Value of Linkedin

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

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I am looking to leave the public sector for the private sector and was wondering about other's experiences with linkedin and what value they feel that they get from joining.
 
I have found almost no value whatsoever, other than being "linkedin friends" with people I was already friends with or had some kind of business relationship with without linkedin. but for some reason I do it anyways. actually it worked out REAL well when I started adding a bunch of new contacts just before review time, as my manager is also on linkedin and noticed all the extra activity lol. of course that could backfire for you, depending on the situation.
 
I’ve also gotten no value out of it. My contacts are from FB so I really have no use for it. It’s just sits in idle with periodic contact updates that I really couldn’t care about. I doubt I’ll be at any other job over the next 15 years to retirement, so I don’t need it for references either.
 
Some, low value. I used it to reach out to contacts of contacts, when I needed an expert or a contact name at a company. I could see potential value when and if it was time to switch jobs - lots of contacts.
 
I recruit heavily through it and have secured opportunities as a result of it. The utility definitely varies from industry to industry. I doubt I would even have an account if I made my living flying.
 
I haven’t found any use for it yet and it didn’t seem to help me at all when I recently switched jobs. That being said, a lot of companies and/or hiring managers will look to see if they can find you there before giving you an offer. If you do have one, make sure it’s similar to the resume you send out.
 
As I recall, someone here works for LinkedIn.

I've gotten several emails from recruiters offering me jobs/interviews via LinkedIn. Nothing substantial worth pursuing, though.
 
skier said:
I haven’t found any use for it yet and it didn’t seem to help me at all when I recently switched jobs. That being said, a lot of companies and/or hiring managers will look to see if they can find you there before giving you an offer. If you do have one, make sure it’s similar to the resume you send out.
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Exactly!

Well said, I work in the data science sector and agree that its a value is relatively limited however any employer is going to look for you on LinkedIn and do a litmus test for you there as well. At least in my case when I've done hiring if I cannot find somebody on there then I typically take that as a red flag.. if I can find them then it provides a great bit of additional info that you wouldn't necessarily find on a resume or cover letter
 
Basically, it won't hurt you if you have one and keep it updated, but it *can* hurt you if you don't have one or have neglected it
 
A company I was freelancing with as a consultant asked me to join. I did but other than keeping them happy, it’s been pretty useless for me.

Cheers
 
For me it’s worked extremely well. I got found on LinkedIn for my last two jobs by recruiters. My first job was before LinkedIn, and I was found on Monster.com (not sure if that’s still a thing). I’ve also gotten requests for consulting and other jobs that I haven’t taken. But for me, I’m glad I have the account.
 
I used to use it as a goof.

The President of the company I workED for had someone who watched all of the employees pages. If I wanted a phone call from the big guy, I needed only add a connection to a recruiter and the big guy would call within 24 hours. Got some free lunches on that bet!

Also, occasionally I promote myself for fun. I own my own business. I changed my title from Managing Director to Vice President and got swamped with congratulatory notes.

Speaking of which, I think I should promote Autumn to Chairman of the Board so i can step up to President. I'll run the idea by her tonight. She'll say *woof*
 
So, A little bit of a mixed bag but far from essential. This is kind of what I was thinking but wanted to check with the most knowledgeable crowd I know.
 
Morgan3820 said:
So, A little bit of a mixed bag but far from essential. This is kind of what I was thinking but wanted to check with the most knowledgeable crowd I know.
Click to expand...

Depends on the job. For me, it is basically essential. A friend of mine in the same position at another company did not get the job offer because he did not have a linkedin profile.
On the other hand, a few friends without linkedin have done just fine. :D

Tim
 
Last time my wife was looking at a job offer, I looked through my linked in contacts, and found two that I had previously worked with at a good company. They now worked where my wife was looking, and I would not otherwise have realized landed there. So she had a couple inside leads to find out what the culture and business priorities were really like before deciding.
 
I keep getting invites to join from friends and from a handful of business associates but I have yet to sign up.
 
IMO, it's a good thing to have. It's not super-useful until you need it, but if you wait until you need it before you join, it won't be as useful.

As with anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
 
Tantalum said:
Exactly!

Well said, I work in the data science sector and agree that its a value is relatively limited however any employer is going to look for you on LinkedIn and do a litmus test for you there as well. At least in my case when I've done hiring if I cannot find somebody on there then I typically take that as a red flag.. if I can find them then it provides a great bit of additional info that you wouldn't necessarily find on a resume or cover letter
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Why would it be a red flag to not be on a social media site? What kinda jobs have been filling?
 
I am on there but it really only gets me messages from recruiters offering me positions well below my capabilities/experience. Maybe that means my profile sucks. Or I am currently overpaid? :dunno:
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Why would it be a red flag to not be on a social media site? What kinda jobs have been filling?
Click to expand...

Some our corp comm & marketing jobs; if you don’t already have a social media presence in the major places we operate, you won’t make it past the screen.
 
TCABM said:
Some our corp comm & marketing jobs; if you don’t already have a social media presence in the major places we operate, you won’t make it past the screen.
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Wow...
I would be screwed. I guess if I was into marketing and communications that kind of activity would be more natural for me.
 
