In the world of recruitment, access to a vast and high-quality candidate database is the pillar of successful talent acquisition campaigns. Recruiters navigating the talent ocean often find themselves competing to discover, connect with, and source top-tier candidates through LinkedIn. 

Since recruitment’s move into the digital age, LinkedIn has developed somewhat of a monopoly on networking. Today the platform boasts over 900 million users worldwide – 11.5% of the earth’s population – and it would be hard to find a professional, especially in Tech, that doesn’t use LinkedIn.

Owning a monopoly on networking has also enabled LinkedIn to covertly increase the price of LinkedIn Recruiter to the point where a recruiter license is now a staggering $10,800 per year and a single InMail message sets you back $10.

It’s no wonder recruitment businesses are turning to alternative platforms.

There is more to the recruitment world than just LinkedIn, and here we’ll delve into other platforms that can enrich your recruitment database.

Here are the several types of recruitment databases we’ve listed in this blog:

1. Job boards
2. Social Media Platforms
3. Freelancer Marketplaces
4. Other Platforms

1. Job Boards

Job boards can be a great way to find relevant profiles for your recruitment database. According to Glassdoor, when candidates are on the hunt for a new job, they’ll use 8 different job boards on average. Most job boards are free to use for applicants, so finding profiles for your database here can be worth the time.

Here are some of the best ones:

Indeed

Indeed is arguably the most popular job-specific platform on the web with over 200m registered CVs. Recruiters can post jobs for free on Indeed, and have tons of candidates apply to the job ad in the general search. Upgrading to premium gives you access to a wide range of features such as: 

• Reaching more candidates with a boost to your job ad
  
  
• Creating a personalized company page layout with custom branding

• Measuring candidate engagement with analysis of job applications and company reviews

In addition to the premium feature, you can buy extra boosts for your job listing and integrate the Hiring Platform directly to your ATS to automate extracting profiles of applied candidates. 

Indeed can be a very effective tool to source data from relevant candidates who don’t use LinkedIn.

Database: 200m CVs

Glassdoor

Glassdoor started off as a platform where current and former employees can anonymously review companies. As more and more job seekers signed up to the platform to view the reviews of a company before applying for a job, it has now become a leading job board due to its transparency of salaries and company reviews.

Glassdoor allows recruiters from verified companies to post jobs, advertise their company page, and get access to millions of candidates. 

There is a focus on employee branding and marketing, giving you the chance to showcase your company and build trust with candidates organically.

Database: 57 Million unique users per month. 

Monster

Monster is another popular job board with candidates and recruiters alike. Recruiters can join Monster, post a job, and gain access to advanced algorithms that enable the matching of candidates with job postings. The database is enriched with tons of candidates across various industries.

Monster leans more on automating the process of candidates to relevant job descriptions.

Database: 70 million users worldwide

2. Social Media Platforms

While LinkedIn is a primary player, especially on the professional front, other social media platforms shouldn't be overlooked.

Now it may not be the most conventional way to source candidates, but social media can be a dark horse when it comes to getting profiles.

There are two platforms that are worth giving some attention to:

Polywork

Polywork is a modern professional networking platform – leaning towards tech– designed to showcase the all-around nature of individuals in their careers. Launched with the vision of moving beyond traditional resumes, Polywork empowers users to highlight their diverse skills, projects, and achievements.

The platform is focused on projects and allows users to highlight their projects, providing details about their roles, contributions, and outcomes.

Recruiters can create a profile and search for candidates who are open to collaboration and partnerships. 

Database: 1 million +

Twitter 

Twitter needs no introduction. But its utility in finding and contacting potential candidates may be worth mentioning. When used properly, it can become a dynamic space for professional networking, talent sourcing, and employer branding.

There are some key features worth adding to your recruitment arsenal:

Real-Time Updates:

Twitter's real-time nature allows recruiters to stay current with industry trends, job market dynamics, and engage with a dynamic audience actively participating in professional discussions.

Hashtags for Job Postings:

The use of hashtags enables recruiters to amplify the reach of job postings. Targeted and industry-specific hashtags increase visibility among professionals interested in specific roles or industries.

Recruitment Advertising:

Twitter offers advertising options for companies to promote job listings or employer branding campaigns to a wider audience. 

Although Twitter may not be the first choice, it can be a useful alternative to LinkedIn.

Database: 368m monthly users

3. Freelancer Marketplaces

With the workforce leaning towards a freelancer revolution, which will become a majority by 2030, freelancer marketplaces are a great place to discover untapped talent.

Here are some of the best ones out there: 

Upwork

Upwork is a leading freelancing platform that spans various industries, including writing, design, programming, and more.

Database: Upwork boasts over 18 million registered freelancers, making it one of the largest and most diverse talent marketplaces globally.

Toptal

Toptal is renowned for its focus on top-tier freelance talent, particularly in software development, design, and finance.

Database: Toptal has a pool of just over 1 million freelancers. It operates a rigorous screening process to ensure they recruit the top 3% of talent worldwide. 

Freelancer

Freelancer is a platform covering a wide range of freelance services, from writing and design to coding and marketing.

Database: Freelancer is by far the biggest platform for freelancers, with over 50 million registered users.

4. Other Platforms

HeroHunt.ai

HeroHunt.ai is a comprehensive recruitment engine that enables recruiters to find and engage with all the public profiles and contact details of candidates across all major networking platforms.

Recruiters can sign up for a free trial and parse a Job Description into the AI and get matched with thousands of qualified candidates within minutes. There is also a built-in ATS that saves those candidates and an Engage feature that allows you to set up sequences and automate emails. 

Database: The database is enriched with over 1 billion candidates.

GitHub

GitHub has established itself as the Reddit for software developers around the world. It hosts millions of repositories and serves as a hub for coding projects.

GitHub is a great place for recruiters to find profiles of software developers. Although there is no official recruitment feature, you can use the advanced search feature to help you find portfolios of software developers. 

Database: 100 million software developers worldwide

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is a go-to platform for software developers looking for solutions and knowledge-sharing on everything involving coding. The platform has a Q&A-style forum where developers post threads of coding challenges and tips.

Beyond its role as a Q&A forum, Stack Overflow holds great value for recruiters aiming to find technical talent. Each user has a profile that showcases their contributions, reputation, and expertise in specific tags.

Although not specifically set out for recruitment purposes, the platform is definitely a place where software developers hang out and has great potential to source profiles. 

Database: 20 million users

XING 

XING is a professional networking platform with a focus on connecting professionals in German-speaking regions like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The platform facilitates networking, job searches, and knowledge sharing. Like LinkedIn, XING has its own Recruiter platform where recruiters can sign up, search, and send messages to candidates using XING messages, like Recruiter InMails.

There is a free version with limited features and a recruiter premium version starting around €400.

Database: 21 million users (Predominantly in the DACH region)

There are many other platforms that can help you reach candidates and enrich your recruitment database. LinkedIn’s monopoly is slowing down and in order to keep a leg-up on your competition, it's crucial to keep tabs on all the other platforms candidates are going to and diversify your search.