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Does LinkedIn Suck? (techcrunch.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the professional-social-networks dept.

"LinkedIn Sucks" writes TechCrunch's John Biggs: I hate LinkedIn. I open it out of habit and accept everyone who adds me because I don't know why I wouldn't. There is no clear benefit to the social network. I've never met a recruiter on there. I've never gotten a job. The only messages I get are spam from offshore dev teams and crypto announcements. It's like Facebook without the benefit of maybe seeing a picture of someone's award-winning chili or dog. I understand that I'm using LinkedIn wrong. I understand I should cultivate a salon-like list of contacts that I can use to source stories and meet interesting people. But I have my own story-sourcing tools and my own contacts. It's not even good as a broadcast medium....

LinkedIn is a spam garden full of misspelled, grunty requests from international software houses that are looking, primarily, to sell you services. Because it's LinkedIn it's super easy to slip past any and all defenses against this spam.... I know people have used LinkedIn to find jobs. I never have. I know people use LinkedIn to sell products. It's never worked for me.
The article ends with advice for people trying to contact him on LinkedIn for promotional purposes. "LinkedIn isn't a game. It isn't an alternative to MailChimp. It's a conversational tool. Use it that way." But what do Slashdot's readers think? Is LinkedIn a valuable resource for finding recruiters and job offers, interesting perspectives, and updates on your friends' careers?

Or does LinkedIn suck?

10 of 308 comments (clear)

  1. No shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Was that before or after you found out LinkedIn sends spam on your behalf?

    1. Re: No shit by Pseudonym · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So how do you use LinkedIn correctly? Because nobody has explained it to me, either.

      In my experience, if you need it explained to you why you need something after you already have it, then you probably didn't need it.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    2. Re: No shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Start by not accepting EVERY FUCKING INVITATION you receive. My entire network is 250 people. I consider them all a part of my professional resume.

    3. Re: No shit by Pseudonym · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Start by not accepting EVERY FUCKING INVITATION you receive.

      I have 82 connections. I only accept people that I know and who know me, and I only endorse people that I've worked with.

      Next piece of advice?

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    4. Re: No shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you don't accept every request and stick to people you know you would get way less spam. You're basically sharing you info and your contacts with every spam bot on the platform.

  2. It does have some (limited) benefits by Faizdog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I pretty much just use the core LinkedIn features. I don't post blogs there, don't really post anything at all on their stream, neither do I take their trainings, or participate at all in any of the many groups I joined years ago.

    However:
    1) In my career I have had many offers, and actually taken 3 jobs (including my current one and the one right before that) because recruiters found me on LinkedIn. Whether it was my profile, connections through my network, I don't know, but they found me.

    I've found many headhunters rely very heavily on LinkedIn.

    2) It's a good way to stay in touch with people, if you have the discipline to do so. Professional contacts will stay in touch via LinkedIn, whereas they would be reluctant to connect on Facebook, or to share personal phone #s or email addresses. They'll share business phone numbers and email addresses, but if they leave that job, you can't get in touch with them anymore. LinkedIn connections provide a way to do that.

    About once a year I set aside one day on a weekend, and just drop notes to all my contacts who I'd like to stay in touch with. I write up a core letter which gets customized a bit, but it summarizes what I've been up to, and inquires after the recipient. It's a good way to keep the network alive by sending out a ping and just staying in touch with folks.

    I've also in recent years developed a general rule that for the most part, I don't accept invites unless I know the person somewhat substantially ie we worked together, or spent a few days together in some training etc and had meaningful interactions there. I rarely accept "cold call" invites, and am quite selfish about accepting invites from bare acquaintances, that guy I spent 5 minutes talking to at that conference, unless I think there may be something in it for me (he's at a high/senior position at a company I may want to be at someday).

    Finally, when applying to jobs, I do like being able to just click on a job on LinkedIn and apply with my profile. Upload resume and done. When they take me to the company's website and I have to register and create a profile or remember the login info from the last time I did that, it's painful. I do like that near one-click experience for the few companies which allow doing so on their LinkedIn postings.

    So long story short, I think LinkedIn has some value to me, but not to the extent that they'd like to think they do. All the expansion in features they're doing, I don't use them.

    --
    -"Those who fought today will die tommorow."-
  3. Re:LinkedIn only helps Recruiters, Not Job Seekers by Octorian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    - Everyone on there just "vouches" for each other like some sort of bizarre prisoners dilemma.

    I couldn't help but think of their "endorsements" when you said this. Thankfully they're not pushing it anymore.

    (I mean seriously... When someone who's never seen a line of code in their life endorses you for SVN, that's gotta mean something about the platform.)

  4. Re:LinkedIn is a Facebook clone with a gimick by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You don't need a picture. Ignore that if you want.

    LinkedIn is not facebook, and it's not social media. Just keep the links, add the necessary info about what sort of jobs you can do and have done, and leave it at that. I get a lot of recruiters contacting me from LinkedIn, which I ignore as I'm not looking for a job (and I can't tell which are recruiting from a company and which are third parties). When I do look for a job it will be handy.

    The discussions and groups were somewhat overrated.

  5. Didn't Used To, But It Does by Tau+Neutrino · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Before Microsoft bought it, It was more of a meeting and news site. Sucked only a little. But also the source of several gigs, so I'm not complaining.

    It started going downhill about six months after Microsoft bought it. Now TFA gives an accurate description. I used to have browser tab open there all the time. Now I go there once or twice a year. And respond to (almost) all connection requests with, "Have we met?" Usually the last I hear from them.

    --
    Lemmings are silly; dinosaurs are extinct.
  6. Re:The only 'It doesn't suck" comments... by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No. Those from whom the sucking originates.