When a company is acquired, employees face many questions and changes, including what to do with their LinkedIn profiles. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 740 million members, so profiles on the site are an important part of many professionals’ online presence and personal branding. Updating and optimizing your LinkedIn profile appropriately as your company goes through an acquisition is crucial to managing your brand and career trajectory. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through recommendations and best practices for updating your LinkedIn profile and activity when your company is acquired.
Should you update your LinkedIn profile when your company is acquired?
Yes, you should update your LinkedIn profile when your company is acquired. Your LinkedIn profile serves as your professional online presence and resume, so it needs to accurately reflect your current company and role. Leaving your old company name and job title on your profile once the acquisition is complete will seem outdated and confusing to connections viewing your profile.
Here are some of the key things to update on your LinkedIn profile following an acquisition:
- Current company name – Change this to reflect the new parent company
- Current job title and description – Update these to match any changes to your role post-acquisition
- Experience section – Modify your experience entries to show the new company name and your new title
- Skills and endorsements – Add any new skills you’ve gained; ask colleagues to endorse you for appropriate skills
- Profile photo – Consider updating this to reflect the new parent company
Updating these core sections of your profile is crucial to accurately portray your new circumstances to your network after an acquisition.
When should you update your LinkedIn profile?
Aim to update your LinkedIn profile as soon as possible after the acquisition is formally announced. You don’t need to wait until the deal officially closes – go ahead and update your profile once the news becomes public knowledge.
Acquisitions can sometimes fail to close or can take months to finalize. Don’t leave your profile stagnant during this extended limbo period. Go ahead and update your current company name and job title as soon as the acquisition is confirmed to be happening.
You can also make additional updates over time if your role continues to evolve post-acquisition. But make those initial core updates promptly when the news breaks.
What’s the best way to reflect a company acquisition on your profile?
When updating your LinkedIn profile to reflect an acquisition, you’ll need to edit the following sections:
– Current company name – Switch this to the new parent company name. You can include the original company name in parentheses for clarity, like “New Company (formerly Old Company)”.
– Current job title – Update this to your new title in the combined organization. You can similarly append the old title or clarify if helpful for context.
– Experience section – Edit your experience entry for the acquired company to reflect the new company name and your new title. You can denote “(formerly [Old Company])”.
– Description – Tailor your current job description to reflect changes post-acquisition. Remove outdated information that no longer applies.
– Skills, endorsements – Edit these sections to showcase any new skills gained after the acquisition. Ask colleagues to endorse you for the appropriate abilities.
– Profile photo – Consider updating your photo to feature new company branding or attire. This is optional but can help cement your updated employer.
The goal is for your profile to accurately depict your new employer and role post-acquisition, while still preserving the continuity of your past experience. Judicious use of qualifiers like “formerly” and parentheses with old company names aids this transition.
Should you keep your old company details on your profile after an acquisition?
Yes, you should keep your past company name and role details on your LinkedIn profile even after that company is acquired. Although you should update your current company name and title, retain your historical role entries for the acquired firm using the original company name.
This preserves the record of your experience at that employer as its own entity. If you completely erase the old company name, it could look like you’re trying to rewrite history.
For example, keep entries like:
– Software Engineer at Old Company (May 2015 – November 2022)
– Currently: Senior Software Engineer at New Company (formerly Old Company)
Showcasing your time and accomplishments at the standalone pre-acquisition company remains valuable for your professional narrative. Just balance this history with updates reflecting your new employer and role.
Should you notify your LinkedIn connections about the acquisition?
Notifying your LinkedIn connections about your company’s acquisition is optional, but often recommended. Especially if it’s a major acquisition that will substantially impact the organization, informing your network on LinkedIn can provide helpful context.
There are a few ways to share the news with your connections:
– Post an update announcing the acquisition – You can craft a post with your thoughts on the news and highlights of the deal. This allows you to control the narrative.
– Message close contacts individually – Send personal messages to close connections and contacts to discuss the acquisition. This drives deeper engagement.
