LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with
over 161 million users across the globe. According to a recent study released
by LinkedIn, students and recent grads are the network’s fastest growing
demographic, accounting for more than 20 million of its members. And these
young professionals are job hungry. A
survey
conducted by Achievers Inc. illustrates that 35% of students plan to use
LinkedIn as a primary source for their career search—that’s a 700% increase
since 2010.
So how can Canadian SMBs take advantage of the opportunity
to engage with fresh talent on LinkedIn?
Just ask lululemon. The retail brand sits atop the ten most
desirable workplaces for students among mid-sized companies in Canada, followed
closely by Ubisoft and Facebook. The results are based on the activity of young
professionals (anyone who has graduated within the last five years) and
students using LinkedIn. Researchers examined their job search behaviour, the
companies they follow, as well as their views of company pages and member profiles.
Evidently, the job search begins online, which is why companies
must focus on building a strong employment brand in the social streams where
students are flocking to. “Companies are really seeing the value in posting
their jobs online and searching for talent using LinkedIn,” said Danielle
Restivo, LinkedIn manager of corporate communications for Canada and Brazil.
“LinkedIn gives students access to a global network that is
scalable for them so they can reach people all over the world,” Restivo said.
“It opens them up to a lot of opportunities to get access to jobs they can
apply for. So taking the time to build that professional network for students
is going to be very key.”
