LinkedIn?

[BumbleBeeDave]

Who uses it? Does it really help you?

I keep getting requests to connect from people who are local, but whom I really don't know. I'm having a hard time seeing a lot of value there as anything other than a place for your online resume and references

What do others here us it for? Has it really done you much good?

Thanks.

BBD

[EDS]

I use it mostly to keep track of contacts, usually people I have worked with in the past and may want to contact in the future, but don't speak with regularly.

[rugbysecondrow]

My wife uses it quite a bit, but she is in a more corporate setting than I am.


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[wc1934]

I am anxious to read the replies. I too keep getting requests but so far I have trashed them all.

[thirdgenbird]

Corporate recruiting departments use it as a source to find job candidates. If you are open to a job or career change, why not.

[54ny77]

I use it selectively. It's great for keeping track of contacts.

For some reason I get lots of requests from people I don't know, and I just hit ignore.

[pbarry]

Old school net business contact site If you have colleagues who use it, then it's valuable. Or, on a job search. Otherwise, decline requests from un-knowns.

[texbike]

It's a corporate Facebook. I use it on a daily basis and am a huge fan of it (so much so that I'm a stockholder).

There's a lot of useless content generated, but overall it's worth using it and connecting with people in your industry. The user groups can be very useful.

Texbike

[Aaron O]

Agree with text - I find it useful. It also can confirm references without having people bother your references. It's the only social network I find valuable.

[AngryScientist]

i think it is an excellent resource for a few things. its a great place to do a preliminary job search, there are many companies out there that i would have never heard of if it were not for LinkedIn, which would be very valuable if i were trying to switch jobs or were looking. the job market is very volatile now, it seems, and it's a great way to keep track of folks in the industry and where they are at.

i do not do facebook or any of the other popular social media sites, but i think this one is worthwhile, particularly if you're on the employment hunt, or are open to new avenues of employment.

IMO.

[11.4]

It's a corporate Facebook. I use it on a daily basis and am a huge fan of it (so much so that I'm a stockholder).

There's a lot of useless content generated, but overall it's worth using it and connecting with people in your industry. The user groups can be very useful.

Texbike

+1.

I use it extensively when recruiting people and when checking out people on the corporate side of life. I have connections on there with everyone from the head of Centers for Disease Control to the head of bioweapons research for the Army. After you wade past all the accountants, there are some really fascinating people there and many are very active contributors to some of the groups.

[1centaur]

I have almost never been contacted by a recruiter despite having a pretty good resume on LinkedIn, a successful career and a fair number of contacts. I view it as a potential networking tool, and as such I don't say yes to random or peripheral requests and only accept people I can personally recommend for a job and the occasional client that I would not wish to offend by rejection.

People in one's profession use LinkedIn more for curiosity than for finding job prospects, in my experience. I occasionally use it to check out an executive at a potential investment.

Most of the groups I have found useless or shallow self promotion vehicles. I joined as a signaling device to potential employers.

Good thing I have had no interest in changing jobs.

[OtayBW]

I have a fairly substantial entry on LI and I find it really quite an invaluable networking tool. I, too, am pretty selective about who I will connect with - well, not really, but someone has to have at least some remote relevance to what I do. I get contacted all the time by recruiters and I think it's a smart thing to do for anyone looking for a job. You will get noticed more if you discretely participate in some of the groups relevant to your area.

[seanile]

unless youre looking for a change in your job/career, there's not much of a point. some groups are worth reading/contributing to for expanding your depth of knowledge, but beyond that, it's primary purpose is networking for your job hunt.

edit: unless networking is something that can benefit your current job's efforts (sales, marketing, etc.), then it may be worth looking into

[jlwdm]

I do not accept requests from people I don't know. I don't get anything out of LinkedIn except a couple of requests to sell real estate in the Bahamas or Bermuda - one of those. Maybe someday.

Jeff

[djg21]

Who uses it? Does it really help you?

I keep getting requests to connect from people who are local, but whom I really don't know. I'm having a hard time seeing a lot of value there as anything other than a place for your online resume and references

What do others here us it for? Has it really done you much good?

Thanks.

BBD

I use it. Mainly for keeping up with former colleagues and law school classmates.

