There’s little doubt that the pandemic may have a lasting impact on many aspects of business. The increasing shift to remote ways of working means the online profiles of candidates are even more significant - and highly scrutinised - than ever before.
It’s not surprising then that over 80% of the recruiters we surveyed said being active online as a thought leader is more important to employers in the post-Covid era.
It’s hard to overstate the disruption this pandemic has brought to the way we do business. Employers recognise they need people who can communicate in new ways and create opportunities through the power of their ideas and their network.
of the recruiters said being active online as a thought leader is more important to employers in the post-Covid era
Click to tweet
Let’s cut to the chase.
The question on everyone’s minds is 'how does thought leadership influence salary?' More than half (56%) of those surveyed said that candidates who are recognised as thought leaders can command a premium.
Over one third (34%) of recruiters said being a thought leader increases the salary employers are willing to offer by up to 10%
One in six (16%) said thought leadership increases potential salary by 10-25%
And a few (4%) said thought leadership can increase potential salary by more than 25%
Being a thought leader is the same as putting your money where your mouth is. Being a thought leader / SME (subject matter expert) allows for accountability and continuous learning opportunities. Putting oneself out there is tough but shows leadership skills, ability to listen / learn and accountability.
of recruiters said that candidates who are recognised as thought leaders can command a premium
Click to tweet
Almost two thirds (64%) of all recruiters surveyed said that a candidate who is recognised in their industry as a thought leader is more likely to get the role than a candidate with the same qualifications and experience but no track record of thought leadership.
There was a slight difference in US/UK responses. 67% of US recruiters said thought leaders have the edge over non thought leaders, compared to 60% of UK recruiters.
Demonstrated thought leadership on a profile helps a candidate to stand out against a sea of competition
Gravitas, they want you, not vice versa.
of recruiters said that a candidate who is recognised in their industry as a thought leader is more likely to get the role than a candidate with the same qualifications
Click to tweet
What’s the one thing we all do before every call, every meeting, every anything in business? We jump on LinkedIn and look at each other’s profiles. What people find on our profile determines how we are viewed and can shape the nature of our future interactions.
Nine out of ten recruiters surveyed (93%) agreed that thought leadership matters to employers. But when in a candidate’s career do our respondents think thought leadership profile is most important?
Almost half (48%) said thought leadership is most important for candidates seeking senior leadership roles
Just over one third (36%) believe it is important throughout a candidate’s entire career
A few (8%) felt it was most important for mid-career roles
Customers/Clients/Hiring managers want "added value" when they hire for a leadership position and someone who is perceived to be a thought leader in the market often can express their experience and views in a more detailed and concise way than others.
We asked recruiters what types of thought leadership activity are most important to employers right now. Our respondents said by far the most sought after activities are an authentic, personable LinkedIn profile (83%) and regular LinkedIn posts on industry hot topics (81%).
Interestingly, the traditional PR tactic of regular appearances in the media (49%) - while seen by almost half of respondents as still valued by employers - was deemed less important to a candidate’s prospects than having a large, engaged following on LinkedIn (57%).
Personal blogs (24%), podcast appearances (20%) and video blogging (16%) were rated the least important candidate activities to employers.
When it comes to thought leadership, many of the recruiters we surveyed agreed LinkedIn is key to the executive search process. Here’s a selection of what they told us:
It gives the employer the ability to visualize the future state of what the candidate can bring to the company.
Resumes are almost dead or at least on life support withLinkedIn taking over. Having an impressive thought leadership profile increases your chance and it's a best opportunity to get noticed.
It's an additional layer of evidence of the value they can deliver to a future employer.
Podcasts and videos get a lot of hype right now so it’s interesting to find they’re not valued as highly by employers as simple things like regular insightful posts on LinkedIn and having an authentic profile. It just goes to show that thought leadership doesn’t have to involve complicated production - you just have to consistently show up as you and share your own unique point of view.
authentic, personable LinkedIn profile
Our survey also revealed the most common mistakes recruiters see candidates make when it comes to their LinkedIn profile: the use of an unprofessional profile picture (62%), followed by a profile which lacks personality (60%) and doesn't give employers any sense of what type of person the candidate is (58%).
The LinkedIn profile is the ultimate barometer for authenticity. People can hire a coach to help with resumes and interview prep, but the "proof is in the pudding" when it comes to a LinkedIn profile
Despite 93% of recruiters identifying thought leadership as important to employers, less than one third (28%) said they always recommend candidates enhance their thought leadership profiles. The recruitment industry is increasingly recognising the importance of thought leadership to the executive search process. Over half of our respondents (56%) said they offer support, materials or coaching to candidates looking to improve their thought leadership profile.
