The hiring landscape is changing fast. If you aren’t current on technology, you may be SOL. Seems like everyone and their dog are using LinkedIn nowadays to make more connections and find the perfect job or candidate. But looking at the top companies listed on LinkedIn, you’d better be handy with a computer.  The site now reports 175 million users and counting as of August 2012.  It’s the preferred candidate and recruitment source with 87% of recruiters using LinkedIn as part of corporate hiring and social recruiting efforts in 2011.

LinkedIn is easy as it is truly a professional social network.  There is a definite separation between work and life which makes it especially appealing to search for jobs, connect with peers, research company pages, and mine for business leads.

New Updates to Company Brand Pages on LinkedIn

Company Brands Pages on Linked are relatively new launching in late 2010.  Their brand pages have recently been refreshed allowing for some key changes.

• The ability to add a cover-style image that represents your company/brand to the top of your page

• Company Pages are now viewable on iPhone, Android, and iPad apps

• Improved features including Company Updates and the Products & Services sections of your page

• A refreshed Career Page section for Company Pages

• Different option to target specific segments of your page’s audience

Best Employer Brands on LinkedIn

So how are the top LinkedIn brands responding to the changes?  What are they doing to make their LinkedIn pages unique?  Let’s take a look at the top ten companies on LinkedIn with the largest number of followers and job postings also have a large number of their employees on LI. Keeping connected lends to each company’s success.

• Hewlett Packard – Information Technology and Services – This company readily meets the need for small and mid-size customer access to unified communications and collaboration tools. You can’t always be in the same room with a client and the growth of HP shows how the company is taking advantage of connecting the tangled web of communication. More than 827,500 followers are watching the job boards when HP posts. View HP’s LinkedIn Page.

• IBM – Information Technology Services  – More than 3,000 of IBM’s employees listed on LinkedIn previously came from HP. So it’s no surprise this New York City-based company is so high on the list. Nearly 162,000 of its employees are on LI, making it a well-connected company. Job applicants flock to fill the 460+ job postings. View IBM’s LinkedIn Page.

• Google – Internet – This San Fran behemoth has been gobbling up startups and making acquisitions look like a game in recent years. On top of that, employees have some of the most amazing perks in the business, contributing to incredible morale and productivity. Get a free haircut, chef made meals, bar none healthcare including on site medical staff and throw in massages and game rooms. Is it any wonder there are so many people clamoring to work there and making connections thru LI every day for the more than 1,700 job postings? View Google’s LinkedIn Page.

• Microsoft – Computer Software– A partner with HP in the UC&C trade, Microsoft recently launched Lync, a channel toolkit to make training, webinars, incentive programs and presentations a breeze. With the market expected to reach $44 Billion (Yes, that’s with a B) in revenue by 2015, everyone wants to work with Microsoft and they’re making the connections through LinkedIn. View Microsoft’s LinkedIn Page.

• Accenture – Management Consulting – With 500,00-plus followers on LI for merely 214 jobs, competition is fierce to get into this Ireland based company. Accenture is focusing on a corporate citizenship initiative to equip 250,000 people by 2015 “with the skills to get a job or build a business.”  Company heads want this program to make a sustainable different in long-term economic vitality around the world. A worthy goal which is leading more and more job seekers to connect with and follow employees at the company. View Accenture’s LinkedIn Page.

• Deloitte – Management Consulting – Auditing and financial services are in high demand and this company is one of the best. It also starts hiring early by recruiting directly from MBA programs. And the love is returned as almost 7 percent of MBAs want to work there.  This lovefest could also account for the 388K plus followers for nearly 3,000 available jobs on LI. View Accenture’s LinkedIn Page.

• Oracle  – Information Technology and Services – Another Silicon Valley based company, Oracle boasts of having all of the Fortune 100 as customers for its business hardware and software systems, particularly HR Peoplesoft systems. Recruits could see this company as a foot in the door of the other companies and therefore connecting on LI is a great idea. View Oracle’s LinkedIn Page.

• Apple – Consumer Electronics – Developers who dare to dream big, dream of working for Apple, in spite of crazy hours and keeping the air of secrecy swirling involving new tech advances.  Competition is intense enough inside the company. Imagine what it is outside unless “you know a guy.” Apple uses LinkedIn to find the best and brightest by using connections and researching employees ahead of time. View Apple’s LinkedIn Page.

• Dell – Information Technology and Services – Dell’s Chairman and CEO says he doesn’t want to follow in the footsteps of IBM or HP, but rather come out of their respective shadows.  To do this, the company will increase acquisitions and focus on business solutions for Smartphones. As widely used as smartphones are, a job seeker would be hardpressed NOT to find something exciting about up and coming portable technology at their fingertips. Nearly 326,000 people following Dell’s job postings agree. View Dell’s LinkedIn Page.

• Ernst & Young – Accounting – The only company in our list not in the tech field, Ernst & Young stays ahead of the rest of its industry by staying connected. Almost 80 percent of its workforce is on LinkedIn and EY considers them the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Nearly 320,000 potential job candidates want a piece of that action. View Ernst & Young’s LinkedIn Page.

What are some other Company Pages on LinkedIn that have your attention?  Feel free to share the organization name by leaving a comment below. As a job seeker, why are you following company brand pages?  Is it for the job search or something completely different?