Anyone using this? I signed up a few months back and never did anything with it, but now I figure I might as well try to build out my network. Supposedly it can be a great resource for finding new jobs or side projects, plus you can help other people out with professional recommendations or linking them to people you know. I know there are a number of people here that work full time so if you are interested in networking post your profile in this thread.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/zachhayes

6/20/2007 11:57:43 AM

yeah i use this because a few of my clients invited me and after the third one or so i finally accepted - i don't think i'd add random twwers though

6/20/2007 11:59:30 AM

yeah, same as Omar, but it was co-workers instead.

6/20/2007 12:03:25 PM

Im on there
[no TWW]

6/20/2007 12:04:08 PM

Don't see why you wouldn't want a larger network, you never know who could or is willing to help you out. But I can understand not wanting random TWWers added. My assumption was that people on here who would actually spend the time and have a need to be on the site would actually be somewhat respectable.

6/20/2007 12:05:43 PM

Yeah, it's useful... I got hooked up with a bunch of job opportunities through the contacts on there in the Bay Area but chose to go a different route.

Despite TWW's suckiness I don't see a problem with adding a few people from here to your contacts. There are plenty of successful young professionals on here I'm sure, myself included..

[Edited on June 20, 2007 at 1:40 PM. Reason : x]

6/20/2007 1:39:31 PM

i'm on there ... and listed on zoom info.

6/20/2007 1:56:24 PM

it's big with people at my company. I've used it to try to find candidates for open positions here, but never could get them to email me back.

I'm leaving my job in two weeks to go back for my Ph.D., and a bunch of my co-workers were like "be sure to update your LinkedIn"

[Edited on June 20, 2007 at 4:27 PM. Reason : asddf]

6/20/2007 4:27:40 PM

i've had two random job offers that originated from LinkedIn and i use it to recruit for some positions

just search "chris moody" and you can find me easily

6/20/2007 5:10:56 PM

I'm on there too, it's pretty cool, although the number of my associates on there is still pretty slim.

6/20/2007 5:52:39 PM

it appears that ill have to look into this since all of the resident TWW professionals are using it.

6/20/2007 6:23:55 PM

^^ just sent you an invite. Maybe you'll get some more leads from my contacts.

6/21/2007 8:49:32 AM

our company is small; no one else here uses it.
i don't recall how i found it ... signed up about two weeks ago, but i have no connections.

6/21/2007 4:33:30 PM

I've never heard about that site before and it sounds pretty awesome so I went ahead and joined

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/4b8/22b

if anybody wants to add me.

6/25/2007 2:31:15 PM

bttt

12/9/2008 10:28:29 AM

PM sent

[Edited on December 9, 2008 at 10:50 AM. Reason : d]

12/9/2008 10:37:16 AM

^

12/9/2008 10:52:17 AM

Great thread, very current, both profiles are at different jobs

12/9/2008 10:53:59 AM

I still use it pretty regularly ever since I found this thread.

12/9/2008 11:10:19 AM

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/874/301

12/9/2008 11:17:18 AM

I think its pretty difficult for current students to establish themselves on, at least until they have their first real job.

12/9/2008 11:17:33 AM

just to inject the questions from the other thread back into this one

Quote :

"how many contacts do you have? are you selective or do you just invite/accept new contacts from almost any acquaintence what groups do you belong to? has it ever helped you get a job?"

i've got about 20 connections. i'm not selective cus i don't get random requests. all my contacts i know irl (ok a few on here but only people i "know" or know me relatively well).

i'm not in any groups but i looked through some that i would probably join. didn't see a lot of value in joining groups but i suppose why not right.

yes, indirectly it's gotten me a job. a guy i used to work for used his linkedin connections to find a job for me. i'm hoping that it will score me a job soon too (yes i need a job so if you know somebody in charlotte who needs some software development work done, let me know. or better yet, hire my developoment team http://www.softwaredoneright.net )

12/9/2008 11:24:31 AM

I wanted to use linkedin as a vehicle to advertise and recruit contractors for my company.

Still havent worked out a viable business solution yet.

12/9/2008 11:27:02 AM

about 60 connections

it's hard to say i'm selective because i don't get requests from random people - if i did however though they'd be ignored

i'm only a part of one group - RFID Professionals

it hasn't helped me get a job yet

12/9/2008 11:27:56 AM

qntmfred, I just looked at your profile... Here's where the groups could possibly help.... They each have a specific discussion board where group members can ask questions/discuss things related to the group.

