Breaking News about LinkedIn’s Company Follow
LinkedIn announced on October 10 that it was rolling out yet a new feature that will change the face of what it means to follow a company on LinkedIn. For a year and a half prior to this development, it has been possible to follow companies on LinkedIn. But the information available was rather limited, i.e., 1) when employees join, leave or are promoted; 2) new job opportunities; and 3) company profile updates.
If you are a job seeker interested in working at a company, or if you are a recruiter, the three pieces of information listed above can be quite useful. You can keep track of useful tidbits like how many and what type of people a company is hiring, how many people get promoted, and how many employees leave the company. As LinkedIn suggested in its April 2010 announcement about the Company Follow feature, Get on the inside track with “Company Follow,” if you are geography teacher you might be quite interested if you see web technology companies hiring people like you!
What was missing from the Company Follow feature was the ability to get news and information from the company itself. That has now changed with the advent of… Company Status updates!
Yes, it’s true. Companies on LinkedIn can now act just like people and post updates to their very own status bar. With a 500-character limit, these updates can be substantial. And you can follow them with a simple click of the mouse!
What’s in it for you?
How might company updates help you as a job seeker? Well, you have probably heard a lot about the “hidden job market.” Most high level positions are actually filled without being advertised. Note well: Status updates allow you to find out any news that a company thinks is important to share. If you read these updates carefully, you might find a good reason to contact the company, comment on these new developments, and make a positive impression on a decision-maker.
You might be thinking, “Well, if company updates are available to everyone, won’t everyone be pestering these poor decision-makers with congratulatory notes and other correspondence?” My best guess is that most people will not take advantage of the opportunities presented by Company Follow. They might not be paying attention, or they might be too scared to write a letter to a decision-maker. By truly utilizing the information that is available, you will set yourself apart.
You may already have ideas of companies you want to follow. Start following them! In addition, take a look at the Search for Companies homepage. You will be given “Companies You May Want to Follow,” much the same as you can find “Groups you Might Like” under the Groups tab.
Follow The Essay Expert’s Company Page on LinkedIn
Here’s a great idea: How about starting by following The Essay Expert! I will be updating my status from time to time to let you know of developments that might interest you. And I will always be happy to hear from you in response to my updates.
For any company owners reading this, you have a new task to add to your list: updating your company status bar and starting to gather followers. As of now, posting is a “by hand” type of job, though I hear HootSuite is working on integration. LinkedIn might not catch up to facebook when it comes to creating company buzz, but for job seekers LinkedIn is still the place to be… and to follow.
Follow The Essay Expert!