LinkedIn Talent Insights and LinkedIn Recruiter may return different member counts for the same search term because the two products function differently.
Data in Recruiter
Recruiter searches provide a broad talent pool so you can view every potential candidate. When the search algorithm isn’t certain whether a member has the skill or title you are searching for, Recruiter defaults to including the member. Recruiter returns estimates for the size of a talent pool rather than a talent pool’s exact size.
Data in Talent Insights
Talent Insights searches provide a narrower talent pool. Searches for members with a given skill or title are more targeted because the user’s intent is to compare the sizes of talent pools rather than review every potential candidate.
Data differences in Recruiter and Talent Insights
In some circumstances, you may see data differences in Recruiter and Talent Insights. Below are some examples of when you may see data differences between Recruiter and Talent Insights:
- If the professional count in Talent Insights differs from Recruiter search candidate results, this is due to how members identify themselves on LinkedIn. In the Company Report in Talent Insights, under Advanced Filters, the Employment Type filter selects Full-Time by default. This means that any members who have listed themselves as "Part-time", "Freelance", "Contractor", "Student", or "Intern" are excluded by default. All calculations in the Company Report, including hires, departures, attrition and growth rates, etc., also reflect this methodology and exclude part-time or non-active members. Talent Insights employee counts represent active, full-time employees, so member counts on a Talent Insights Company Report and Recruiter may differ.
- If the professional count on your Company Page differs from the data in your Recruiter search candidate results or Talent Insights Company Report, this can happen because:
- Your Company Page was recently converted to a Showcase Page.
- Your Company Page includes a total count of all affiliate companies by default. Affiliate companies aren't included in the Recruiter search results and Talent Insights Company Report.
We recommend using Talent Insights to understand the overall talent market. Once you’ve determined which talent pools to target, we recommend using Recruiter to find the best candidates within that talent pool. You can contact us to report other discrepancies or data issues.
Important to know
The talent pool counts may not be exactly the same in Talent Insights and Recruiter. In order to provide search results as quickly as possible, Recruiter shows approximate counts for search results containing 1,000 or more results. In some cases, Recruiter may return a broader set of profiles so that you have the best chance at finding the right candidate.