Here’s how to set up a LinkedIn recruitment campaign for hard-to-fill technical roles: first, identify your target audience based on data; develop a compelling employer brand story; tailor your targeting to role, skills and region; and refine your campaign weekly based on hard data. This way, you’ll primarily reach latent jobseekers in technical roles who aren’t actively applying for jobs.
For technicians, engineers, welders and other hard-to-find roles, LinkedIn isn’t a magic bullet, but it is a powerful channel if you take a data-driven approach. In this article, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to do this, which targeting strategies work and what metrics you should focus on.
Why does LinkedIn work for hard-to-fill technical roles?
LinkedIn works well for hard-to-fill technical roles because it allows you to reach latent jobseekers in a targeted way: people who are in employment but aren’t actively looking for a job, yet are open to something better. That is precisely the group you’ll never come across with a standard job advert on a job board.
The labour shortage is severe. At the end of 2024, there were over 390,000 job vacancies in the Netherlands (CBS, 2024), and technical professions are consistently among the sectors facing the most acute labour shortages (UWV, 2024). With these profiles, you’re not competing for applicants, but for attention.
On LinkedIn, you can both buy and earn that attention. You can target adverts at specific job titles and skills, whilst at the same time building the visibility of your employer brand. That makes it a logical part of a broader, data-driven recruitment approach.
Bear in mind, however, that not all technicians are on LinkedIn. For purely operational blue-collar roles, Meta or Google are often more effective. LinkedIn performs best for technically trained professionals with a vocational or higher vocational education background, such as engineers, work planners, project managers and specialist tradespeople.
How do you set up a LinkedIn recruitment campaign in 7 steps?
You can set up a LinkedIn recruitment campaign in seven steps: identify your target audience, set your objective and budget, create your employer brand story, choose a campaign type, set up your targeting, and measure and adjust your campaign. Under each step, you’ll find a description of what you need to do in practice.
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- Takes an average of 3–8 weeks to complete
Step 1: Identify your target audience using data
Don’t start with the advert, but with the candidate. Identify who you’re looking for: job title, skills, years’ experience and region. Employers often discover, through target audience data, that their ideal candidate prioritises different factors than they had anticipated. A good target audience analysis is the foundation.
Step 2: Choose one clear campaign objective
Do you want to attract applications, or do you want to focus on visibility and brand recognition first? For hard-to-find roles, a two-stage campaign is worthwhile: first build brand awareness, then focus on converting that into applications. Choose one objective per campaign, so that your results remain measurable.
Step 3: Set a realistic budget
LinkedIn is more expensive per click than Meta or Google. Expect a higher cost per application, but candidates who are more likely to match a specific profile. Spread your budget across testing and scaling up, rather than putting it all into a single advert.
Step 4: Create an employer narrative that resonates with engineers
Don’t sell a job description; sell a reason to make a move. What makes the work technically interesting? What projects, machinery or career progression opportunities do you offer? A strong employer brand is the driving force behind every campaign and belongs in your the TEAM framework.
Step 5: Choose the right type of advert
For technical recruitment, Sponsored Content (posts in the feed) and Message Ads work best. Feed adverts build reach and brand awareness; message adverts appeal to candidates on a personal level. Combine them for the best results.
Step 6: Refine your targeting
Focus on job titles, skills and experience, supplemented by region. Avoid targeting that is too broad: it is better to target a small, high-quality group than to waste impressions. More on this in the next section.
Step 7: Measure and make adjustments on a weekly basis
A campaign is never finished once it goes live. Review your figures weekly and optimise your best-performing adverts and target audiences. At FosFor, this is standard practice: we hold weekly strategic meetings to discuss campaigns, results and next steps.
What kind of targeting works for technical roles on LinkedIn?
The best targeting strategy for technical roles combines job title, specific skills and region, whilst avoiding filters that are too broad. This way, you can reach qualified technicians without wasting your budget on people who will never apply.
In practice, use these targeting layers:
- Job title: focuses on job titles such as ‘maintenance technician’, ‘work planner’ or ‘project engineer’, including variations.
- Skills: Filter by skills such as welding, PLC programming, hydraulics or AutoCAD, depending on your role.
- Region: Narrow down the search to your location, as journey time is often a deciding factor for technicians.
- Length of service and sector: Tailor your application to the desired level of experience and relevant sectors for career changers.
Combine job titles with skills, rather than with interests. Interest-based targeting is too vague for specialist technical roles. You should also deliberately test a target group of career changers from related sectors; there is often untapped potential there. LinkedIn states in its own Talent Solutions documentation similar advice on targeted skills-based recruitment.
How much does a LinkedIn recruitment campaign for technical roles cost?