You do work in Agile Development. A VP at a mid-sized business is in your group and asks a question about transitioning from a Waterfall to Agile methodology. You answer his question and he is grateful. He remembers you 3 months from then when his company is ready to begin the transition. He finds the question, looks at your profile, and whaddayaknow.... qntmfred can help! He calls you out of the blue and now you have a very hot lead. This happens ALL the time.

I have benefited most from LI from the Discussion feature in the groups. I am only in 5 but they are very active (IT Training). I answer a couple of questions a week and send personal responses to others. The biggest acquisition of our business year stemmed from me answering a question from a group member in my group.

12/9/2008 11:34:55 AM

you are exactly right. i think when i originally signed up there wasn't a lot of activity on the groups i was interested in. i'm not on it everyday like i am facebook or tww so maybe things have changed. i'll take a closer look, thanks

12/9/2008 11:39:11 AM

A lot of the groups I am a member of, at least the Cisco ones, people use to advertise for vacancies in specific areas.

:shrug:

12/9/2008 11:39:17 AM

Yeah, I used to spend 1 hour a month there when this thread was started. Now, I am on at least 1 hour a week. It is the best prospecting tool I have.

I see vacancies posted a lot, but my groups are specific. Try searching the groups under "Charlotte" specifically. There will likely be a "LinkedtoCharlotte" group or the like. It's 10x better than a cold call.

12/9/2008 11:42:41 AM

To reply to joe from the other thread:

Quote :

"so you're in your first job since college, i take it? that's cool.... after you've been in the workforce a few years, face a few potential (or real) RIFs due to downsize or merger, you'll probably start to understand the value of professional networks."

No, I'm nearly 30 years old and have had 3 "real" jobs since college. Including one in which I got laid off twice from. Every job I've ever gotten has been from someone I knew from a previous job or school, so I know very well what the value of having a strong professional network can be.

Quote :

"case in point: the one guy at my work who has like 500+ cnnnections, and is member of like 100+ groups, everyone makes fun of him. he's not a recruiter, just an engineer. he's taken it to a ridiculous extreme."

I'm confused, were you trying to support my point, or yours? Because people like this are the exact reason that I said I didn't find much value in the site.

Quote :

"most people i know have between 10-50 connections. its a way to maintain a network with people you used to work with, so you'll have contacts/references when you need to find jobs. that's it. a guy i used to work with is contacting me to help him get a job where i work now. i'll probably do similar to someone else in the future."

I mean, yeah I'm sure you can do that. You could also use any other social networking site to contact old colleagues to inquire about new positions. The only difference I see is that linkedin is only geared towards professionals and not towards 14 year old girls. So you would think that would stop it from turning into a "who has the most contacts" contest. But, from my experience, that's not the case.

12/9/2008 4:28:56 PM

^what type of industry do you work in?

I don't know anyone who uses LinkedIn to see "who has the most contacts"...You might need to network into some more mature groups of people.

12/9/2008 6:47:27 PM

Quote :

"^what type of industry do you work in? I don't know anyone who uses LinkedIn to see "who has the most contacts"...You might need to network into some more mature groups of people."

agreed. I have connections only with people who i've worked with and have a few recommendations racked up from them. I also have a couple of recruiters that have added me but oddly enough aren't the ones that got me jobs.

12/9/2008 6:55:45 PM

Quote :

"You could also use any other social networking site to contact old colleagues to inquire about new positions."

It's not about old colleagues. It's about new people you wouldn't meet on other "social" sites. You can see exactly what they do and how you may have a possible business relationship. As far as I know you can't search "VP of HR at Cisco" on any other social site.

12/9/2008 7:39:49 PM

Im on there
[no TWW]

12/9/2008 8:12:05 PM

Quote :

"I mean, yeah I'm sure you can do that. You could also use any other social networking site to contact old colleagues to inquire about new positions. The only difference I see is that linkedin is only geared towards professionals and not towards 14 year old girls. So you would think that would stop it from turning into a "who has the most contacts" contest. But, from my experience, that's not the case."

Apparently you work in an industry with a bunch of retards.

I don't think I have a single "connection whore" on my contacts. The few people I am connected with who do have 100+ contacts are very well warranted.

You absolutely cannot use any other social networking site to do what linkedin does, plain and simply. None other side has the capability or mechanisms in place to assure reliable, high quality content in the form of recommendations and experience. It's very hard to fake your way through a good work history on LinkedIn. It's easy as pie to lie about your credentials on a traditional social networking site.

12/9/2008 8:24:39 PM

Quote :

"Apparently you work in an industry with a bunch of retards."

