- Business Insider got to take a peek inside LinkedIn’s New York City office within the Empire State Building.
- The office featured a speakeasy, a full-service cafeteria, game rooms, and a small gym.
- The office also gave me a clue into the inclusive company culture. Working parents brought their kids in regularly, and unlike other startups, they don’t serve alcohol most days a week.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
LinkedIn’s company mission is to help connect job seekers with cool places to work – and the company itself may be the coolest yet.
The online job marketplace gave Business Insider a tour of its New York City office. The workplace, which takes up seven floors of the historic Empire State Building, is just one of the company’s 33 global offices. Other locations can be found in places like the Bay Area, India, and China.
I took a tour of LinkedIn’s Midtown Manhattan office and was thoroughly impressed. Not only were there fun rooms – like a secret “speakeasy” where new hires serve drinks to veteran employees each Thursday – but the office was surprisingly inclusive for working parents and people who don’t drink.
Here's an inside look at LinkedIn's Empire State Building office:
LinkedIn's NYC office is in the historic Empire State Building.
There are 1,000 employees who work at this location, out of 15,000 full-time employees globally.
After getting out of the elevator to the 28 th floor, the entrance to LinkedIn features the company's signature blue light. I felt like I had entered a nightclub.
Guests use an iPad to sign in to meet their hosts at the company. Behind the entrance, you can see a constantly updating number count of how many members LinkedIn has.
The spacious lounge also hosts company events or meeting with clients, according to LinkedIn communications representative Sophie Sieck.
The NYC office differs from other locations due to its "New York" themes. The company features food and drinks from local vendors, meeting rooms are named after different city streets, and there's even a wall with tags of employees' favorite spots around town.
The New York office also has awesome views of the surrounding skyline.
Near the entrance, LinkedIn has large boardrooms they use during client meetings. These important meetings take place in "one of the loudest areas of New York," Sieck said, so designers had to soundproof the walls.
LinkedIn recently built LinkedIn Studio, where they record and livestream talks with company executives and famous patrons. Recent livestream guests include Melinda Gates, Jennifer Lopez, and Ariana Huffington. During the livestreams, LinkedIn members can ask questions that guests will answer in real time. Members can also watch the recording after it's over.
One of the coolest parts of LinkedIn's NYC office is a "speakeasy," or a secret bar. The entrance to the office speakeasy is covered with old-fashioned rotary phones in various colors.
To open the speakeasy, you have to use your cell phone to call one of the rotary phones that cover the walls. You don't know which one, so you have to listen and pick up the right phone.
Afterward, you get a code that you must dial on the rotary phone that unlocks the door. You push the door open and get to the speakeasy. Every Thursday, new hires will serve beer to veteran employees at the speakeasy.
Sieck said the speakeasy happy hour occurs each Thursday afternoon to help new hires bond with their new teammates.