A LinkedIn recruitment campaign for engineering roles costs more per click and per application than Meta or Google, but often yields better-suited candidates. The exact cost depends on the role, region and level of competition for your target audience. The table below lists the main cost items.
| Cost item | What it involves | What you’re aiming for |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising budget | What you pay on LinkedIn for impressions and clicks | Cost per click and cost per application |
| Content and creation | Copy, images and video for the adverts | Click-through rate and quality of responses |
| Employer’s account | EVP and ‘Careers’ message | Conversion from click to application |
| Optimisation | Weekly adjustments and testing | Falling cost per high-quality candidate |
More important than the cost per click is the cost per qualitative candidate. A more expensive click that is more likely to lead to a suitable applicant is better value than a cheap click that yields no results. If you want to take that calculation seriously, compare it with the costs of secondment or recruitment and selection via a no-obligation strategy meeting.
LinkedIn versus other channels: when should you choose which one?
LinkedIn is the platform of choice for technically skilled candidates with an MBO+ or HBO qualification; for blue-collar roles, Meta, Google or TikTok are often more effective. Choosing the right channel depends on where your target audience actually is.
| Channel | Strong for | Type of candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Engineers, work planners, project managers | Latent jobseeker, higher educated | |
| Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | Fitters, operators, production staff | Latent jobseeker, broad reach |
| Google for Jobs | Professionals actively seeking employment | Search by job title and location |
| TikTok | Young recruits and career changers | Exploratory, younger audience |
In practice, a combination works best: LinkedIn for specialist roles, and Meta or Google for operational roles. You should determine which mix suits your vacancies based on target audience data, rather than gut feeling. This way, you build a steady stream of candidates rather than filling one-off vacancies, which is the difference between recruitment marketing and recruitment strategy.
What mistakes are costing you the best engineers on LinkedIn?
The biggest mistakes on LinkedIn are targeting too broadly, an advert that merely lists job requirements, and a lack of weekly optimisation. Each of these mistakes drives away scarce technical candidates before they even apply.
Be particularly mindful of these pitfalls:
- Targeting too broadly: You’re paying for ad impressions from people who are never a good fit. Focus strictly on role and skills.
- Sending rather than enticing: A list of requirements won’t convince an engineer who’s already in a job. Give them a reason to switch.
- No mobile optimisation: Almost everyone browses LinkedIn on their mobile. A slow or lengthy application process will cost you candidates.
- Do not correct the steering: Anyone who launches a campaign and then ignores it is wasting their budget. Weekly optimisation is essential.
- Working independently: Your campaign must tie in with your careers page and employer brand, otherwise candidates will still drop out.
At FosFor, we combine data from hundreds of campaigns with labour market and target audience data to prevent these errors. On average, our clients only interview the 2 to 4 best candidates per month, as we handle the entire pre-selection process. As a result, vacancies are filled on average within 3 to 8 weeks. You can see the benefits this brings per sector in our measurable recruitment results.
Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn recruitment campaigns
How much does a LinkedIn recruitment campaign for technical roles cost?
LinkedIn charges per click and per impression, and its rates are higher than those of Meta or Google. The exact cost depends on the role, region and competition within your target audience. More important than the cost per click is the cost per high-quality candidate, as a more expensive click that converts better is often more cost-effective.
Is LinkedIn suitable for recruiting technicians and operators?
For hands-on technicians and operators, LinkedIn is usually less effective than Meta or Google, as this group is less active on the platform. LinkedIn works best for technically skilled professionals such as engineers, work planners and project managers. Choose your channel based on where your target audience actually is.
How long does it take for a LinkedIn campaign to deliver results?
Initial responses often come within a few days, but a campaign only performs at its best after a few weeks of fine-tuning. With a data-driven approach, we fill vacancies within 3 to 8 weeks on average, depending on the scarcity of the role and the region.
Is it better to run a LinkedIn recruitment campaign myself or to outsource it?
You can do it yourself, but it requires time, a budget and experience with targeting and optimisation. Outsourcing is worthwhile if you have recurring vacancies that are difficult to fill and you want to recruit on an ongoing basis. A specialist helps you avoid costly mistakes and handles the shortlisting process, so that you only interview the best candidates.
Which targeting methods work best for hard-to-find technical roles?
The most effective targeting combines job title, specific skills and region, without using interest filters that are too broad. You should also deliberately test a target group of lateral entrants from related sectors; there is often untapped potential there for hard-to-fill technical roles.
Would you like to know which channel mix and targeting are best suited to your technical vacancies? Find out how our data-driven approach If this works for you, or simply book a no-obligation strategy meeting. We’ll then work through together how you can recruit the right technicians more quickly, whilst spending less time on applicants.