LinkedIn?

[MEmama]

Is it an effective tool for someone who might be passively seeking new career opportunities?

 

Does anyone have experience and tips?

[whitestavern]

That would define my presence on LinkedIn  :)

 

In all honesty, I've gotten nothing in terms of leads or inquiries. It seems to be a place where everyone posts about themselves and then their friends endorse them. I'm not sure employers go there looking for talent. But I could be wrong. Interested to hear what others have to say.

[Arcadia]

My hubby had cold calls from recruiters through LinkedIn but they are looking to earn their commission so they are cold calling many.

 

Then there are old acquaintances who want a job at his current company and want him to refer them.

 

However my hubby had contacted a headhunter recommended by a former colleague through LinkedIn and got his current job. So active looking plus word of mouth works.

 

ETA:

Microsoft bought LinkedIn recently.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Arcadia

[The Girls' Mom]

I know that HR at my college checks it out.  As do our grants department in trying to find potential donors.  I believe other companies use it as a tool in addition to a resume.  What I don't see much of is people finding a job THROUGH LinkedIn.  It is more like a way to round out a resume.

[nd293]

My husband's experience has been in line with what Arcadia said.

 

Mostly he lets people know if he's looking for a job and LinkedIn helps with the 'word of mouth' type contacts that often lead to further work.

 

But he also gets a lot of useless cold calls or contact requests.

[Luckymama]

My ds was recruited by his current employer through LinkedIn, not by a headhunter.

 

His current employer is LinkedIn :lol:

[Insertcreativenamehere]

My husband gets head hunters contacting him almost daily because of his LinkedIn profile.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MomatHWTK]

It will depend on your skill set and the quality of your profile. You have to put up something that demonstrates why you are there. KWIM? Also, networking through the individual groups is more productive, IMO, than a passive page. I have not received any direct jobs via LinkedIn but my network has grown and I can refer to my page there as an online resume for other opportunities. 

[mommymonster]

My DH is actively looking for a job using LinkedIn (and other sites). He has been contacted by recruiters and he uses it to network. I own a business and we use it for advertising.

[Anacharsis]

It's a good way to keep track of former co-workers who you are friendly with but who aren't friends. So in that way, it makes networking a little easier, since you can see which companies are hiring where you know an employee.

​

LinkedIn Groups can be useful, as they allow you to collect together the few thousand people who might remotely care about some sort of industry-specific practice and create an excuse to talk about it. The big drawback is that any group that isn't actively monitored quickly drowns in "synergy" spam, I guess because someone out there suggested that the best way to increase your visibility on LinkedIn is to post stuff even when you have nothing to say. :)

​

Following companies is sort of mixed -- lots of social marketing spam, but also occasionally job listings that aren't mentioned elsewhere. At the very least a good way to keep a list of local companies in your field without having to remember them all.

​

For general advice:

​

​A LinkedIn profile is not a resume, so it's better to take a conversational tone than a 3rd-person one. Sort of as though you were describing your experiences at each company rather than describing your experience -- or ideally, describing your experience through your experiences. :) Leave the buzzword bingo to the Skills section; this makes it easier for recruiters looking for unique skill-sets to find you, and also easier for you to find out more about the career arcs of other folks who have certain skill-sets.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Anacharsis