LinkedIn’s blog reported yesterday that you can now search “for companies not only by attributes such as location, industry, and size but also by how you are connected. You can filter a set of results to include only those companies where you have a direct connection or broaden your search to include companies in your extended network.”
Hopefully, you have already been following companies (read more about following companies on LinkedIn here), but this is a pretty neat improvement. All you need to do is go to the top toolbar, select companies (see picture) and include keywords (which could be city, industry, etc.). LinkedIn finds a list of companies with your criteria where you have connections in your network. LinkedIn links you to those contacts and lets you know which companies currently list jobs in LinkedIn.
You’ll also have a chance to follow the company, which helps you track what is going on there. Take a look at LinkedIn’s video describing the new search function:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j5VoN_v-Us&feature=player_embedded
I think job seekers (or anyone thinking of making a change) will find this new functionality extremely useful! Be sure to keep up with The LinkedIn blog for updates.