TCABM said:
Some our corp comm & marketing jobs; if you don’t already have a social media presence in the major places we operate, you won’t make it past the screen.
Click to expand...
Tantalum said:
Exactly!

Well said, I work in the data science sector and agree that its a value is relatively limited however any employer is going to look for you on LinkedIn and do a litmus test for you there as well. At least in my case when I've done hiring if I cannot find somebody on there then I typically take that as a red flag.. if I can find them then it provides a great bit of additional info that you wouldn't necessarily find on a resume or cover letter
Click to expand...
What do hiring managers look for, now?
So many of these social media sites make you the product now. What's a good balance between providing information and giving too much to the site?

My opinion is on LinkdIn, essentially reproduce a resume. I maintain a professional presence on ResearchGate, but that is narrowly focused anyway. Anything else (Facebook, Instagram, Weibo ) really shouldn't count anymore.
 
If the job requires business partnership contacts and is very competitive, then Linkedn is an invaluable tool. If you’re applying for a job where they can’t find qualified applicants (most pilot jobs), then a resume and an internal reference is fine.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
What do hiring managers look for, now?
So many of these social media sites make you the product now. What's a good balance between providing information and giving too much to the site?

My opinion is on LinkdIn, essentially reproduce a resume. I maintain a professional presence on ResearchGate, but that is narrowly focused anyway. Anything else (Facebook, Instagram, Weibo ) really shouldn't count anymore.
Click to expand...

For my company, it is position dependent. Generally speaking, if a position requires the ability to work within a given social media platform, we will look for presence and activity. We have one position that serves as a focal point for transitioning veterans. We go where they go, so that position needs someone who is fluent enough on LI to execute that portion of our recruiting strategy since a large majority of transitioning veterans use LI.
 
I think it is far more useful for employers than it is for prospective employees. You have to put yourself out there so you can be found. Not at the last minute either... use it to establish and maintain an up-to-date profile and hope for the best. BUT this should not be the entirety of your job search by any means. Work your network hard! I "found" my last job based on the fact that I had spent 10 years on an unpaid Advisory Board that met once per month and as a result I knew the company principals well before the Director position opened up. There was no interview! I just showed up and begin to work...

-Skip
 
I'm in IT, with lots of contacts in Silicon Valley, and LinkedIn has been valuable for maintaining a "brand" so that people can keep up with where I'm at and what I'm doing, but it's never directly resulted in me getting a job. I get lots of inquiries from recruiters, but I rarely follow up with them.

For me, it's always been about who I know, and except for the job that I took when I moved from CA to CO (which I did get via a recruiter because I didn't have contacts in CO), all my jobs in the past 10 to 12 years have been through contacts of mine who I had worked directly with.

Nowadays, I find LinkedIn to be more valuable in keeping track of where people I know are moving around. Most of my contacts (and I think people in IT in the Valley in general) are pretty good at keeping their profiles up to date, so it's easy to see when people move around, which is valuable to keep tabs on what companies are hiring, etc. If I see a bunch of people go to a certain place, then there might be something going on there I should be aware of, and I can make inquiries.
 
I have no idea why I created mine several years ago. And I haven't been back since that day.

Then again, I've been here 30 years and don't plan on going anywhere.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
social media site
Click to expand...
It's less of a social media site then something like Facebook or Instagram. You generally won't see selfies of fake girls with lattes and puppies. What you will find though, at least from most professional people, is a comprehensive overview of their education, past work experiences, and positive comments and recommendations, plus things they've shared recently to show how engaged in the market they are. Through their connections you can also see your degrees of freedom from them.. "Oh, Jim knows Mike, and I know Mike." If someone tells me they "live and breath data" and I see that they're sharing posts and news relatively often about the industry that gives me a sense of security that they're really engaged in the market they're looking to work in and not just blowing smoke in the interview, etc.

The *lack* of a LinkedIn tells me
-this person doesn't care enough to market themselves
-this person may be lacking in some tech skillsets (okay in some industry, not in this one)
-this person may have some other predilections against "social media" - which is fine, but tells me that for the team at our company may not be a good fit

*This is, of course, as others mentioned industry dependent. Career pilots, etc., probably don't get much value out of LinkedIn.. but if you work for any kind of tech, marketing, etc., company it can be a helpful asset. Granted, I've never landed a job because of it nor hired or didn't hire strictly based on that either

Cap'n Jack said:
What do hiring managers look for, now?
So many of these social media sites make you the product now. What's a good balance between providing information and giving too much to the site?

My opinion is on LinkdIn, essentially reproduce a resume. I maintain a professional presence on ResearchGate, but that is narrowly focused anyway. Anything else (Facebook, Instagram, Weibo ) really shouldn't count anymore.
Click to expand...
Several people who replied under you gave some good responses.. I would only add that at least in my case I make an effort quarterly to keep it accurate, fresh, and will occasionally post or share something about my line of work.. but otherwise it's basically an expanded resume or CV

**I generally, full disclosure, loathe social media and the trash generation of it that Mark "The Zuck" Zuckerberg has created (what a dick).. Instagram and Facebook have really degraded social interaction and friendships to be nothing more than a shallow competition. I don't have a Facebook, or Instagram.. I've had them in the past (got one back when they first came out around 2005) but I've since left it and my life has been better since. LinkedIn though I keep and loosely maintain for the reasons above
 
Cap'n Jack said:
What do hiring managers look for, now?
So many of these social media sites make you the product now. What's a good balance between providing information and giving too much to the site?

