LinkedIn: Do you use it?

[Galaxy]

I have a profile on LinkedIn, a small group of contacts (people I know or have chatted with quite a bit before adding them)...I get the concept and it certainly has some value, but two things bug me: 1) "The pay-to-play" walls at time. 2) Randomly contacting strangers.

Am I alone in finding it to be a bit over-hyped?

[Desnudo]

What industry do you work in? I get job interest all the time through linkedin. It's also a great way to keep tabs on what former co-workers are up to. You shouldn't have to randomly contact strangers. That's the point. The premium part has never interested me. It might if I was looking for work.

[CU Tiger]

Have a profile and connect with business contacts...but thats about it.
Cant remember that Ive ever posted much if anything and rarely read much either.

[vex]

I've been on about a year but don't use it much. It's starting to pick up in my company some though.

[jeff061]

Yes, heavily. For recruiting and networking.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I've never been a fan personally, see it quite frequently mentioned in my industry, I'm just not inclined to get/be involved.

[JAG]

I've actually started using it more the past month, reconnecting with former colleagues. I had one review a resume I was submitting for a position more in her area of experience. That's been the only tangible benefit to date. If I were looking for a job, I can definitely see the value there as well.

[Matthean]

One person updated her resume and got three calls for interviews within a week. Of course, she was updating it since she just got a job.

[INDalltheway]

I've been contacted a few times by recruiters so I think it has its place.

[Warhammer]

Yes, it definitely has a place and potential employers do check to see if you have a profile.

[bhlloy]

I've been contacted many, many times by recruiters but most of them are so irrelevant to the skills I have listed right there in my profile, or just a blatant attempt to get my resume on file that I've stopped responding. Had one semi-serious phone conversation that didn't go anywhere because of location, other than that replying seems like a complete waste of my time.

[claphamsa]

ive been on it for years, and have a huge network... but i only sign in every 6 months. Im not looking for a job, and if I was the gov doesnt care about connections.

[Izulde]

I have a profile, but have never been contacted by a recruiter.

[MacroGuru]

I have it, I use it daily for work.

[flere-imsaho]

I've found it to be quite useful to a) keep up with former colleagues, b) for recruiting (when I was a people manager) and c) for networking / getting hired.

I rarely post anything, like one would do on Facebook, but I'll send comments to folks who have new jobs, promotions, etc....

I do get a lot of random invites, but I decline a fair bit too, as my own personal preference is to only link up with people for whom I'd feel fine vouching in a professional capacity.

[Young Drachma]

Yup

[MrBug708]

Somewhat, but my field isn't one that really gets recruited out of.

I felt more compelled to post because my brother is joining the company in Sept.

[chesapeake]

When I was out of work last year, I used it a lot to follow up on job applications. Every time I applied somewhere -- and that includes the Federal government -- I'd see who I knew that knew someone that could help. DC being the small town that it is, I usually had a couple of folks I could ask to make a call on my behalf. I've been told by the folks that hired me that those calls really helped me to separate enough from the pack to get me the first interview.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I am on it and have many "linked in" friends or contacts or whatever you call them.

Beyond that and looking up former colleagues or friends, I really don't use it.

About a year ago, right before I started my new job, I had a recruiter reach out to me for another potential job and said he found me on linked in, so it seems to have some merit.

[jeff061]

I do work at a sales oriented company in the technology field, so I imagine I'm right in the sweet spot.

I identify events, heavily recruit, swap business opportunities with old contacts, promote my company and my team, etc. I meet a lot of people on a daily basis that would otherwise get lost to time. It's nice being able to reach out to someone at a targeted company or someone that specializes in a targeted technology that I shook hands with years back.

[SackAttack]

Nope, but given that I'm graduating in May, I may have to set something up.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I originally set mine up about 18 months ago. I put some basics out there, made a couple connections, and that was it.

In the last month or so, I finally went back and updated to add my complete work history, added some skills and a couple recommendations. Hoping it ends up being worthwhile.

[terpkristin]

I like to say that the aerospace industry is small and inbred. There's definitely a 6-degrees thing that goes on with it, and it's typically "no more than 2 degrees of separation."

I find it useful to keep tabs on colleagues and keep options open. But I'm not sure that it's as useful for others as it is for me.

The "endorsing" thing seems over-hyped/weirdly done. I find myself endorsing colleagues on a fairly limited basis, but I get some weird endorsements that don't make sense. Like a guy who's worked only tangentially with me endorsing my skills in something they haven't seen me do or worked with me on...that part is weird.

/tk

[terpkristin]

Dola,
At least in aerospace, you seem to be able to get more information, more links, by paying for the full version. When some of my colleagues have been looking to move, that has definitely helped at least 2 of them (their interviewer credited it as part of the reason they got the foot in the door).

/tk

[flere-imsaho]

I'll add a little more.

In 2012 I hired 50 people into my department (not all ended up reporting to me, the size of the department was about 300 people).

I found LinkedIn invaluable for this process, for many reasons.

Aside from offering me a way to be contacted by candidates, and a way of potentially asking my contacts who knew them, the key thing it did for a lot of folks was allow them to bypass the front-end HR process.

This was a relatively big company, so if you applied to one of my positions off the Interweb, you'd have to make it through a couple of HR filters before I even saw your resume. Now, my HR people were pretty decent, but nothing quite replaces a hiring manager looking at your resume.

Those folks who were able to contact me through LinkedIn (going through one of my own contacts who I knew and trusted) got their resumes immediately to my desk, and almost always got at least one in-person interview. In today's job market, that's a huge advantage.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I like to say that the aerospace industry is small and inbred. There's definitely a 6-degrees thing that goes on with it, and it's typically "no more than 2 degrees of separation."

I find it useful to keep tabs on colleagues and keep options open. But I'm not sure that it's as useful for others as it is for me.

The "endorsing" thing seems over-hyped/weirdly done. I find myself endorsing colleagues on a fairly limited basis, but I get some weird endorsements that don't make sense. Like a guy who's worked only tangentially with me endorsing my skills in something they haven't seen me do or worked with me on...that part is weird.

/tk

+1

The things I've been endorsed on, and by whom, just makes me laugh.

I have a bunch of accounting/finance skills listed, along with a good amount of Excel skills.

My sister, an elementary school teacher, endorsed me on pivot tables. I asked her about it, she said LinkedIn prompted her to endorse me on them, so she did. No clue what a pivot table was, but she knows I'm darn good at them!

[jeff061]

Yes, endorsements are worthless and are people picking the defaults when recommended to endorse someone.

If anything the quantity of them can be seen as some insight into the value of that person in their network. Which probably doesn't matter for most.

[DanGarion]

I think my use of LinkedIn to thank my now director after my interview with her last year helped a lot. I like LinkedIn as a networking tool and think it is a great way to keep tabs on your former cowokers that you don't want to talk to or communicate with on Facebook. ;)