LinkedIn or XING – Where should you advertise your job offers?

The search for qualified employees is one of the biggest challenges for companies in the DACH (as well as other) region(s). One of the most effective ways to advertise open positions and attract potential candidates is by posting job advertisements on professional online networks.

LinkedIn and XING are two of the most prominent platforms for this type of recruiting. But which one of the two career networks is a better choice?

In this article, we’ll give you an in-depth look at the differences between LinkedIn and XING and help you make the right decision for your job advertisements.

Comparing LinkedIn and XING

Before we dive into the details of the two platforms, let’s give you an overview of what to expect from career networks:

LinkedIn is a business network from the USA, which is now part of the Microsoft software company. It is a social media platform on which companies can implement their targeted B2B strategies through their company profile, publishing of job advertisements and sharing of informative posts or events.

Suggested read: How to post a job on LinkedIn

XING is an online jobs network in the German-speaking region, headquartered in Hamburg, that is part of New Work SE. XING recently announced that it is now moving from being a social media network toward focusing on job exchange and thus becoming particularly suitable for active sourcing.

XING not only offers its users many opportunities to network with their colleagues, but also offers companies many recruiting functions, including building a talent pool.

The differences between LinkedIn and XING

	LinkedIn	XING
Reach:	A global reach of more than 900 million members in over 200 countries (as of January 2023), including around 20 million users in the DACH region	A regionally oriented platform with 21.52 million members in the DACH region (as of December 2022)
Target group:	International target audience, used by employees from a wide range of industries, more specialist employees with academic background, popular when it comes to management positions	Mainly German-speaking audience, used by specialists with professional training, popular when it comes to management positions
Costs:	Depends on recruiting features and selected bundles and packages. Also see our page about LinkedIn job posting.	Depends on recruiting features and selected bundles and packages. Also see our page about XING job posting.
Ease of use:	User-friendly interface with a wide range of job posting features	German-language user interface, may be less intuitive for international users
Benefits for companies:	Global reach of your job advertisements 🌍	Targeted regional approach to talent

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XING or LinkedIn: Where can you find the best candidates?

Although, at 21 million, XING has a slightly higher number of users in the DACH region than the LinkedIn network, only 9% of the respondents surveyed on regularly used networks stated that they use XING regularly. While, according to the survey, 14% of the respondents access LinkedIn on a regular basis.

Due to the huge competition between these two platforms in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, it is therefore all the more important to clarify on which platform you can find suitable candidates and address them correctly.

The users of these two career platforms differ not only in their activities, but also in other factors. That is why we are now going to clarify, what type of candidates you can reach with a job advertisement on LinkedIn and which candidates on XING.

What kind of candidates can I reach on LinkedIn?

Switzerland’s multilingualism (German, Italian, French), makes LinkedIn comparatively more popular than XING. As an internationally oriented platform, LinkedIn has over 900 million members worldwide in over 200 countries.

Of these 900 million people, 202 million come from the USA 🇺🇸 and 105 million from India 🇮🇳. This makes LinkedIn an ideal platform for your job advertisements if you want to attract talent from different countries. Since LinkedIn undoubtedly has a wider global reach than XING.

If you work in an international context or are looking for specialized professionals, LinkedIn can present your ad to a wider audience.

LinkedIn users are expanding their professional network, making business contacts, finding out about employers on company websites and exchanging views on various topics from the career and business world.

Suggested reading: How to set up your company page on LinkedIn to reach top talent

In Germany, LinkedIn users work primarily in the automotive and IT sectors and live mostly in large cities or urban areas.

They use LinkedIn also as a job board. More than 14 million open jobs can be found on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn itself, every minute, 8 new positions are filled using the LinkedIn platform. Their users can identify themselves as job seekers by putting the ‘#OpenToWork’ frame around their profile picture. That makes active sourcing specialists aware of them.

LinkedIn Learning also offers users a learning platform with many different courses from a wide variety of areas including final certification. Most of these are reserved for users with premium memberships, but can be tested also during the free trial month.

According to a Statista study, approximately 57% of LinkedIn users are men and 43% are women. Almost 60% of them are between the ages of 25 and 34 and thus belong to the millennial generation.

LinkedIn is known for its high level of user activity. The platform is often used for professional interactions and knowledge sharing.

What kind of candidates can I reach on XING?

XING focuses primarily on German-speaking countries, with over 21 million members in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. If you want to target German-speaking professionals and reach local workers, XING could be a better option for placing your job advertisement.

XING is often referred to as the “German LinkedIn” because the platform has a similar dynamic. XING is used for professional interactions and knowledge sharing, and allows its users to find out more information about companies, even though on a smaller, more regional scale than LinkedIn.

At the end of 2022, XING evaluated all jobs advertised on their platform to find out, which were the top 10 most frequently advertised jobs postings’

Around 60% of all job advertisements on XING fell within the following fields:

1. Production and Crafts
2. IT and Software Development
3. Health, Medicine, and Social Affairs
4. Sales and Trade
5. Purchasing, Materials Management and Logistics

According to a survey, almost 20% of German Internet users use XING. The XING platform is particularly popular among people between the ages of 26 and 55. That makes XING very useful when recruiting millennials and when recruiting generation X.

In Germany, XING is also the preferred social media platform when it comes to looking for job offers.
XING users are particularly qualified. Consequently, according to XING, you will mainly find managers and specialists here.

Is XING or LinkedIn better for your company?

In the debate about whether XING or LinkedIn is a better platform for placing job advertisements for your company, no clear answer can be given. Both networks have their advantages and disadvantages, which depend on your specific requirements and goals.

The choice between LinkedIn and XING depends largely on the industry in which your company operates. LinkedIn has a particularly strong presence in the areas of technology, marketing, media and consulting. If your job ad falls into one of these categories, LinkedIn may be a better choice for you. XING, on the other hand, is often used by professionals in the areas of finance, industry and medium-sized businesses.

It is important to conduct a thorough research and choose the platform that best suits your business and target audience. Regardless of your choice, posting job ads on both professional networks is an effective way to find qualified talent and grow your business.

On our Recruitment and HR blog, you will find more articles that will give you an overview of common and successful recruiting strategies and help you to optimise your hiring process.