If you want to recruit the best young advisors to your firm online, it may be time to update your social media profiles.
A LIMRA report released Wednesday found that candidates recruited from social networking sites like LinkedIn show more potential for success than those from other online sources.
LIMRA measures potential for success in the financial services fields with its Career Profile+ assessment tool, with which aspiring professionals answer a series of questions about work and life experiences, creating a rating that estimates the likelihood for success in their career.
Candidates recruited from sites like LinkedIn performed nearly as well on the assessment as those found through direct references, long thought to be the “best bet” for financial services recruiters.
LIMRA’s report suggests that when it comes to generating potential candidates, social media (5 percent) still lags behind Internet job boards like Monster and Career Builder (20 percent) and direct referrals (31 percent).
Previous studies have suggested that LinkedIn may be a good tool to attract quality talent from other firms. Last year, an Oechsli Institute survey found that 90 percent of currently practicing advisors have a LinkedIn account.
Even if hiring still lags, officials are following the talent: Last year, 89 percent of recruiters across all industries reported hiring candidates through social media sites, according to a 2014 Herd Wisdom study.