LinkedIn

RevDevil

RevDevil

Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
44,314
So, does anyone here use this website, LinkedIn for business purposes? I've noticed a lot of people at my job have set up profiles and it is basically like a Facebook (social media) for job hunters and contacts related to the employment sector. I've been thinking about using it, but I do not like the whole Facebook thing to begin with. Can anyone here share info on this thing? Good? Bad?
Thanks
 
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I kept getting invites to join Linkedin from friends so I went ahead and joined.
I have received some good job offers but not nearly as many as CareerBuilder or Monster but I certainly can't have too many resources if I am looking for work.

Eta: now that I think of it, I found my current employer on Linkedin quite by accident but I went ahead and replied to his add and was hired by the end of the week.
 
That is awesome. I'm currently looking to upgrade my current employment and wanted to do some research before signing up for something like this. Thanks for the input mang. I've looked into Monster and CB but found that i was always getting spam or offers for stuff that was not even remotely close to my areas of work.
 
Best of luck to you.
I've had three jobs since October so I know how incredibly stressful it is to quit and start a new job.
 
I get offers everyday and I don't need to upgrade my job. Some of the knifemakers are members, too. Bill Harsey for example is on my Linked In page. It's not too bad...nothing like facebook or instagram, though.
 
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It's also a useful resource to keep track of business contacts and find out who they know. If you're looking around for another job, get your profile set up and connect with as many colleagues, friends, associates and even acquaintances and then start looking up companies you're interested in. You or a contact may actually know someone there that can get you in touch with the right people.
 
RevDevil said:
That is awesome. I'm currently looking to upgrade my current employment and wanted to do some research before signing up for something like this. Thanks for the input mang. I've looked into Monster and CB but found that i was always getting spam or offers for stuff that was not even remotely close to my areas of work.
Click to expand...

If you have an impressive resume and are involved in an industry where there is a lot of presence on LinkedIn, it can be a very useful resource. For most people though, they will never get anything out of LinkedIn. For example, if you have obscure but in demand credentials, you can get a lot of offers without even doing much in the way of networking. If a lot of people in a company you work for uses the network, it can be a way to increase your contacts and move up within the company. If you're more proactive, you can develop more contacts within your industry.

There is a bunch of ways to expand your network on LinkedIn, but it's important to make quality contacts that you truly develop - if you join an Industry group, make sure it's a group where people are active. If you reach out to people you do not know, put in the time that you're not just some person looking to get something (90% of people on LinkedIn are always asking for favors and reaching out to people that do not have any incentive to accommodate them). Otherwise, limit your connections to people you know that would give you a good recommendation and vouch for you - that way if next month if you're interested in an open Job at company B, you can go to LinkedIn, search to see if any of your connections have connections within company B, and get an introduction to get a foot in the door. It can help tremendously if someone on the inside is pulling for you, or at least get your name mentioned during considerations.
 
My wife is on there and never got a job offer from it. She has a very impressive resume, unlike me. I did get on there and I got tired of the invites and so on, I just canceled my account. Like anything else, it may work for some, but not for others. Wouldn't hurt to try it out. It's also easy to cancel your account unlike Facebook.
 
LinkedIn is good stuff. Ticket to the perfect job? No. But good to connect with former/current employees and future employers.
 
I've used it for research. I have a few acquaintances who have profiles. We think it's great for networking as well as cultivating an online image/persona of you that anyone can look at from anywhere quickly, IE it's easy for searchers to find you. This being said, your image/persona is online and can be seen by anyone at any time as well those who's profiles you are linked to. HR is a cynical bunch, so is their web crawling software. Linkedin is a common research tool because it IS so accessible. If it's there and it's easy, it will be observed. That's what you want if you're really good at what you do. If you're OK/adequate at what you do, going public might be a risk. If you make an online profile make sure you understand how web crawling software works before you build it. Concepts here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-format-an-effective-resume-2013-11

http://www.staffingsoft.com/Resume-Crawler.php
 
Thanks you for the insight, this has been exactly the information that I was wondering about. I work in the IT industry so I am familiar to an extent with web crawling (in theory at least), I read some articles on it a couple weeks ago. I also know that some HR departments do search potential candidates via Facebook, and other social media to look for "character". Thanks for the links Alfred, that helps build better understanding of the process.

I think what I might do is research (more reading) the way the site breaks down into webs of contacts and see if that is something that might be of benefit. Canceling the account is also not a bad thing. I know of one person that signed up about 8 months ago, and based on how he provided information he picked up a job in another state with much better benefits and wages overall, doing the same thing he did her locally. It's not typical, but heck it is worth a shot. :thumbup:

Thanks Again
 
That's funny and sad at the same time. Exactly the type of corporate bullying that drives many people from one job onto another. Coincidentally, I was looking around at Linkedin yesterday, reviewing the format and type of information people list and I ran across one profile, the guy had about 40 different jobs listed. Never seen anything like that before. He had jobs ranging from 2 weeks to 2 years. Nothing over 2.5 years. Very odd and long profile.
 
I keep a resume on LinkedIn, even though I'm not currently job hunting. One never knows when the need will arise to jump. I might have one more jump left in me.

I've also used it to find former co-workers and find out what has happened to them in the ensuing years. They don't use Facebook any more than I do.
 
It's like the movie Eagle Eye, James Bond, & Belgium Waffles mixed together to make a nightmare. :D
 
I've got a profile, but I mainly use it to keep abreast of colleages and research.

FB is for sociallizing, LI is for professionals.
 
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