Being authentic doesn’t mean you have to go it alone,” says Tamara. “Thought leadership is an emerging discipline with its own set of strategies and skills. If this doesn’t come naturally to you or you don’t have the time to execute, getting the right expert support can help you realise your potential.
the use of an unprofessional profile picture
We asked some of the best thought leaders in their respective fields what thought leadership means to them and how their personal brand and being authentic on LinkedIn has benefited the way they work. Here’s what they told us:
People tend to underestimate their own value, how their ideas or experiences could influence or support others. To me, thought leadership is turning those ideas into actionable content. In our go-forward world, people who are willing to create and take bold positions within their respective fields are the ones that will command greater opportunities.
For me, more than anything, being authentic on digital channels like LinkedIn has driven new relationships – with people I admire, with potential collaborators, and with those who are trying to solve the same personal and professional challenges that I am.
Bring your thoughts and expertise to scale by being open, social and visible online. Your best bet is always yourself. Especially now that there's more uncertainty roaming around than ever before. Thought leadership brings our knowledge and expertise to scale. A pursuit most can benefit from with no barrier to entry. Bet on yourself - the benefits are tremendous.
I have long thought, as the Founder of a specialist recruitment business, that understanding your community and trends in your marketplace is an important part of being a successful recruiter. Providing insight and value, championing the skillsets you recruit for is a key part of the role.
As a recruiter, you are often able to spot trends in the workforce much earlier, make this information available to everyone through your personal marketing and communication. It helps your clients and candidates build a clear picture of how to prepare for a new hire, or new job.
Oftentimes, we tell ourselves that our experiences, the things we know, the things we do on a daily basis, are not actually that valuable. And that's where, for senior leaders at corporates, a kind of imposter syndrome can set in. But what they see as mundane and normal is actually what somebody else - maybe somebody twenty paces behind them in terms of career - is desperately trying to figure out.
Senior executives need to understand that thought leadership is the missing link. When there's conflict within an organization or friction, it's actually not because people don't like each other or don't like their job. It's because they feel like they don't know what's going on. So thought leadership doesn't just have to be coming up with new ideas that inspire people, thought leadership can also be really good internal communication.
Today’s attention economy - combined with a fiercely competitive job market and historic disruption to the ways businesses operate - means candidates who invest in their thought leadership are at a significant advantage over their peers.
Our respondents in the recruitment industry tell us that the old days of using LinkedIn as an online CV are gone. Savvy candidates know that employers want to understand more about who they are as a person - which comes from sharing values, ideas and being part of industry conversations that are timely, topical and relevant.
While thought leadership qualities such as having an authentic profile and posting regularly are in the ascendent with employers, our respondents indicated that hyped activities like podcasts and even traditional metrics like PR mentions are comparatively less important to employers.
Not only can a strong personal brand and active thought leadership give candidates the edge over others in the executive search process, the majority of our respondents said it also enables a candidate to command greater salary and benefits. Employers are willing to invest more in attracting thought leaders because they bring a range of additional attributes with them to the role, attributes closely tied to delivering growth.
With the rise of LinkedIn as the world’s biggest driver of B2B leads and all the hype around new thought leadership platforms like Clubhouse, thought leadership looks set to continue in its ascendancy - something ambitious candidates and companies alike need to embrace to stay ahead.
The attention economy has well and truly collided with the business world. The result is that the definition of good leadership is changing. It's no longer enough just to 'do'. To lead and succeed, leaders must now also 'share'.
Business leaders that lack experience of thought leadership or the time to execute it need to get expert support in order to get up to speed. Otherwise we risk seeing a lot of experienced leadership talent - and the businesses that depend on that talent - become uncompetitive, even obsolete.
About the survey
The survey was undertaken by ThoughtLDR between 1st August 2020 and 30th November 2020. We surveyed over 125 leaders in recruitment and executive search across the UK & US to determine how thought leadership can affect the way employers value candidates.
We reached them individually via LinkedIn InMail and asked them to take five minutes out of their day to complete a survey on Typeform in return for a copy of this report.
Click here to download a full copy of the report.
The high response rate we got for our survey indicates that thought leadership is very much on recruiters’ radar. We’d like to thank everyone who responded for generously sharing their insights, which could make a world of difference to someone seeking a new role.
