Let’s face it, we’ve all been wondering whether Microsoft’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn was going to actually change anything with the professional networking channel. Well, it seems at last that change is afoot, albeit in a small way!
Microsoft have integrated LinkedIn to Office 365 by adding information from LinkedIn profiles onto their Office Profile Card. This means that if you have an email from a contact who you don’t know, you will be able to instantly find out more information about that person without leaving Office 365.
Building authentic relationships
LinkedIn say:
After you connect your LinkedIn account to your Microsoft account, you’ll seamlessly discover more insights within the Profile Card in your Inbox, your calendar and contacts lists. Simply hover over a contact’s name to see information from their LinkedIn Profile, such as where they work, what they do, and where they went to school.
Should recruiters really take note?
So will these changes really make much difference to us as recruiters? Well, the answer is, it’s not going to change the recruiting world. However, it will make candidate information more readily available. For example:
- On receiving an email from a potential candidate, you will have access to instant professional information.
- This information will provide a starting point for conversation with passive candidates.
- You will be able to access information from LinkedIn profiles without obviously viewing a profile – not prompting notifications and further emails.
What will be worth looking out for is future developments with the Dynamics 365 for Sales, Microsoft’s CRM solution. Dynamics will be getting the same Profile Card integration, meaning that you will be able to send LinkedIn InMails and messages direct from Dynamics.
Keep your eyes peeled for more changes
To most of us, $26.2 billion seems like a lot to spend on such a small development. However, it seems that Microsoft are trying to use the LinkedIn acquisition to enhance their own applications, maybe using LinkedIn as their social framework.
It will be interesting to watch for future developments, especially from a dynamics perspective. From a recruitment perspective, anything that increases the amount of information we can get our hands on about a candidate, has got to be good!