Linkedin - should I join?

[Hellsbells]

Is it any good? Does anyone have any positive/negative experiences?
I'm not currently signed up to any form of social media so I'm a little wary.

Does it automatically contact everyone in your email address book or only if you specifically request it?

 

[8ball]

It's a badly coded, cuntier Facebook so far as I can tell.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I'm fairly sure it can't access your e-mail address book unless you give it permission to.

Although not sure how easy it is to cock up which button/s to press.

And of course if someone on there has you in their address book, they can find you.

I did dally with it when I was having a spell of attempting freelancing, but decided I really didn't like it.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

It's become pretty standard where I work. It's ok, there are work related discussion groups on there and I've got back in touch with former colleagues and an ex. I've had a few recruiters contact me about ok jobs on there.

You can choose to connect it with your contacts or not. I wouldn't.

What I like about it is that there isn't a lot of pressure to be on there every day.

 

[StoneRoad]

linkedin has a bad habit of nagging invited contacts to respond, having been on the that end a few times.
Not sure how much use it actually is, apart from a few, very mixed, examples.

 

[Lazy Llama]

I get regular contacts from recruiters who have found my profile on LinkedIn for roles which they think match my experience.

As with anything which effectively puts a list of keywords in front of recruitment agents, quite a lot of roles are completely unsuitable as they don't read the profile to

I don't actively use the social/groups/posts side of it, but it has its uses.

 

[newbie]

IME freelances and contractors use it a fair bit, permies may maintain a profile just in case, but mostly update it when they're changing jobs. Not having a profile doesn't harm you but it also doesn't help- because it's so easy to look people up the system of contacts, endorsements and recommendations is useful to establish an element of credibility. Chancers who claims widespread experience with a well maintained but thin profile get found out pretty quickly, because every workplace has a few social media tarts who will pair with anyone and everyone the moment they walk through the door.

So if you're going to do it, invest some time. Think through what you can honestly say about each past job/experience, remember some friendly names, look them up and ask to pair with them, the system will then suggest more. Don't over-stuff your contacts with irrelevant mates, it's not facebook, and don't endorse those miles above your paygrade for stuff you know nothing about, they'll think you're an idiot.

 

[lily91]

I would recommend to sign up for linkedin when you're interested in changing your current employer one day. It is a really useful in order to be found by interested companies/ recruiters and you can also find many people related to your field. Futhermore, you can build up contacts in groups. If I had to decide whom to invite to a job interview, I would check linkedin for a first "professional" impression.

If you decide for a linkedin profile, you should spend a bit time for it. Don't leave it empty! In my opinion you shouldn't rather have any than a bad one. Moreover, you may not have huge advantages when you're working in a field which isn't that influenced by internet (hardly imaginable). I, for myself, am sure that I'd have a huge disadvantage without a profile in the field of online marketing.

 

[skyscraper101]

I use it and have 'linked in' with people I do business with, connections in similar roles, ex-colleagues, and current colleagues. It's good for keeping in touch with people I only want to know in a professional context, without having to add them onto a separate facebook account (I have a rule about not adding any work people to facebook). Plus I've been head hunted through it a few times so its absolutely worth having an account.

Bonus use. It's good for seeing what someone looks like before you meet them, if you've only ever dealt with them on email/phone before.

 

[marty21]

I do get recruitment people messaging me regularly , haven't responded to any , they don't seem to mind my lack of contact .

 

[Sapphireblue]

i created one a while after it first became a thing, just to see what it's about. didn't really use it until i started job-hunting, and then made sure it was full of suitable info that matched my cv.

sometimes get invites / messages from recruiters, if i'm not looking at that time i tend to just delete / ignore them. sometimes i bother with a polite thanks but no thanks but it's not really expected, they must spam loads of people every single day based on buzz-word searches.

don't go on often, it's really only there for the next time i'm looking to move jobs. networking isn't much of a thing in my industry so i can forget i have an account most of the time.

i believe it's pretty crucial for contractors to network and that.

 

[nogojones]

I wouldn't bother, its shite in my opinion. I joined it a couple of years back as someone who used to work for us asked us for a reference via it. I look in there once a year or so - I might look in there in a bit now that I've been reminded of it again, but I find that all sorts of odd random folk want to connect or whatever. I always accept now and give them recommendations for things unrelated to their discipline just for the lulz

 

[weltweit]

I have a profile that is consistent with my CV, only about 200 contacts though. I do sometimes search LinkedIn for jobs but have yet to land one via LinkedIn. If you have a profile you need to keep it current.

There is a free profile and a paid one, paid ones permit you to contact anyone while free ones only allow you to contact people you are connected with. You can build up connections by linking to people like recruitment consultants, they will normally link to everyone so will build your network well. Like with all the social media type sites if you give it permission it will mine your email accounts for contacts.

When LinkedIn was most of use to me was when I was in a selling role and needed to find the names of people in my target companies, I had a paid account with them and would identify targets and then either message them on LinkedIn or call them, usually using their names to get past the receptionist. For this sort of stuff LinkedIn is well worth it!

