connection request but you didn’t get accepted yet?

It’s time to use your InMail Credits.

Here’s how to send an InMail:

1. Click the letter icon on their introduction section.
2. Type the Subject field (it’s optional) in the “New message” pop-up window.
3. Type the message in the text box.
4. Click Send.

You can as well send InMails in bulk with RPS and Corporate licenses. You can send up to 25 candidates at once:

1. Select the candidates you want to reach out to
2. Click on “Message (number of selected candidates)” 
3. Write your InMail template
4. Click on “Send”

4. Track and Manage Candidates

Once you have identified potential candidates and reached out to them, you need to track and manage them efficiently to ensure that you don’t lose out on the opportunity to hire them. This is especially important when building a pipeline of passive talent sourcing, where candidates may not respond immediately.

LinkedIn Recruiter offers a variety of features to help you track and manage candidates. Here are some of the key steps you should take:

Set up a search alert

There are qualified candidates you are interested in but not open to new opportunities yet? In case you have a LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services license, use alerts to detect open to work profiles by:

1. Apply the filters that you need and make sure to check “Open to work” in Spotlights
2. Click on “Save search” on the top left rail
3. Input a name for your saved search
4. In “Project Name”, click on the corresponding project or create a new one
5. Turn on the “Receive email alerts for this search”

Next time a LinkedIn profile with the defined qualification becomes open to work, you will be notified by email.

Add Notes

Once you have saved a candidate, you can add notes to their profile to help you remember important details about them. For example, you can add notes about their experience, qualifications, or any other relevant information that will help you evaluate them.

1. Click on the 3 dots besides a candidate profile
2. Click on “Add note”

Or you can also do it in bulk: 

1. Select several candidates
2. Click on “Add note” in the bar above the candidates list

Tag Candidates

Though it is only available for LinkedIn Recruiter Pro, you can tag candidates based on their skills, experience, or other relevant criteria. This will make it easier to find candidates who meet specific requirements when you need to fill a particular role.

1. Click on the 3 dots besides a candidate profile
2. Click on “Add tag”
3. Click on ”Search tags” with the textbook icon and select ”Show all tags” from the dropdown.
4. Check the box(es) next to the tag(s) you’d like to add to the profile.
5. Click on ”Update”

Or you can also do it in bulk:

3. Select several candidates
4. Click on “Add tag” in the bar above the candidates list

Change Candidates Stage Through the Pipeline

As you evaluate candidates, you can move them through different stages of the pipeline. For example, you might move them from “saved” to “interviewed”, to “offer made”, and to “hired”. This will help you keep track of where each candidate is in the hiring process.

1. Go in the ”Pipeline” tab
2. Locate the candidate in your pipeline
3. Click on ”Change stage” on the right side of the candidate’s profile line
4. Select the new status from the dropdown

Or you can do it in bulk with RPS and Corporate licenses:

1. Select the candidates
2. Click on “Change stage” above the candidates list
3. Select the new status from the dropdown

Collaborate in team

If you are working with a team, you can collaborate on candidate profiles by sharing notes and tags. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and has access to the same information. 

Note that team collaboration is a LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services and Corporate exclusive feature.

Here’s what you can do:

• Access to shared projects
• Monitor multi-user dashboard
• Get free collaborator licenses for hiring managers or clients (up to 20 per user)
• Mention a team mate in your notes
• Message sharing
• Recruiting activity history

What is LinkedIn Recruiter and why do recruiters need it in 2026?

LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s premium hiring platform, designed specifically for talent acquisition professionals. Unlike a standard LinkedIn Premium subscription, Recruiter gives you access to the full network of 1B+ profiles, advanced search filters, InMail messaging, and project-based candidate management.

In 2026, the platform has become even more central to outbound recruiting. LinkedIn continues to add AI-powered features like recommended matches and smart alerts that surface candidates based on your past hiring patterns. For recruiters who rely on sourcing (rather than waiting for inbound applications), LinkedIn Recruiter is the starting point for most searches.

The key question is not whether to use it, but how to get the most value from your license. Many teams pay for Corporate seats but only use basic keyword searches, leaving powerful filters and collaboration features untouched. The sections above show you how to use every feature that matters. If you want to benchmark your LinkedIn Recruiter results against other channels, tracking strategic sourcing KPIs will give you clear data on what is working.

5. Manage Your Candidate Pipeline in Leonar CRM

You have now learned how to use LinkedIn Recruiter effectively. But this tool, as powerful as it is, is still quite limited for today’s recruitment challenges.

If you only use LinkedIn Recruiter in your tools’ stack, here’s what you are missing out :

• Candidate list cleaning — import candidates from LinkedIn Recruiter to Leonar in one click
• Scraping LinkedIn Recruiter for candidate data at scale, beyond the 25-profile export limit
• Multichannel outreach automation including emails
• Outreach messages hyper-personalization
• Centralization of your past multichannel conversation per candidate

Leonar is a recruiting CRM that fills every gap listed above. You can connect it to your LinkedIn Recruiter account (Corporate, Lite, or Sales Navigator) and your ATS to source, clean, and engage candidates from a single platform.

Your next step: If you are already using LinkedIn Recruiter, try connecting it to a CRM before your next sourcing sprint. The combination of LinkedIn’s search power with a CRM’s automation and organization will save you hours every week. Book a demo with Leonar to see how the integration works with your specific setup.

More LinkedIn Recruiter guides to level up your sourcing

• LinkedIn Recruiter search filters explained covers every filter available on Lite, Pro, and Corporate
• How to scrape LinkedIn Recruiter for exporting candidate data at scale beyond the 25-profile limit
• LinkedIn Recruiter automation tools reviews the best tools for scaling your outreach
• InMail vs. connection request helps you decide when to spend credits and when to save them
• 7 sourcing techniques on LinkedIn covers advanced strategies beyond basic search