LinkedIn is very good for finding people for all kinds of business relationships, but you encounter most new connections in a very roundabout and indirect way: through your own network. It can be slow going.

But I recently found out about Purple Squirrel, which is specifically for job seekers looking to break into a company, especially sought-after companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc.

It's a platform where you the job seeker can ask about opportunities and what it's like to work at a place like one of the above and actual people who work there will respond so you can build the rapport you need to get an insider to vouch for you.

They're definitely going to be more prepared to talk with you about their company than on LinkedIn where you hope they'll deign to click Accept on your connect invite.

You can also schedule paid calls to talk with them and deepen the connection so you're even more top-of-mind.

I'm not affiliated with the company but I'm connected via LinkedIn with one of the founders and I think the platform is a good one on principle.

http://purplesquirrel.io

Hope that helps.

Look into LinkedIn.

Or attend local business + networking Meetup Group events.

Or local WordCamp or other conferences, related to your niche.

If I were targeting working at Microsoft, I'd identify people working in my target Microsoft Group.

Figure out what Meetups they attended, then attend these + network or better, speak at these Meetups.

I've used this technique repeatedly to land high dollar contract/freelance work.

It sounds like an interesting approach... but, paying to get access to employees makes me think that applicants who can afford the cost would have a better chance at a job. ¿would that be fair for others, better qualified, but with no budget?