[TRACK]

yeah its more useful than fb. i recommend using it or simply just put your resume there. if you do anything business related (finance, marketing, accounting, economics etc..) or technology related, employers can contact you through linkedin. i was contacted by pwc and goldman for an internship.

[xjoex]

It is useful if you have a business meeting and want to check to see if you have any contacts in common with other people. Just check their linkedin out...

If you are consulting it can be good to legitimize your experience by referencing your linkedin profile. While I realize this can be faked, it is still useful.

And if you need to look for jobs, it is great for profile visibility.

Cheers,
-Joe

[cat6]

If you have to ask there is probably no benefit for you to be there. Sincerely. A lot of people sign up then blast their mail contacts, I'd just disregard and carry on.

[Climb01742]

To me the biggest downside is that it propagates what I call 'credential inflation'. People inflate their profiles far removed from reality. Perhaps it's worse in my field, advertising/marketing/communications, but where once you kinda expected a bit of fudging on resumes, I now look at profiles as virtually fiction writing, and I think LinkdIn does nothing to curb the abuse. If profiles are grossly inflated, how valuable are they?

And to echo others, just ignor all the connection requests from total strangers just fishing for contacts.

All that said, it is replacing recruiters because it's free and helps HR folks cut recruiting budgets. But given that profiles are inflated, is it progress?

[11.4]

To me the biggest downside is that it propagates what I call 'credential inflation'. People inflate their profiles far removed from reality. Perhaps it's worse in my field, advertising/marketing/communications, but where once you kinda expected a bit of fudging on resumes, I now look at profiles as virtually fiction writing, and I think LinkdIn does nothing to curb the abuse. If profiles are grossly inflated, how valuable are they?

And to echo others, just ignor all the connection requests from total strangers just fishing for contacts.

All that said, it is replacing recruiters because it's free and helps HR folks cut recruiting budgets. But given that profiles are inflated, is it progress?

Just don't inflate one's own. Because if one ever uses it, or even if it's checked when someone is checking you out, it all comes out. If you have a stable job where you don't need its resources, it probably isn't much use. If you are in a changing job market and/or if you use it to recruit employees, it's invaluable.

[rounder]

To me the biggest downside is that it propagates what I call 'credential inflation'. People inflate their profiles far removed from reality. Perhaps it's worse in my field, advertising/marketing/communications, but where once you kinda expected a bit of fudging on resumes, I now look at profiles as virtually fiction writing, and I think LinkdIn does nothing to curb the abuse. If profiles are grossly inflated, how valuable are they?

And to echo others, just ignor all the connection requests from total strangers just fishing for contacts.

All that said, it is replacing recruiters because it's free and helps HR folks cut recruiting budgets. But given that profiles are inflated, is it progress?

I agree with you, but young people use it these days. It is another way that they stay connected and use new media for getting jobs. I have been invited to join several times but declined because I do not need it.

On the other hand, young people I work with use it and are linked in to what is going on today. We have had about four employees leave the firm during the past two years for other jobs and probably a result of Linked in.

Who knows why they left. The money or new job could have been better or not. But they used Linked.in to find their next job.

[tbike4]

I am on LI and I do not think it has helped me further my employment opportunities. What has happened is one of my contacts who is actually a friend will endorse me for skills that they know nothing about. It's a bit embarrassing.

I am in the IT field. I am pretty sure my friend "Charlie" does not know what Active Directory is or what in the world it is used for but he will assure the folks on LI that I have it nailed.

[KF9YR]

I was a programmer/analyst at a large company. I left the company to go into business with family in 2006.

I still get endorsements from former colleagues. I'm guessing they are fishing for endorsements and think I will reciprocate.

In my new field I get requests from recruiters who must see the IT endorsements and don't look into my profile to see that I am in an unrelated field now. I also get lots of requests from advertising/marketing/real estate people that want to meet with me and sell me something.

I don't need to use LI for my business but I see how it can be enticing for young people or people in a corporate environment. Companies treat their employees much differently than they did years ago.

[FlashUNC]

You're asking because we're connected on LI aren't you?