– Update your employment status – LinkedIn allows you to select “Company acquired” as your new employment status. Your network will see this notification.
– Join new LinkedIn groups – Look for LinkedIn groups related to the acquiring company to join and participate in. This naturally spreads the word.
– Comment on new colleagues’ posts – Interacting with new colleagues’ posts and content allows you to organically expose your network to the acquisition.
Do use discretion in how extensively you broadcast the news across your different networks on LinkedIn. But notifying your close contacts and Groups related to the acquisition can be beneficial.
What are LinkedIn profile best practices after a company acquisition?
Here are some top LinkedIn profile best practices to follow after your company is acquired:
– Update quickly after acquisition news – Don’t let your profile languish with outdated company details for too long after the deal.
– Preserve history – Keep your past experience entries using the original company name for continuity.
– Showcase new skills gained – Demonstrate how you’re expanding your skills under the new organization.
– Cross-pollinate networks – Follow and interact with colleagues from the acquiring company.
– Update descriptions – Refresh your profile and experience section descriptions to tell your new career story.
– Use transition phrases – Include phrases like “now,” “currently,” “formerly” to aid the transitions.
– Add new credentials – Complete post-acquisition training and certifications and add them to your profile.
– Spotlight achievements – Tie past accomplishments to present-day value using the new company lens.
– Maintain custom URL – If you have a custom LinkedIn profile URL, it doesn’t need to reference your company. Keep it consistent despite the acquisition.
Following these tips will help you smoothly articulate your evolving career journey before, during and after your company acquisition on LinkedIn.
How can you use a company acquisition to expand your network?
A company acquisition presents excellent networking opportunities on LinkedIn to expand your professional relationships and visibility:
– Connect with new colleagues – Send connection invitations to new colleagues from the acquiring company. Introduce yourself and start relationships.
– Engage with leadership – Follow, connect with and interact with leadership from the acquiring company. Get on their radar.
– Join alumni and interest groups – Search for LinkedIn Groups related to the acquiring company and join relevant ones aligned with your interests.
– Follow new company pages – Follow the acquiring company’s official LinkedIn Company Page to stay up to date on their news and offerings.
– Tap into expanded resources – Identify new contacts across PR, HR, sales, and other departments that you can now tap into.
– Participate in integration discussions – Seek out LinkedIn Groups and posts focused on the acquisition integration and share your thoughts and advice.
– Present your best self – Update your profile photo, headline, and content to put your best foot forward to new connections visiting your profile.
With some strategic networking efforts, you can leverage your company’s acquisition to significantly grow and diversify your LinkedIn network.
Should you connect with new colleagues before or after the acquisition is finalized?
It’s usually best practice to wait to connect with new colleagues from the acquiring company until after the acquisition has fully closed and is complete. Avoid sending random connection invitations to employees of the acquiring company prior to that point.
Until the deal is definitively done, the acquisition remains uncertain. And adding each other on LinkedIn can be seen as presumptuous.
After the acquisition closes, integration activities will begin between the two companies, including introduction communications, town halls, meetings, etc. This is the ideal timing to start adding each other on LinkedIn as the companies come together.
The exception is if you already have existing relationships with colleagues at the acquiring company through past jobs, education, conferences, etc. Reconnecting with acquaintances is fine even pre-acquisition. But hold off on introducing yourself to strangers until the deal concludes.
How can you best position yourself for new opportunities after an acquisition?
Being acquired introduces uncertainty but also new possibilities. Here are tips for positioning yourself for new opportunities post-acquisition on LinkedIn:
– Update skills – Thoroughly flush out your Skills section with both proven and aspirational abilities to open new doors.
– Enhance your brand – Promote your personal brand in your profile summary/headline to stand out.
– Showcase flexibility – Emphasize adaptable traits in your profile content to indicate readiness to take on new challenges.
– Spotlight achievements – Identify your top wins and results and highlight these prominently using data and metrics.
– Expand connections – Grow your network with new colleagues, leaders, peers across departments, and external industry contacts.
– Increase engagement – Post more content and actively engage with other posts through likes, comments, and shares.
