Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Is LinkedIn Still Relevant?
LinkedIn had 590 million members -- though back in 2016 Microsoft conceded that less than 25% of the service's members were active. Yet CNBC recently shared estimates that 95% of recruiters are using LinkedIn to find candidates, and touted a new tool called "LinkedIn Hashtags" which lets companies highlight policies like "#dogfriendly" or "#freelunch".
But is LinkedIn really helpful for job-seekers? An anonymous Slashdot reader writes: I'm on unemployment and am looking for a new job, and I've been told "Oh, you need to be on LinkedIn if you want to be taken seriously!" So I go there, and it looks like Facebook or something, wants to scrape my email contacts, upload pictures, and so on.
Is LinkedIn really necessary, or is it just a ruse to get me to give them all sorts of personal information like all other social media sites?
"I'm also unemployed and looking for a job," adds another anonymous Slashdot reader, "and have all my crap on Linkedin and Indeed, and have been using them to apply left and right. If they aren't useful anymore I'm essentially sitting on my hands doing nothing." But Slashdot reader tomhath insists that LinkedIn "was never relevant. Their motto was that you didn't exist if you're not there -- but that was only their marketing hype, not reality."
Leave your own thoughts in the comments. Is LinkedIn still relevant?
But is LinkedIn really helpful for job-seekers? An anonymous Slashdot reader writes: I'm on unemployment and am looking for a new job, and I've been told "Oh, you need to be on LinkedIn if you want to be taken seriously!" So I go there, and it looks like Facebook or something, wants to scrape my email contacts, upload pictures, and so on.
Is LinkedIn really necessary, or is it just a ruse to get me to give them all sorts of personal information like all other social media sites?
"I'm also unemployed and looking for a job," adds another anonymous Slashdot reader, "and have all my crap on Linkedin and Indeed, and have been using them to apply left and right. If they aren't useful anymore I'm essentially sitting on my hands doing nothing." But Slashdot reader tomhath insists that LinkedIn "was never relevant. Their motto was that you didn't exist if you're not there -- but that was only their marketing hype, not reality."
Leave your own thoughts in the comments. Is LinkedIn still relevant?
Betteridge's law definitely applies here.
No sig today...
I mean, employers just throw out most resumes they get for an opening. So does that mean you should no longer have or update your resumes?
LinkedIn is basically an online resume repository. Being active on LinkedIn doesn't mean you can ignore other good advice on job hunting (networking, etc.).
I've used LinkedIn to hire lots of professional people across various projects. Its certainly more 'relevant' than any other website in my experience.
And if you aren't on there, it does raise the question of why you aren't. And that, despite me wishing otherwise, raises a bit of a red flag.
... as a friend of me told me that it was a great way to keep a professional contact as people changed organizations and therefore changed email.
However, I think I've sent about 5 or so messages through LinkedIn to people I used to work with. That's not a lot.
I do, however, get a ton of connection requests from recruiters world wide. Nothing as ever come out of that.
So... the net value so far is, I think, is negative.
Why am I still in there? Well, partly because I'm too lazy to leave, but also because I'm "afraid to miss out". At some point I will probably realize that I'm not actually missing anything important.
Maybe that point in time is... right now.
You need a professional presence, they provide a repository. Curate that carefully (but with as little personal information as possible), ignore the rest.
When I was active on linkedin, I would get calls like these daily from people with heavy Indian accents.
>Hello sir, we are looking for someone that knows Windows server. Do you know Windows Server?
>Yes
>Do you know about file sharing?
>Yes
>Do you know about TCP/IP
>Yes
>Are you familiar with Cisco?
>Yes.
>You sound perfect for this client of mine, they are a fortune 500 company. Starting salary is $250,000 USD a year. I just need the last 4 digits of your SSI for a background check.
This is just like the IRS scammer phone calls but with a twist, they're preying on people with no job, no money and desperate for work. As soon as I stopped being active on linkedin, the calls stopped.
And that's what Linkedin is- its a list of all your contacts, except you don't have to work to keep in contact with them- they update their own info as it changes. And its separate from your personal network.
Nobody actually cares about the social networking portion. Its just a place to hold your resume and keep a list of your connections.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
I got my current job through a LinkedIn contact, and LinkedIn is the first place recruiters go to look for people with a specific skillset. It's a necessary evil.
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As a high end architect at a large company, I can confirm that your advice cuts both ways. I constantly get told about "great" 6 month contract-to-hire opportunities in podunk NJ despite the fact that I clearly state I'm a FTE with benefits who is happy in FL and that I despise snow.