Connecting With IT Companies Through LinkedIn

Just as social networks have made a huge difference to that way that millions of us stay in touch with family and friends, so business networks have altered the way people in a huge variety of sectors find new business, maintain contact with clients and sector partners, and get in touch with prospective employees.

“Small business professionals leverage LinkedIn in a myriad of creative ways,” according to LinkedIn’s connection director, Nicole Williams. The business networking site recently claimed that in total it now has in excess of 175 million members worldwide.

Individuals too have come to recognise the benefits of using LinkedIn, especially IT professionals. Having a profile available through the site means you are not only visible to employers, but it also allows you to browse the companies that have a presence on the site and make contact if appropriate.

The real power is said to be in the second degree- the network of your network. This is where you will find a potentially rich source of new contacts. And the great thing is that you are not cold calling – by getting friends to introduce you to people in their own network you are far more likely to receive a warm reception. Even if you are not able to find work from a new connection, if you make a good impression then it may open up that person’s network to you as well. And so it goes on.

LinkedIn has become a massively important tool for businesses right across the world – too big to ignore. According to reports, the firm now has over 15 million users who are classed as small business professionals, who work within companies that have between 11 and 500 employees in total. The website can act as a trigger to start conversations between business professionals and, if used correctly, can help to inform critical business decisions.

Recruiting through LinkedIn has become the norm for some small businesses and it is not surprising, considering the costs involved with using more traditional services. The recession has hit all sectors and it is understandable that businesses have increasingly turned to services such as business networks to find new suppliers, new contracts and new employees.

Unsurprisingly, LinkedIn has now become one of the main tools that large and small companies use when it comes to finding specialist IT staff. Some say that the website has changed the face of IT recruitment, and there is no denying that it has certainly had a profound impact. Recruiters now use the service to add value for their clients and LinkedIn can help them to provide more information on a candidate’s suitability for a particular role, as well as more information on their skill set.

For recruiters, companies of all sizes, and professionals alike, LinkedIn can prove to be incredibly useful as a direct recruitment tool for businesses and also as a professional networking tool for individuals and firms. The website’s search function can prove invaluable as it only takes seconds to put you in touch with a huge range of business professionals from across the globe. The network looks set to expand further over the coming years as more individuals and businesses become aware of the possibilities LinkedIn offers, and this will surely lead to an even greater number of opportunities becoming available.