My opinion is on LinkdIn, essentially reproduce a resume. I maintain a professional presence on ResearchGate, but that is narrowly focused anyway. Anything else (Facebook, Instagram, Weibo ) really shouldn't count anymore.
Click to expand...

As a hiring manager, I look for consistency between the resume and the LI profile. Not duplication, just consistency. I expect the resume to be much more detailed. I also look to see if we have any contacts in common.

As a job seeker, I look to see who I might know at the company (whether a LI contact or not; and past or present) to reach out to them for potential intel on the position or company in general.

When communicating with others via e-mail, nice to be able to see a photo so you can see what person on the other end looks like.

As others have pointed out, you can keep track of others as they move around, and it gives you a way to contact them without knowing their new e-mail or phone number.

Bottom line: I consider it a good tool, but it is not indispensable. YMMV.
 
If I had a LinkedIn it would show a job that I had for 19 years with no real defined role to it (because working for a small business you do what needs to be done and no one says "that's not my job") before becoming owner of the company for the past 3. Not real sure what benefit LinkedIn is going to do. No one is going to look at it and go, "this is a candidate we'd like to hire."

The only other two jobs were so long ago that I've pretty much forgotten how to do them. OK not forgotten but what's being used now has changed so much, the experience is negligible.
 
Tantalum said:
At least in my case when I've done hiring if I cannot find somebody on there then I typically take that as a red flag..
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Why?
Because someone chooses to not use software designed to spam everyone in your contact list?
(Yes, I get tired of getting "[somebody I don't know] would like to add you to my professional network..." emails.)
 
I have an account, and I am in an industry that supposedly benefits from it, but I don't think it makes a difference either way for me. But, I'm not in the job market either.
 
I don't think it can hurt you to join and set up a profile and I agree with other posters that it's a great marketing tool. As you can see from the responses, people involved in hiring do look at it. That said, it is amazing to see what people put in their profiles! I have heard of padding your resume', but linkedin takes it to a new level. It's kind of fun to look at how old co-workers are massaging their former roles and responsibilities. I never knew I was surrounded by so many senior managers, directors and VP's that were so innovative and contributed so much! ;-)
 
FWIW, I second everything Tantalum has said. It's not my thing, but only because I'm not marketing myself. If I was younger and more ambitious, in any field, I'd absolutely have it up to date. And it's amazing how many opportunities come your way just because of a random connection. My wife has landed a couple of jobs that way. Of course, she knows a lot more people than I do, and people tend to actually like her.

Our Marketing VP said once that he's not looking to hire people with 200 Linkedin connections and 500 facebook friends. He's looking for people with 1000 Linkedin connections and 2,000 fb friends. He's an immature moron, to be sure, so I didn't give it much thought. But I've heard that from a dozen others also so it really is a thing with the people who do the hiring. Like it or not, it's real.
 
In 2009 it was a club for the unemployed. Today you find a lot of folks that hold a job for about a year.
 
Clip4 said:
In 2009 it was a club for the unemployed. Today you find a lot of folks that hold a job for about a year.
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I am amazed any young person stays in a job these days. I created a Linked in Profile in 2010 after a friend got laid off. He asked me to “endorse” the skill sets he listed. I was glad to do anything to help. I completed a minimal profile and I still get regular emails with job openings that match my title. If I was younger I am sure I would have looked into one of them by now. These days with no defined benefit pension plans, portable 401ks and negotiable vacation, there is not much keeping a young person with an employer for a long career.
 
It depends...

It depends on how you use it, what industry you're in (or going in to), and how you manage it. It can be a valuable tool, or it can be a clunker. You get out what you put in.

I use it to facilitate contacts and to see who I know at a particular company if I'm doing research or see a job opportunity. Something like 90% of jobs are filled through networking and personal contact - if you've got an "in" with the company that can give you a good word or give you the dirt, it's gold. Stale profiles are an albatross.

I'm working with a startup team that used it effectively for setting up interviews for customer discovery.

BUT, if you have a lot of folks on your contact list that you haven't talked to or heard from in a long time, well, they're almost deadweight. Why? Because recency of contact is critical to getting someone to help you or put in a good word.

It CAN be used for cold calls (if you pay extra...), but that tends to be less effective unless you're a recruiter.

YMMV.
 
Jim_CAK said:
These days with no defined benefit pension plans, portable 401ks and negotiable vacation, there is not much keeping a young person with an employer for a long career.
Click to expand...

It's been that way for my whole career (29 years). I always seemed to join a company a year or two after they no longer offered the pension plan to new employees. I sure hope the stock market has value in a decade or so...
 
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