OT- What good is "Linkedin" really ?

Milacron · Jan 14, 2014

Signed up years ago for some reason, get such and such wants to link emails every few days...I rarely know who they are. What do people actually "do" on Linkedin ?

Ray Behner · Jan 14, 2014

What good is "Linkedin" really?
Just my opinion, but absolutely none!

IAMATT · Jan 14, 2014

Its a great way to annoy business owners

Milacron · Jan 14, 2014

Ray Behner said:
What good is "Linkedin" really?
Just my opinion, but absolutely none!

There must be some scenario or type of business where it is quite useful, but what is that scenario ?

MrFluffy · Jan 14, 2014

In contract IT fields, people use linked in for recruitment. I have a profile on there and I often get messages from recruiters that they have some role or other that they think I fit.

WardTech · Jan 14, 2014

I signed up because folks told me that it was a good tool to help connect with potential customers. Supposedly people will search out folks that they need with the right expertise, and then contact them for work..

I think it's possible that it can be used that way, but I also think it would take managing it on a very regular basis. Same way I look at social media, just not worth the time. Just my 2 cents!

Kyle

allloutmx · Jan 14, 2014

Networking... Who knows who ect
Some companies try to recruit through it as well.

LFLondon · Jan 14, 2014

Milacron said:
Signed up years ago for some reason, get such and such wants to link emails every few days...I rarely know who they are. What do people actually "do" on Linkedin ?

I did the same thing. It is supposed to be a meeting place for professionals providing extra measures of privacy, i.e. a non public resource like Facebook. It offers forums where "linked" groups of people interested in a common topic can engage in discussion. I have not responded to their emails as it seems like it would be yet another distracting time waster. Generally people using this medium would probably be better off participating in other online activities, like PM or my permaculture forum.

adamm · Jan 14, 2014

MrFluffy said:
In contract IT fields, people use linked in for recruitment. I have a profile on there and I often get messages from recruiters that they have some role or other that they think I fit.

This is also my experience. It is 93% a jobs site, 5% a way to keep up with contact information for people that you don't talk to very often from previous jobs, and 2% a way to be voyeur into your contacts to see who they know.

Peter Neill · Jan 14, 2014

MrFluffy said:
In contract IT fields, people use linked in for recruitment. I have a profile on there and I often get messages from recruiters that they have some role or other that they think I fit.

Spot-on in that respect. Friend of mine own a PR recruitment company and her Linkedin contacts are her database, for both employer & employee.

Royldean · Jan 14, 2014

An old boss who I really liked (and left the company where I had worked for him), suggested that I join to keep in touch with him. I really respected him, so I did it, and I'm still on it, but it's been utterly useless for me. I once asked a group of close friends if they knew ANYBODY that had gotten a job that was directly traceable to LinkedIn, and the answer was no.

moonlight machine · Jan 14, 2014

Like facebook, a total waste of time. Endless spam in my inbox.

WizardOfBoz · Jan 14, 2014

I'm a consultant, and it's very helpful to know when people in the small field I'm in move jobs. Or to find out if someone is a Staff Scientist (with limited decision-making ability but strong influence, interested in the tech part of the job, and getting task done) or the VP (able to make decisions, interested in the bottom line). It also allows me to figure out org charts so I can determine whom to annoy,err, contact about opportunities. Last, as people I know get promoted, I can write them a note to congratulate them. This has lead to profitable discussions.

I turn the email option off, so that I only see stuff when I log into the site.

Best,

Jim

Milacron · Jan 14, 2014

OK, I'm convinced I need to get "off" Linkedin... how do I do that ? :willy_nilly:

WizardOfBoz · Jan 14, 2014

Milacron said:
OK, I'm convinced I need to get "off" Linkedin... how do I do that ?

You can have the email stop (go to your profile and select your preferred email option), or you can actually leave LinkedIn. Here's one guys experience. He head to contact LinkedIn to have them delete his account.
Leaving LinkedIn is easy and fun | Joshua Spodek

drewboyer · Jan 14, 2014

Milacron said:
OK, I'm convinced I need to get "off" Linkedin... how do I do that ?

Somewhere on your account page there should be a link that says delete account.

I had one for a while but I deleted it because I never used it. I find that facebook is more useful than linkedin.

RebHawk · Jan 14, 2014

I find it to be of little use, but I do get an email a couple times a month with relevant job openings in my field. On the other hand, a HS classmate of mine (who is a banker) keeps endorsing me for all kinds of skills in astronomical instrumentation. Nice, but he wouldn't know those skills if they bit him in the ass. Seems pointless to have a system where anybody can endorse anybody else for any skill known to man.

--Hawk

charlie gary · Jan 14, 2014

I have a very minimal profile, but it seemed to be enough to get me a job offer where I am now working. It appears tech-savvy companies seem to think it's something cool.

lanb · Jan 14, 2014

I am a software engineer meaning I change jobs periodically and most of my colleagues are in the same boat. Linkedin is a convenient way of being able to remain in contact in the future regardless of company or home moves. I have used it to find college buddies and former colleagues for references after years of non-contact. If you are in a business where you do not move around much and neither do your customers/friends/colleagues then it would not be much use.

motion guru · Jan 14, 2014

Milacron said:
There must be some scenario or type of business where it is quite useful, but what is that scenario ?

adamm said:
This is also my experience. It is 93% a jobs site, 5% a way to keep up with contact information for people that you don't talk to very often from previous jobs, and 2% a way to be voyeur into your contacts to see who they know.

One oblique way that I have found it useful -

We had a hiring blitz a couple of years ago due to a large increase in business - I wasn't very involved in the process and we ended up with a number of folks who I wasn't really happy about bringing on board. I can't say why, but it kinda bugged me that as soon as these minority of folks were on board, they sent me "invites" to be "Linked in connections" - so I accepted.

Over the next couple of years - virtually every single one of them left the company. And after the first two did, I could tell when the rest were going to leave.

Linked in sends out "notifications" of new skills learned, endorsements of what great accomplishments people make, etc. So when employee A starts pumping up their linked in profile with lots of new skills and they start getting endorsed by a bunch of people about what "awesome" employees they are . . . I know they are looking for a new job and I don't have to worry about figuring out how to manage them for much longer. This proved true in every single case involving 5 specific employees.

I stay much more involved in recruiting now AND if an employee asks to be a contact, I accept without hesitation.

OT- What good is "Linkedin" really ?

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