Linkedin. What is it actually for?

[Psychoticbreak]

My ex used to tell me to get on there as he is on there and when I looked at his page it is just a list of jobs and things he has done so to me it is a website for looking for jobs etc so I didnt bother because I have a job and am happy there as is he but I just wondered do employers not see this as a threat? I mean if you are on there surely you are happy to move jobs or have I got it completely wrong?

Like others I access a lot of learning from it - either articles written by my contacts or access to articles from places like Harvard Business Review.

It’s a handy way of storing my business contacts rather than collecting business cards and putting their info in my phone and it stays relatively up to date as people change their contact info when they move jobs. I’m also poor at recognising faces so it’s a good way to remind myself what someone looks like before I’m due to meet them.

I’m headhunted relatively frequently and also use it to post jobs in my own team. I’ve also been offered places at several expensive conferences free of charge and speaking engagements. I’m thinking of retiring in the next 5 or so years and have started to have people reach out to me about NED roles which is how I see my future working life going so it’s being helpful for future career planning too.

On the downside I do get lots of people trying to connect to sell me stuff but I tend not to accept those invites.

I deleted my Linked In years ago, because a maniac ex used to track me on there.

So unprofessional, not wanting to be stalked and murdered.

I research clients, keep up with industry news, use the learning. I'm self employed so it's a place where people can see what I do and as a recruiter I use it to search for potential candidates. In my sector it's very unusual not to have a LinkedIn profile. But it is getting Facebook like with non business related stuff and virtue signalling.

Exactly.

My DC was headhunted on Linkedin for a great job, a big step up for her in a niche industry.

It's a bit like a professional Facebook. Uses a similar format, except the details / about is work rather than personal

Echoing that if you have ever been stalked, LinkedIn can be terrifying. You are advertising a lot of personal information online. Although it might be useful professionally I wouldn't recommend it to any victims of dv/stalkers.

Since they ballsed up the search function for jobs, I find it worthless.

It used to be great... you typed in say 'accounting' and you'd get accounting jobs. Now you type it in and 90% of jobs don't even show up, or have nothing to do with your search term.

It depends on your job. Great networking software self promotion tool for the CEOof an innovative startup. Not that necessary to an employee who has a really clear job. Like a physio at a rehab ward in NHS.

I mainly use it to spy on people I come across.

@C1N1C thank you for that. I thought something was off with the search, it’s all just rubbish jobs now or only vaguely related. Some of it might be my fault as I used LinkedIn to look for jobs for DC. Now I get a jumble of options back when I look for something in my industry.

If you're in the kind of job that requires making connections with other people, it's very useful for networking and also keeping ahead of changes/discussions within your industry.

You can lock it down and block weirdos.

Used properly it's a great resource.
And why shouldn't an employer know I'm visible and attractive to others? It has improved my "market value". I've learned some useful things. None of my contacts gush - and anyone doing backstabby posts? Thanks, don't need to interview you.

As with other SM: if you don't like it, don't use it

Yeah, I think it was about 4-5 months ago, something like that... they absolutely ruined it. They say you can use wildcards and logic searches "accounting AND finance", "accounting NOT finance"... but I've noticed that doesn't actually work either.

They need to have a 'search for words within the body of the job description' option...

“Thrilled” and “Privileged” also pop up a lot. Amazing how privileged a big standard tedious industry conference can make someone feel. I guess you either go with it or give up and rock gently in a corner..

I use it sparingly but productively for work. It’s a lot easier than the old fashioned faff of handing out and receiving business cards. Not bothered about the stalking thing because I have to appear online in my professional register and my firm’s website anyway.

Surprised it's still up and running really. We used it a lot initially for networking, but now my feed gets clogged up with self congratulatory smug self marketing posts so I don't use it unless I'm actively recruiting.

I'm a professional, but I'm not on LinkedIn. It didn't actually exist in the UK when I started training for career. In my line of work, those that are on it either set up profiles when job hunting, or are actively seeking new jobs. So, if I were to create a profile now, that in itself would look suspicious, to my employer and colleagues at least. Maybe I should join to appear more 'professional' just to see if anyone notices

It's how I got my last job, and the other ly interview I've had this time round.

I think it depends on sector. I'm in IT and it's the main place I'd look for work, but other areas may not be the same.

I’m guessing you are not an accountant in a firm, but rather you work in-house for a company?

If you’re not in-house, do you have any responsibility for getting new clients? Linked in is a fairly basic tool used by professional services firms to market.

I use it to find out what is going on in my sector. It's a very good source of news.

And I also find it helpful to see what jobs are around.

We are all encouraged to be on it by my employer.

There is an element of that, but you can also follow organisations so it's quite helpful to find out news as I mentioned in my first post.

I came off X/Twitter as it had got so annoying.

I made a lot of useful contacts as an academic working in quite a practical area of engineering. I found guest speakers and placement opportunities for students through it. I also use it to keep in touch with ex-students. I learned a lot from LinkedIn, people post interesting and informative material on there about my area of interest because sharing experience is highly valued.

20% recruitment, 10 % sharing new ideas and or industry related stuff, 70% bragging and being over enthusiastic about the 'amazing/ground breaking/innovative' thing you or your business just did and being 'delighted/proud/excited' about it. (Even though it's probably not amazing, ground breaking, innovative, exciting or delightful).

I think it's all the promoted posts.

Just tested it.
"accountant" sort by most recent

4promo non accountant
1new accountant
9promo (3 for accountant)
1new accountant
4promo (1accountant)
2new accountant

And so on

On-line stalking of people you used to work with. I've never found any other use for it and no firm I have ever worked for ever used it for recruitment purposes.

I use it as an on-line phone book because people tend to keep it up to date.

When I am interviewing someone, I can look at the projects that they have worked on and see if they look like the right fit. I'd be concerned if they changed jobs every three months, or hadn't worked in my sector. I work in a niche contract industry, and most of us get jobs with people that we have worked with before, so I can scroll through my list of contacts to see who is doing what, and who may be open to offers.

Sometimes I'll get an informal call from a friend with a request like "I'm interviewing this person; I saw they worked on project X at the same time as you; are they any good?"

I also use it to keep up with industry news - new projects announced, new standards. That sort of thing. I scroll past anything personal that looks like it should be on Facebook.

(I'd be wary of hiring anyone who didn't have a LinkedIn profile.)