Has anyone here had any success using LinkedIn?

[Tobin S.]

I've been an active participant there since December and have almost nothing to show for it. I was able to get an interview at a local company by contacting one of their HR people who was on LinkedIn, but I went into it knowing that there weren't any jobs available there. The guy just wanted to talk to me because I came recommended by one of my professors. I think he was just trying to stay in with a guy who can funnel people to him when there is a job opening. Aside from that, I have had no contact with anyone from LinkedIn despite steadily applying for jobs there.

Another thing about LinkedIn is that it seems to be mainly for people who are already established in their fields. There are jobs there posted for entry level positions, but many of them appear to be very poor opportunities on closer inspection. Some of them are outright scams.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. I signed up as a joke, claiming to be a professional wine taster

who graduated from the University of Mars. I actually get inquiries every couple of weeks regarding job openings, I have no knowledge why.

[The empressof all]

2. I hate linked in but....

Many companies will check your profile and contacts for endorsements. From my understanding it's also useful to engage in their groups for your profession.

I'm retired...but I know looking for work sucks the big one. When I was a hiring manager I always looked for applicants that were easy to know so if I were hiring now I would check your linked in and your contact list for commonalities. From what I was told many HR departments use it very frequently

[laundry_queen]

3. Nope

No luck. However, the only reason I joined is because the company my mom works for, one I eventually would like to get a job with, checks Linked In pages when someone applies. I applied at her company right as the local economy tanked so they decided not to fill the position after all, so I don't know if Linked in helped me or not.

I also noticed the jobs sent my way are crap. Some are legit, but not in my field at ALL (in my field it is pretty easy to find specific jobs, instead I'm getting jobs sent to me that are totally unrelated). If you do a search on your own, the results are slightly better. I've had zero luck on any of the job sites though, however I'm only casually looking because I have a job that I enjoy and that I'm good at (but that pays terribly and requires a long commute) so I'm being pretty picky.

Anyway, I think that just having a profile probably helps you, but I don't think it's likely to find you a great job, unless you get lucky. It can also be good for networking if you aren't the shy type (like I am). But I agree, it's not as good as I thought it would be either.

[Phentex]

4. No. And they will spam everyone in your contact list too...

why did I get in invitation from the lady who maintains plants in the office building? I don't even have a linked in account?! This isn't the first time I've gotten invitations from LinkedIn.


Anyway, good luck with that.

[Tobin S.]

5. You have to give them permission to access your contact list.

I think people do it thinking that they have to if they want to set up an account.

[Phentex]

6. and we wonder how spam makes the rounds, lol...

maybe it's not on purpose, but it seems invasive to me. *I* am not giving the permission and I think it should only go to people who have an account, which means they want to have an account.

[Wolf Frankula]

7. No

All I ever got was somebody sending constant updates about himself. This was somebody I never heard of.

Wolf

[Tobin S.]

8. kick

[mackerel]

9. I use linkedIn but not necessarily to find work

but to stay in touch with other professionals. I will tell you that I've checked it before hiring. You may want to consider go through a temp agency like Robert Half. That's who our office uses.

[DawgHouse]

10. Waste of time, IME.

I guess it's handy if you want to check up on former coworkers.

[NorthCarolinaL]

11. I observe that LinkedIn works

better for the marketers and other people are are selling, marketing, etc. Less value to the people actually on there.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. to me...it's just a place for people to brag about what they have accomplished

and how many connections they have. I see zero value in it. Other than seeing what someone looks like who you worked with 10 years ago.

[Generic Brad]

13. I have intentionally avoided it until now

Outside of DU, I am not a big social media participant. Hell, I barely participate here.

[47of74]

14. I had an interview from someone who saw my profile on there.

I didn't get the job, which is good since it would've required a move to Austin, Texas. I love Austin but I don't want to move so far from family.

I do occasionally get emails from people about positions who saw my profile on there.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Nope.

I haven't been very active, but it hasn't really given me any reason to be active. I joined a couple of years ago. I rarely go on it, because I never even saw a single job opening in my field. Most people in my field don't seem to use it.

[Telcontar]

16. I got my current job through LinkedIn

Been an out of work analyst for 9 months. Got on LinkedIn, updated my ancient profile and started doing the networking thing. About a week later got a job opportunity pop up. A Skype interview later, I got the job, making more money that I did at the job I got laid off at. So, I would consider it a success.

[bikebloke]

17. Nada

I only had a LinkedIn account because some bloke wouldn't supply a photo of himself for a story he as featured in unless I made a LinkedIn connection. After "corporate restructuring" my job was eliminated and they paid for career coaching. The coaching said all the jobs were in LinkedIn (only 10% were listed in the paper.). I deflated that balloon when I told them the only views of my profile were from people at my old job.

Looking online for LinkedIn tips, one list started saying not to connect with HR people. Number two was connect with HR people.

I've been putting off applying for unemployment, but I guess I had better. It looks like it's going to be a hard road down.