[slidey]

A good way to judge a social network's worth to you is to understand what it actually is. I do this by looking at how a social network classifies its users in the most generic sense.

> Facebook classifies you as a user
> LinkedIn classifies you as either a recruiter, or a job-seeker

The latter makes LinkedIn utterly useless for any useful opportunities opening up being passed between buddies, as if they indeed are buddies they would do it just as easily on Facebook. Its mainly for consulting recruiters to grow their network by spamming everybody with the buzzword/skill that is trending, and hoping a few of those requested will accept. The consulting recruiters, I believe, are hired on the strength of their networks, and maybe also by the strength of the network in a specific skillset because most companies want to get their job postings to the most relevant people. So for actual job pointers from friends/well-wishers, I still think Facebook/email/phone are better ways to connect as there's a semblance of personal touch there, but LinkedIn is just spam-topia. The lower the expectations you have of this place, the better it is.

Still kind of essential to have a profile here (if you're still in the workforce) as it sometimes makes it relatively easy to apply for jobs (two clicks).

[Dead Man]

Despite putting ZERO effort into LinkedIn, I've actually been contact by a couple of recruiters. All I ever do is accept connection requests, which I get about once or twice a week, and I've gotten a pretty decent pile stacked up. And I like that it's not just limited to corporate slaves- I also have climbing and cycling contacts on there, which may or may not turn into anything, someday. Whatever the case, I can stay in contact with people I don't care enough about to be Facebook friends with, but may still use (and/or gladly be used by) someday.

Due to the fact that it's such a low effort thing, sure... why not use it?

[paulh]

Don't know a thing about it. But the economy is recovering. Some young punk in this article got a pretty good job via LI.

http://www.startribune.com/business/288156681.html

[Tom]

What Climb01742 said. We got much amusement from a former colleagues entry. "He did that? I thought you were the one that designed and implemented that!" and "That was a success? We're still cleaning up the wreckage from that fiasco!" were some of the more family friendly comments we made as we read it.

[shamsixnine]

I've used Linkedin to find positions that needed to be filled. Great resource for finding people you may need...

[tumbler]

I never felt great about LinkedIn and deleted my account after they were hacked a year or two ago. I grew tired of my friends and family members giving me "endorsements" or LinkedIn asking me to endorse people. My dad, bless his heart, endorsed me for every possible skillset that is remotely related to my profession. I didn't like all of the paid services (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2013/08/ask-the-headhunter-is-linkedin.html) they offer, like allowing you to see who visits your profile or charging for premium placement of your resume in candidate lists that they then sell to employers.

The place just felt fake and creepy. Facebook and Google+ are obviously far from ideal places for genuine social interaction, but I much prefer these over LinkedIn for connecting with friends and colleagues, old and new.

[kramnnim]

LinkedIn helped me track down a guy here who took my payment but never sent the item. Other than that, it has not been useful to me. :hello:

[sashae]

Pretty much mandatory in my industry -- if I got a job candidate that /didn't/ have LinkedIn it'd be strange to say the least. Very useful for being recruited as well -- I get cold-contacted every week-or-two with things.

[93legendti]

Does zero for me...

[jmoore]

My LinkedIn profile only has my current job titles and the companies I have worked for. I don't keep a full resume on there. If people want to see what I've done, then they can ping me and I'll send them a resume. Of course my job titles are pretty generic so everyone should know what I do based on that.

[CPP]

Pretty much mandatory in my industry -- if I got a job candidate that /didn't/ have LinkedIn it'd be strange to say the least. Very useful for being recruited as well -- I get cold-contacted every week-or-two with things.

WOW!
I get cold shouldered every week or two!!!

[unterhausen]

If you have to ask there is probably no benefit for you to be there. Sincerely. A lot of people sign up then blast their mail contacts, I'd just disregard and carry on.

the site is set up to do email blasts. You have to be careful not to do that. Really annoying, that should be the last thing that happens on a work-related site. "Congratulate Joe Blow on his work anniversary" Huh.

[paredown]

My wife is also in a corporate environment, and she has found that Linked In seems to used for Director level and higher jobs almost exclusively since the recession. She thinks the recruiters are using it to avoid the deluge of under/over qualified people sending in resumes.

