This is one of those things that LinkedIn, a company with so much information on working professionals that it's hard to get through it all, can do so well: Tell us exactly how candidates want to be recruited.

LinkedIn's latest survey, which provided the background for the 2016 Global Talent Trends report report, talked to "over 26,000 professionals (who) shared their job seeking habits, and nearly 7,000 people who recently changed jobs (who) told us what drew them to their new opportunity." 

That's the kind of information that just about any executive, talent manager, recruiter, or sourcer would die to get their hands on. 

Key Finding: Almost Everyone is Open to a New Opportunity

So, here are the four key findings from the report's Executive Summary: 

1. Almost everyone is open to your job opportunities -- "A massive 90 percent of global professionals are interested in hearing about new job opportunities." 
2. But, people don't know much about your companies or your jobs -- "Candidates' biggest obstacle when changing jobs is not knowing enough about your company or roles."
3. Once you have the right message, you need to share it in the right ways -- "(Some) 66 percent of people who recently changed jobs are aware of the company by the time they first hear about the job. The No. 1 way candidates first discover and land a new job is through an employee referral."
4. People don't see themselves at one company for long -- "Over 2 in 5 people see themselves at their current company for less than two years. Recruit those who are likely to stay by looking for candidates who are motivated by purpose rather than status or money."

There a lot of great information in this report, and it's free if you just fill out a little information about yourself.  

More interesting survey findings

Of course, there was some information that seemed more relevant to me and you may find it interesting too:

• Although most of those who responded to the survey consider themselves passive, the number of active candidates is steadily increasing. According to the LinkedIn survey, the percentage of active candidates jumped from 25 percent in 2014, to 30 percent in 2015, and is up to 36 percent this year.
  My take: As the job market and economy continues to improve, more professionals are ready to reach out and start looking for a new job. 
• The biggest roadblocks candidates face when changing jobs are as follows:
  • Not knowing what it's like to really work at the company;
  • Not understanding what's expected of the role;
  • Not hearing back after applying to a company (one of my all time pet peeves);
  • Difficultly negotiating things like salary, title, role, etc.
  • Unclear communication during the recruiting process.
• The things candidates really want to know about your company. Believe it or not, cultures and values topped this list at 66 percent, followed by perks & benefits at 54 percent, and mission and vision at 50 percent.
  My take: As Millennials and younger workers become an ever larger part of the workplace, things that really matter to them -- like mission, vision, culture, and values -- will continue to grow in importance. if you're organization isn't on top of these things, your recruiting will suffer and your organization is going to lose out.

Don't Let Your Recruitment Strategy Fall Behind

There's a lot more to this report, and probably some things you will find interesting that I didn't. The thing you should keep in mind is that the respondents to it are working professionals who have a profile on LinkedIn. I think that's a pretty good group to be sampling, but, it may not be representative to what you and your organization is looking for in job candidates.

One more final take: Just about every survey and research report I'm seeing these days has something that tells you how much the demographics of the workplace are rapidly and dramatically changing. If you are not taking the time to sharpen your recruitment and retention strategy, and continually revising and updating it every year, you are going to find your ability to compete for the best talent falling further and further behind.

LinkedIn surveyed 26,151 LinkedIn members worldwide between January and March 2016. The majority were employed full-time or part-time when they took the survey. The survey was offered in multiple languages without incentives and LinkedIn did not weight the data. In addition, thy also surveyed 6,745 LinkedIn member globally who changed companies between February and March 2016 as self-reported in their profiles and confirmed in the survey. The overall confidence level for this survey is between 90-95 percent.