If you plan to go back to work within a few years, are you on LinkedIn?

[Prairie~Phlox]

I have worked part time for the last few years and recently for about a year have been merchandising.  I have a 3 year plan when my kids are back.  A friend said I should join LinkedIn.  Just wondering if you have and if you've found it to be worth it?

 

 

[DawnM]

It does very little in the K-12 Education world for job searches and help.   I have an Linked In account, but only because people kept sending me requests to be their "friend" or whatever it is called on LI.  But it is very vague and not used for job opportunities.

 

But I have a full time job now, so I don't need it.

[whitestavern]

For the people I know, working and not, that have LinkedIn accounts, none are using it to find a job. It's just what everyone seems to do, lol.

[Guest]

.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Æthelthryth the Texan

[magnificent_baby]

I have an account and recently got hired in the healthcare field. I still don't really get the point of it at all and haven't really used it for anything. I'm about to close my account because the emails are annoying. 

[umsami]

Yes, I've never been off.  I find it useful for networking, plus now I get targeted job postings (probably most are on Indeed, though) as well as sometimes an inquiry from a recruiter.  I can't think of a downside. 

[Ailaena]

I think it's ridiculous, but every recruiter and many businesses bf came across when looking for a job this year told him to get an account. As far as I can tell, it's mostly used by recruiters and way more popular for tech than, say, teaching.

 

Definitely wouldn't hurt if you were looking for work and coming from a job, but would be pointless for me who has pretty much never had a job, and therefore nobody to link to :( :p

[SKL]

I have never stopped working, but I don't use linked-in.  I think my previous employer created an account for me, which hasn't been updated in like 10 years ... and I tried to delete it, but it must still be there, because I periodically get invitations to - I dunno, say hello - to people on linked-in.  I think it's dumb.  And annoying.

[TravelingChris]

I have one but am not planning to work.

[Mama Geek]

It is heavily used in Oil and Gas by recruiters, HR and those actually doing the interviews.

[prairiewindmomma]

It is used very, very heavily in the IT world.  Recruiters use it extensively.  It's a great personal branding tool, and used well, it's helpful in professional networking.

 

Read up on effective Linkedin practices before setting up your profile.....professional looking headshot, not befriending the world, personal notes when you make a connection request, and depending on your career--links to your content generation on your blog, etc.

[Guest]

It is used very, very heavily in the IT world. Recruiters use it extensively. It's a great personal branding tool, and used well, it's helpful in professional networking.

 

Read up on effective Linkedin practices before setting up your profile.....professional looking headshot, not befriending the world, personal notes when you make a connection request, and depending on your career--links to your content generation on your blog, etc.

Echoing this- don't accept connections you don't know. LinkedIn is one of the places they target to get info for identity theft.

[HomeMum]

Some people rage on about LinkedIn being the best thing since sliced bread. Let me tell you, it isn't. Not in this niche. You're going to get contacted maybe about some jobs you probably don't want. It's just one huge group of people trying to make themselves look good, endorsing each other for skills in hopes that they will be re-indorsed... I hated most aspects it, a pointless waste of time. 

 

What it is good for, is recording some type of connection. For instance, you meet someone professional at a conference and they have a LinkedIn. If you add them, you'll be able to look back a few years later and see where they are and send them a private message etc without having to worry about keeping a number or email. You can do this same thing on Facebook. BUT personally, I would like to keep purely business relationships separate from 'friends.' (Not that I had many LinkedIn contacts anyways... mostly the same group as my FB).

 

You might find this article interesting, its geared towards college students though: http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/10/when-it-comes-to-landing-a-job-does-linkedin-actually-matter/ - the premise is that it isn't utilized well enough, who knows.

 

 

 

[Georgiana Daniels]

For the people I know, working and not, that have LinkedIn accounts, none are using it to find a job. It's just what everyone seems to do, lol.

 

^^^ Yep, it's what all my fellow fiction writers were doing at one point, so I jumped on the proverbial bandwagon.

 

That said, I think it really depends on what kind of job you want. LinkedIn works well for people who work it, in particular fields. There are freelance writers who use it constantly to find their next gigs.