 

[Sea Star]

I have a friend who is going great guns on Linkedin. She's an unemployed ex deputy head/ art teacher and basically used contacts on Linkedin to turn herself into artist/ performer/ author with some success locally and she keeps appearing on telly through producer and media contacts she's made on there. Also managed to blag a part in a film. So not bad!
Meanwhile I have had no success on Linkedin whatsoever!

 

[weltweit]

Basically LinkedIn is a professional people's network, if you want to find and link to professional people in all sorts of fields then it is valuable, there are discussion forums on all sorts of subjects, there is a timeline like Facebook's, you will need a reasonable profile picture etc etc .. and can connect with people from your past if you want to .. etc

 

[Reno]

It depends what line you work in. I'm freelance and work in animation. I have my CV and showreel on there and I get quite a few jobs of LinkedIn every year. There are people who mistake for some sort of Facebook alternative, but that's not what I use it for. I never connect with people who are not in my industry.

 

[Mr Moose]

It's a pissing contest for utter knobs and only good for hitting on people with attractive photos a strategy for hooking up almost entirely without pitfalls.

 

[Jon-of-arc]

It's a pissing contest for utter knobs and only good for hitting on people with attractive photos a strategy for hooking up almost entirely without pitfalls.

Whilst I find the concept of a "professional" social network to be really quite hellish, and would never sign up under any circumstances, I'm not sure your criticisms are fair or accurate.

 

[Helen Back]

So it's not much use for nobodies who are nothing like me, just a humble data entry / admin assistant bod?
(That is, when someone deigns to offer me crappy temp jobs doing mind-numbingly boring minimum wage keyboard bashing that a trained monkey could do despite me taking courses to try and improve myself - it's experience that counts and once you're stuck with limited experience you are not going to get the chance to go beyond what you've already done.)

 

[Fozzie Bear]

So it's not much use for nobodies who are nothing like me, just a humble data entry / admin assistant bod?
(That is, when someone deigns to offer me crappy temp jobs doing mind-numbingly boring minimum wage keyboard bashing that a trained monkey could do despite me taking courses to try and improve myself - it's experience that counts and once you're stuck with limited experience you are not going to get the chance to go beyond what you've already done.)

I can't see any downsides to having your CV online on a widely used platform in that situation. Except the half an hour you spend doing it.

 

[magneze]

Useful as an online CV, but little else.

 

[Helen Back]

And how about putting my photo on there? I don't see that what I look like should influence whether an employer contacts me or not. What I look like shouldn't matter in the slightest and is no business of theirs as long as I can get the job done. However, if it will help....

Has anyone found that posting their photo on it has helped at all?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I can't see any downsides to having your CV online on a widely used platform in that situation. Except the half an hour you spend doing it.

Spam. You get spammed a load by shitty recruitment agents with jobs you clearly don't want. I don't have mine up on any job site at all—admittedly I'm not looking for a job right now but even when I was, I didn't, I just used sites to apply and then sent them my CV during the application.

 

[Athos]

Has anyone found that posting their photo on it has helped at all?

Yes. But I am hot. Others' experiences may vary.

 

[purves grundy]

Fuck that.

 

[Athos]

Fuck that.

Yep, that's what they say.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

So it's not much use for nobodies who are nothing like me, just a humble data entry / admin assistant bod?
(That is, when someone deigns to offer me crappy temp jobs doing mind-numbingly boring minimum wage keyboard bashing that a trained monkey could do despite me taking courses to try and improve myself - it's experience that counts and once you're stuck with limited experience you are not going to get the chance to go beyond what you've already done.)

You might find it useful to look for jobs on but I would give it as little information as you possibly can, and be prepared to spend like a week unticking boxes for all the emails it wants to send you. It's the worst site for sending you emails you never asked for apart from maybe PlentyOfFish.

 

[Helen Back]

Yes, I got a lot of spam calls that I never answered as the number was neither from my S.O. nor a local number that might have been an actual job. When I looked up these numbers on Google they were all reported as spam. I deleted my LI account and changed my sim card.

If I do get another LI account it will be anonymised with only my email address to contact me.

 

[weltweit]

And how about putting my photo on there? I don't see that what I look like should influence whether an employer contacts me or not. What I look like shouldn't matter in the slightest and is no business of theirs as long as I can get the job done. However, if it will help....

Has anyone found that posting their photo on it has helped at all?

LinkedIn runs some pretty simple algos which include that people with a photo and a current job position get found in searches more often. Of course they can't tell if you post a picture of you or your dog but a head and shoulders pic is the usual.

 

[weltweit]

Yes, I got a lot of spam calls that I never answered as the number was neither from my S.O. nor a local number that might have been an actual job. When I looked up these numbers on Google they were all reported as spam. I deleted my LI account and changed my sim card.

If I do get another LI account it will be anonymised with only my email address to contact me.

I don't think I have had a single spam call from LinkedIn and I list my mobile.