They prefer the term salespeople.

12/9/2008 9:09:15 PM

nvm...its the lounge.

[Edited on December 9, 2008 at 9:30 PM. Reason : .]

12/9/2008 9:23:53 PM

some dumbass signed up his account with my email

12/9/2008 9:37:45 PM

^^^There you have it.

12/9/2008 9:49:44 PM

I'm "in" - but trust the people in my connections very well.... where people may be "friends" on other websites, I'm not in Linked in for the same social scene.

[Wouldn't consider those I've never done business with on TWW]

As said above, more strictly business is observed there in every case I've seen. I don't have any connections with 300+ people in their network that just clicked to add people they met once.

12/9/2008 10:58:52 PM

i'm stuck at '90%' on there... what does that even mean?

12/9/2008 11:08:56 PM

^^ The people that 500+ connections are "LIONs", Linked In Open Networkers. I honestly have no idea why they think it's so great to have connections they'll never actually connect or do business with. They connect just add to their number. Kind of like people who pad message boards.

^90% means your profile is 90% complete. You may be missing awards or a recommendation. The higher your %, the higher you appear in search results on LinkedIn and search engines.

[Edited on December 9, 2008 at 11:28 PM. Reason : l]

12/9/2008 11:26:38 PM

dog i'm so doing this and finding all 3 people i might know on there

12/10/2008 12:24:13 AM

fuck a damned recruiter calling me on the phone at work

NO, i won't add you to my linked in network.

How gay is that?

12/10/2008 12:41:26 AM

wait, Omar you mean THIS is the thread that you locked mine for, these ragged little 12 posts from 1-1/2 years ago, insisting for it to be used instead?

LOL. okay, whatever.

This is your home. You make the rules.





[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 1:01 AM. Reason : ]

12/10/2008 12:55:34 AM

that is pretty ragged

12/10/2008 12:56:40 AM

Quote :

"I'm confused, were you trying to support my point, or yours? Because people like [the guy who collects 500 contacts] are the exact reason that I said I didn't find much value in the site."

i'm saying he's the one oddball out of a whole bunch of people. that most everyone else makes fun of his obsession and thinks it is ridiculous.

I mean, i guess it depends on your job function... I know tech recruiters who maintain contact lists of over 1000 people. Because it's *their job* to network with as many people as possible whether they know them or not. Salespeople are similar i guess. their job security is very fluid. they NEED to maintain as large a network as possible.

you dont have to accept contact requests, you know? You can just ignore them. in fact, it's recommended by the LinkedIn site that you NOT accept contacts from people you dont know and trust. I've been on for several years, and i only have 40 connections, because I dont go looking to collect. they just trickle in every now and then.

granted, all my contacts are engineers and i dont fuck around with salespeople. i only connect with people i know, that i've worked with, and that can potentially be a help for me in a future job search.

Quote :

"I mean, yeah I'm sure you can do that. You could also use any other social networking site to contact old colleagues to inquire about new positions. The only difference I see is that linkedin is only geared towards professionals and not towards 14 year old girls. So you would think that would stop it from turning into a "who has the most contacts" contest. But, from my experience, that's not the case."

no you still dont get it apparently.

social networks like myspace and facebook are NOT geared for finding jobs and contacting industry professionals for leads or references in a job search (or, for that matter, if you're looking to hire someone). LinkedIn is.

Linked is is NOT geared for popularity contests, scoring pussy/cock, or finding the next kegger. MySpace and FaceBook are.

the fact that you're almost 30 and have had a few jobs, yet cant see the difference is kind of bizarre to me.




[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 1:25 AM. Reason : ]

12/10/2008 1:16:56 AM

^I think it's probably because he hasn't actually used it at all, and is taking the "my way works fine" stance.

12/10/2008 5:22:42 AM

i still havent discovered the benefits to using this tool, and hope it stays in infant stages and gets its lunch eaten by facebook so i dont have to keep up with it.

12/10/2008 6:42:24 AM

Quote :

"hope it stays in infant stages and gets its lunch eaten by facebook so i dont have to keep up with it."

It has a totally different purpose. Unless facebook integrates a similar system (which wouldn't really work because facebook is not set up as a professional environment) then they won't be in any sort of direct competition.

well, they shouldnt be, but I guess some people are going to assume they are the same thing.

12/10/2008 7:31:43 AM

Apparently these dumbasses don't understand demographics at all.


joe_schmoe couldn't have made a better analogy, and yet they're still failing to understand

12/10/2008 7:55:02 AM