– Join key Groups – Have your finger on the pulse of topics, trends, and discussions by joining relevant Groups.
– Follow leaders – Stay informed on new management’s priorities and vision by following them.
– Track company news – Follow the Company Page and pay attention to announcements that may indicate new initiatives or hiring.
Being proactive on LinkedIn during the transition can help you gain visibility for growth opportunities post-acquisition within the larger organization.
How can you get introduced to key people at the acquiring company?
Here are effective ways to get introduced to key players at the acquiring company on LinkedIn after an acquisition:
– See who you share connections with – Use LinkedIn’s “People Also Viewed” and 3rd degree connections to uncover shared ties who could facilitate an introduction.
– Connect with company ambassadors – Employees active on LinkedIn commenting or posting about the acquisition may be willing to make connections.
– Direct message friendly leaders – Respectfully reach out directly via InMail to accessible executives open to engagement.
– Check for school/work overlap – Cross-reference colleagues’ profiles for any fellow alumni or past employers that could enable a warm introductory inmail.
– Request colleagues make an intro – Ask mutual connections at the acquiring company to formally introduce you over LinkedIn inmail.
– Get involved in integration teams – Joining transition working groups or committees creates natural interaction opportunities.
– Comment on their posts – Thoughtfully engaging with leadership’s posts builds familiarity to ease eventual outreach.
– Follow and connect liberally – Follow as many key people as reasonably possible, and connect where appropriate, to open doors.
With finesse and some persistence, you can work your way into the networks of decision-makers and influencers at your new parent company. This powers your mobility.
Is it OK to message new colleagues asking to connect before you’ve formally met?
Generally, it’s best to avoid messaging brand new colleagues at the acquiring company asking to connect on LinkedIn if you haven’t interacted in real life yet. Cold outreaching before you’ve even had a formal introduction can come across as overly eager or invasive.
However, here are some scenarios where it may be acceptable to message new colleagues first on LinkedIn:
– You share several mutual connections who could facilitate a warm introduction. Leverage those existing relationships.
– You have previously worked at the same company but different times. Make that old employer tie known in your message.
– You went to the same university. Reference your shared alumni status to break the ice.
– You have a specific opportunity to partner across teams. Preface with context on the project at hand.
– You met them briefly at an informal event. Jog their memory by mentioning where you met.
– They have an open, conversational tone on LinkedIn. Adapt your message to match their communicative style.
If none of those contextual openings apply, it’s better to wait for formal team integrations or encounters at company events before attempting to connect on LinkedIn. Be patient and let relationships develop organically.
Should you proactively reach out to hiring managers at the acquiring company?
Proceed with caution if you plan to proactively reach out to hiring managers at the acquiring company following an acquisition. It’s likely premature to directly contact recruiters or talent acquisition representatives at your new parent company right away without an existing relationship.
Here are some tips on handling outreach to hiring managers about potential new roles post-acquisition:
– Wait for integration activities to occur and some time to pass before contacting talent acquisition contacts cold. Move slowly.
– Reference the acquisition context if you opt to eventually reach out to hiring managers. But avoid seeming overly opportunistic.
– Focus initial messaging on relationship-building, not explicit job inquires. Be patient and get to know one another first.
– Commenting on their content and engaging organically for a few weeks can lay the groundwork before formal outreach about opportunities.
– If they post about an enticing open role, apply through formal channels, then reference your application if you message them directly.
Essentially, leverage the acquisition for networking, but don’t aggressively pitch yourself for new jobs on day one. Lay the relationships and foundation, then pursue opportunities.
Conclusion
Having your company acquired brings significant changes, uncertainties and opportunities. Thoughtfully managing your LinkedIn presence and relationships at this transitional time is crucial. Focus on maintaining the continuity of your employment history and brand, while showcasing new skills, achievements and relationships. With discipline and patience, you can optimally position yourself to evolve your career in exciting new directions following your company’s acquisition. Stay true to your professional identity while embracing the future. The connections and foundations you build on LinkedIn will set you up for success no matter where you land.