Should you/could you, charge recruiters to join your group on LinkedIn?

Hi would like peoples take on this, since 2008 I have created some groups on linkedIn I have purposely kept them closed groups and very industry or geography specific. For example I set up Bermuda Executives, which I keep strictly for individuals living and working in Bermuda or for those with very strong links to the island. The group has over 1000 members 79% of which are c-suite who actively take part and discuss recruiting trends/needs and other issues on the island. I am always getting requests to join this group from overseas recruiters which I do not allow, partly because it took time and effort to set this up (so why should they benefit from my efforts) and secondly because the group does not want to be hassled by un-vetted recruiters who can clog up message boards with jobs etc... it was never set up as a job discussion group, more for people on the island to chat with each other and discuss Island issues. Having lived and worked in Bermuda for several years it also helped me stay in contact with friends on the island once I left.

So, would you/could you/should you, charge service orientated "wannabe" members a fee for joining, knowing their only reason to join is to "mine" your group for contacts without adding any value?

My take:

Would you: Not sure needs analysis

Could You: Seems plausible to set up an account/ ltd comp. you could invoice said member they pay you approve. Hoping someone on here knows the LinkedIN legals to advise also.

Should you: I think its a way of ensuring people which want to join and have something to gain by joining, have a real and vested interest in being professional and useful to the members. Encourages group managers to manage the content and members more proactively.

Thoughts?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amber on July 15, 2013 at 4:59pm

Hi Chris,

1. No, you can't charge people to join your LI group, per LI policy anyway.

2. If I were an established member of one of your groups, and you then sold or profited somehow by letting in those you had previously chosen to exclude, I would be pretty insulted and pissed.

3. If I were considering paying to join some group -which I wouldn't likely do - I would expect some sort of reasonable return.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Bailey on July 15, 2013 at 11:08pm

Hi Amber, thanks for your response, appreciate the LI policy clarity also! I think my discussion point was probably written in a little haste, hence the should/could/would aspect, probably as I spent about 30 mins wading through requests to join form around 50 recruitment consultants all over the world! As we seem to be being charged for every database we use I mused how long it would be before LI started profiting from joining groups.... certainly not really thinking of charging my people to join my group hence the 1) Needs analysis or discussion :) Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Branch on July 22, 2013 at 3:01pm

No way. It's tough enough w/o having to be nickel and dimed. Many corporate recruiting depts are tasked to REDUCE costs. Many corp depts barely provide you with decent resources to utilize to begin with. I'm still trying to convince my company that paying for monster is a waste of money. I finally got them to get rid of career builder and had to beg to get access to linkedin. I was happy that I was able to get linkedin Recruiter last month.