LinkedIn: How Much Do You Use It?
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I've found it good to catch-up with people I used to work with. I arranged to go out for a drink recently with a couple of old colleagues that I hadn't seen in over 20 years.
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I use it pretty regularly. I participate in a couple groups, and am an admin for the Spiceworks Users' group. I do use it as a living semi-resume, but only deal with that end of it periodically. It serves as a tickler for anyone that may be interested. It doesn't tell the whole story, though.
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I've been upvoting A.J.'s posts. What's wrong with me? checks for a fever
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Linked-In is a business-related networking platform. It's not social media, not in the sense of Facebook and its peers. It's not expressly a "recruiting" medium, but I could see some using it as such.
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@art_of_shred said:
Linked-In is a business-related networking platform. It's not social media, not in the sense of Facebook and its peers. It's not expressly a "recruiting" medium, but I could see some using it as such.
When it was started, they promoted it as their goal being closest to Facebook, but for business people, not friends. Early on their features were nearly identical. Since then, Facebook has added tons like the instant messaging. But once upon a time, they were quite comparable. It was primarily the marketing that set them apart.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I've found it good to catch-up with people I used to work with. I arranged to go out for a drink recently with a couple of old colleagues that I hadn't seen in over 20 years.
Yes, I like it as a rolodex of people that I barely know but just might need to find again.
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@Bill-Kindle said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
business or social. I've never had someone offer me a job on LinkedIn and most of the connection requests I get are from people trying to sell me something, which has no appeal whatsoever.
The groups are a joke. If you use it just to keep up with pro's you've networked with in the past and need to reference them quickly, LinkedIn is good for that. For me, it replaced the business card folder I had.
The groups really are useless. I've tried them and they are awful.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Connection request sent. I don't use LinkedIn but am interested in any tool that can get me a better job, so need to look into it. I really don't know what @scottalanmiller's beef is. Social networks adapt and evolve.
It's not that they change, it's that the took my data and misrepresented it. Now data that I put in having nothing to do with it being a resume is shown as if that is my resume (this whole conversation started because AJ mistook that data for my resume, read what he said.... that he thinks that this was somehow my resume data is exactly the problem.) That the site changes is fine. That they change and act like we had signed up for their spam and scam recruiting service to misrepresent those of us who tried them early on, is not okay.
This is a case of misrepresentation and dishonesty (I've had LinkedIn straight up lie to me on the phone, it seems to be endemic to the corporate culture there from what I have seen.)
LinkedIn is, today, more than anything just a non-SMTP spam platform.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
@ajstringham said:
So a couple months ago I updated my LinkedIn profile page so that it didn't, well, suck. It was pretty deplorable before but now it's quite good. I have a link to a Youtube video of my presentation at Spiceworld Austin 2013, a scanned in copy of one of my letters from the President's office at Staples and tons of other stuff. It has been working, as far as people noticing. A large number of the job recruiters who contact me find me on LinkedIn. I didn't used to see the value in it but, as of late, I have. Has anyone had any amazing experiences because of it? I actually am focusing on keep it looking good and adding as much as I can to it.
If anyone wants to connect, here's me: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=165398934
Connection request sent. I don't use LinkedIn but am interested in any tool that can get me a better job, so need to look into it. I really don't know what @scottalanmiller's beef is. Social networks adapt and evolve. Facebook was originally a way to connect Harvard students together, it's now a way for Coca Cola to advertise to farmers in Namibia. Who cares? If you don't like what's it become why don't you just delete your profile? I don't get it.
As an introvert, social networks really don't appeal to me - business or social. I've never had someone offer me a job on LinkedIn and most of the connection requests I get are from people trying to sell me something, which has no appeal whatsoever.
Any tips on making it work for me would be most appreciated. I guess you need to join a few groups? I joined a virtualisation one, but it was pretty poor compared with the Spiceworks forum, so never bothered with it.
Regards
Carnival Boy
Son of Chartered Accountant, Author and University Lecturer 1972-2014 (42 years).Mine didn't do me any good until I really filled it out completely. More info the better. Recruiters search based on criteria, so the more info you put on there, the higher your chances that your info falls into that criteria. We're connected so go ahead and check out mine.
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@alexntg said:
I've been upvoting A.J.'s posts. What's wrong with me? checks for a fever
What's the matter? How is you and I agreeing such a...never mind, I need to get in to see a doctor now...
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
Connection request sent. I don't use LinkedIn but am interested in any tool that can get me a better job, so need to look into it. I really don't know what @scottalanmiller's beef is. Social networks adapt and evolve.
It's not that they change, it's that the took my data and misrepresented it. Now data that I put in having nothing to do with it being a resume is shown as if that is my resume (this whole conversation started because AJ mistook that data for my resume, read what he said.... that he thinks that this was somehow my resume data is exactly the problem.) That the site changes is fine. That they change and act like we had signed up for their spam and scam recruiting service to misrepresent those of us who tried them early on, is not okay.
This is a case of misrepresentation and dishonesty (I've had LinkedIn straight up lie to me on the phone, it seems to be endemic to the corporate culture there from what I have seen.)
LinkedIn is, today, more than anything just a non-SMTP spam platform.
I agree the groups, etc are useless. They changed, thank you for acknowledging that. Lastly, if you don't want their "spam and scam recruiting service", point the finger back at yourself. You have an account. You deliberately have no deleted it. If you want to complain, don't sit there and say how awful this site is and what a scam it is and how it's not anything like what they were going to do originally and yet still maintain your account on there. Even if it's not up-to-date, the fact you leave it on the site shows you consent to their "using" any data you have put up and that they can send you emails, etc. unless you say otherwise.
I'm sorry Scott. I get what you're going for, but the fact that you don't see LinkedIn as a resume of any sorts doesn't mean that 95% of the rest of the world who does use it DOES see it as either a full-blown resume or at least, like Alex said, a tickler, in which case it's a semi-resume.
Bottom line: if you don't like it, leave. Otherwise, you have no right complain at all. Zero.
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I deleted mine a few years ago. Never saw a purpose to it and it was in an effort to decrease my "social' network presence.
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In the end, LinkedIn is a tool. Not all tools ARE the tool for the job. And not all tools are good tools. A tool by itself is ineffective until someone who knows how to use it and when it should be implemented in trying to solve a problem.
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@Bill-Kindle said:
In the end, LinkedIn is a tool. Not all tools ARE the tool for the job. And not all tools are good tools. A tool by itself is ineffective until someone who knows how to use it and when implements said tool in trying to solve a problem.
Exactly. One of my favorite quotes, or at close, is "If you go through your whole life judging a goldfish by his ability to climb a tree, you and he will consider him stupid". Basically, no one person or thing can do everything in every situation. LinkedIn has flaws but it has served a very good purpose for me. I'm not a fanboy but I won't accept bashing it just because.
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I had to join and quit quite a number of LinkedIn groups before I found a few worth using. I connect and help in some WordPress groups and added the GFI Max group, which has been helpful. There is a lot of crap posted, but I get the email summaries daily, so it's pretty quick to pick and choose which ones I want to read or participate in.
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Where else would you find gems like this one?
The OP's having issues with SEP, which is pretty common enough, except for he's doing this with thin clients...
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@alexntg said:
Where else would you find gems like this one?
The OP's having issues with SEP, which is pretty common enough, except for he's doing this with thin clients...
Painful after the first sentence......the groups have turned into troubleshooting forums.
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@Bill-Kindle That is how I stumbled upon the groups 2 years ago. But there are SO many crappy ones.
