Coronavirus: LinkedIn unveils new features to help fill critical roles

The company said the number of healthcare job postings in the UAE has surged amid the coronavirus pandemic

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Microsoft’s LinkedIn has rolled out a slew of measures to assist recruiters and jobseekers in filling critical roles during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s largest professional network is offering free resources to healthcare organisations, supermarkets, warehousing firms, freight delivery companies and disaster relief non-profits to hire talent. The organisations can post mission-critical jobs for free on the platform until June 30, the technology company said in a statement on Thursday.

“It’s clear that more help is needed to fill the most urgent open roles,” said Ali Matar, head of Middle East and North Africa and emerging markets in Europe and Africa at LinkedIn.

“We are focusing all our efforts to help accelerate the hiring of people with critical skills that are most in demand right now.”

New data from LinkedIn across multiple markets show that job postings for critical roles in healthcare - such as doctors, nurses and medical assistants - have been rising.

In the UAE, the number of healthcare job postings and listings have surged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with leading hospitals in the country on a hiring spree, LinkedIn said in a statement.

LinkedIn is also helping job seekers quickly find open roles by promoting them on its Jobs page. For example, healthcare roles, such as doctors and nurses, will be automatically added to a list of ‘urgent’ jobs.

Those with relevant skills will receive automatic real-time alerts and emails about the available jobs.

Under LinkedIn’s ‘Recruiting For Good’ programme, the company’s employees with recruiting expertise can volunteer their time to help organisations find talent to fill urgent paid and volunteer positions.

“We are committed to doing our part and are grateful for the huge support from our employees who are volunteering their time to help recruit for these urgent roles that will ultimately make a difference and serve all of humanity,” Mr Matar said.

Last week, the California-headquartered company told employees it will suspend most of its hiring as it reviews business planning in the wake of the pandemic.

Nicole Leverich, vice president of communications at LinkedIn, said the company would still make some “key hires”, US digital media site The Information reported.

“But given the uncertainty in the environment we are revisiting our general hiring to ensure all future hires are aligned with the top priorities of the business,” Ms Leverich said.