She has been head-hunted and interviewed for a number of positions that were never publicly advertised, although she landed none of the positions (for a variety of reasons).

She also uses it extensively to keep track of former colleagues (since the key people in retail have moved around a lot since the recession and the consolidation of a lot of department store people)--or to figure out the 'degrees of separation' and find a former colleague who knows someone she is trying to get a foot in the door with.

[Aaron O]

I find it amusing how often recruiters complain about credential inflation when they are almost always guilty of requirements/responsibility inflation for positions that they likely don't fully understand.

[dbrown]

LI opportunity, if you have the particular set of skills necessary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535J4gYXsxs

[bikerboy337]

I've found it useful to keep in touch with colleagues, and in a corporate environmental has been useful for connections. But I agree with most, I only accept people I know or have worked with in the past.

I've been corporate for about a year now and about 1-2 times a month get random networking requests or offers, and get a random request to connect about once a week now... but I just ignore them all...

[Aaron O]

I treat LinkedIn a little bit differently.

I won't accept a request on facebook unless I know and actively care about the person. Some person I barely knew in highschool doesn't need to know about my life now, and I have no interest in their vacation. I put some quasi-personal stuff on facebook, so I don't want someone I barely know accessing it. Additionally, I don't want someone who uses facebook as a means of advertising, or ranting, adding me to increase their network. I don't want to be someone's facebook commodity.

On LinkedIn I'll accept people I don't know if the request makes sense. If they're in the same field as me, it might benefit me to have them in the circle. It also expands the outer reach so other potential clients/employers come across my "particular set of skills". I don't really post anything, so there's really no information that I need shielded - I have a professional website that contains more about me than LinkedIn anyway.

I won't EVER endorse someone I don't know (even if they've endorsed me) because I take endorsements somewhat seriously. If I haven't worked with you, or have a reasonable belief in your skill set, I'm not endorsing it.

The advantages of LinkedIn to me are that it might avoid having to annoy my references with a contact; their opinion is right there. I think it helps create bonafides for clients/employers. I like the job search feature, though I'm moving more firmly to consultant/client base.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I'm using it mainly as a resource to display my resume and references online, and to gather information about people I may be contacting for jobs or will be having an interview with. But I usually will go to Google and do a search for their name and look at their public profile, rather than do that from within LinkedIn, where they would likely be able to see that I'm checking them out.

I can sympathize with those who have mentioned getting "endorsed" by people who really know nothing about what I do in that particular area. It just drags down the quality of my expertise, and so far I haven't found anyway to ignore an endorsement or edit them after the fact in my profile. Is there a way to do that?

I've also found it annoying that if you change almost anything in one of your job descriptions, even a comma, the site interprets it as a "new" job and sends out an email blast and you end up getting all these congratulations for the "new job" that isn't really new at all.

I was just wondering what other members use it for and if maybe there would be suggestions that could let me use it more effectively.

BBD

[slidey]

I was just wondering what other members use it for and if maybe there would be suggestions that could let me use it more effectively.

BBD

Dave, the concerns about email blast for any damn activity is what turned me off LinkedIn for a long while as well. They recently (maybe a few months back) added a feature that mutes all their gibberish fire-alarm default setting, and now I do various commits to spruce up my profile but so far as I know no one's getting a toot from me.

Delve into 'Settings', and make that tight.

While you're at it, activate 2-factor auth; a good rule of thumb for any online service that offers the facility.

[OtayBW]

I don't change my profile hardly at all because of the same reason you all are discussing: I don't want to draw attention to myself for vacuous reasons. However, you can promote yourself strategically and discretely to get recognition for something important occasionally, just by making an intelligent response to some, say, technical question in some relevant group. You can promote yourself as an expert or someone knowledgeable in that field very easily and your views will go up (who is this smart guy? or, who is that jack-ass!).

As far as the endorsements are concerned, you have to look at the big picture over the sum of all of them. A few endorsements here and there from people you don't know don't mean anything and certainly do not drag down the quality of my expertise which speaks for itself in the profile. A ton of similar endorsements in several areas of your expertise say much more and are supported by your profile. Additionally, it's also possible to tell which endorsements come from your 1st order connections and which are fluff....