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Linked In Or Out?
Mr_Whoopass writes "I am the IT Administrator for a regional restaurant chain, and as of late I am noticing more and more people sending me invitations to sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc. Mother always taught me to be a skeptic, and, knowing more than the average Joe about how information can be used in this digital era, I am reticent to say the least about posting such personal details as my full name and where I work on the net for all to see. I have thus far managed to stay completely below the radar, and a search on Google has nothing on my real persona. However, now times are tough, and I see sales dropping in the industry I work in as it is a discretionary spending market to be sure. I wonder if I should loosen up on the paranoia a bit and start networking with some of these folks in case of the all too common layoff scenario that seems to be happening lately. What do other folks here think about this? I am specifically interested in what people who work in IT think (since I know that just about every moron who has 'Vice President' or sits on the 'Executive Team' is already on LinkedIn and has no clue about why they should be trying to protect their identity)."
The only site I use is LinkedIn, because it is a good way to keep a thin attachment to people who are just contacts, but people I don't want to loose touch with entirely. That to me is far different than telling people misc details about my life that I consider to be private.
I love this stuff... It is all optional. There is no requirement to do it. Oh, but if you don't opt in, your life will suck.
My favorite is medical privacy forms:
I, James T Victim, hereby give my consent to Dr. Scrupulous to share every facet of my every bodily function, my entire medical history (including incriminating stuff I have to reveal for medical purposes), and my entire credit record to whomever may request it for whatever reason. I understand that I can refuse to allow this sharing, but then the doctor may deny me medical care and I will likely die a horrible, painful death.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
As sites like LinkedIn grow in popularity, and as users learn to game the system to their advantage, I expect that the value of such services for hiring decisions will be diminished to the point where actual word of mouth matters as much as it did before the existence of the service.
Should have tried a nicely worded one instead. That worked in one go for me.
LinkedIn shows to potential employers the professionals you know, which is valuable information to them.
Why? What specifically is valuable about people who know me? How does who I know affect how well I can do my job?
They can choose you above someone else because of the people you know, and will be incorporated in the company's network by hiring you.
Again, how exactly does who I know affect how competent I am at my job?
And if the answer is "it doesn't, but they might want to know anyway" - why isn't it possible that they might decide *not* to hire me, based on the people I know?
For example, I am first-level connected to several people who have written a moderately well-known RFC. I have more direct access to them than the average person, and I can pick their brain for free.
If I was hunting for a job in that particular field, then my connections might help, especially if the people doing the hiring know those names (even if they don't know the people personally).
On the other hand, I can't see a reason why somebody would not hire me just because I know somebody. For example, I have first-level connections to people that I have done business with (provided them consulting, etc.), but I'm not drinking buddies with (i.e., I don't know everything about them). Now, it's possible that those people are real slime except when dealing with me, but even if they are, it doesn't mean anything...I didn't say I recommended them, just that I know them.