Linkedin - useful tool or waste of time?

Hi,

What's the consensus on this?

Is Linkedin a useful tool, or is it a waste of time?

Good for getting your name out there and publicising your achievements or a tool for egoists riding the social networking bubble?

Seeing as a lot of people on this forum are pretty driven and some members have achieved a lot, I would be interested to hearing what people think.

Cheers!

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

President_Ben

It takes a little time in the business before it becomes useful.

Reply 2

bmqib

Good, for stalking purposes.

Reply 3

crustz

Decent for headhunters.

Reply 4

TBD

Good for identifying names of responsible people. When you apply for a job, your chances of getting your CV read are much higher if it is addressed to not just a named person, but also the decision-maker named-person at your target organisation.

There are other benefits too: it gives you publicity, allows you to compare you skills and background with others, and how they have communicated their skills effectively.

If you are a dedicated networker - contacting and communicating with others you don't know well - then obviously you can leverage it significantly.

TBD

Reply 5

Tokyoround

Good for seeing where your old friends/alumni work and thus possible contacts in their industries.

Reply 6

TBD

The specialist groups provide respondents for your research too...

Reply 7

medapp

I got headhunted through linkedin

Reply 8

ali7861012

Original post by medapp

I got headhunted through linkedin

really? that sounds interesting. could you tell us a little more? i.e what kind of job was offered.

Reply 9

babygirl110

It's good for searching for jobs and having employers contact you :smile:

.

The recruitment manager for the company I work for has sourced a few people through it.

I got contacted for a 45k job 2 weeks ago :smile:

, but I think I'd be out of my depth if I were to apply for it. I'd still like to contact that recruiter to ask why they emailed me that opportunity though.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 10

Nasher and Basher

Hmm, its quite a good concept

Reply 11

medapp

Original post by ali7861012

really? that sounds interesting. could you tell us a little more? i.e what kind of job was offered.

to join the european management team in a startup

Reply 12

arbaaz

Original post by babygirl110

It's good for searching for jobs and having employers contact you :smile:

.

The recruitment manager for the company I work for has sourced a few people through it.

I got contacted for a 45k job 2 weeks ago :smile:

, but I think I'd be out of my depth if I were to apply for it. I'd still like to contact that recruiter to ask why they emailed me that opportunity though.

45k?! omg! what is your job?

Reply 13

The Banker

Depends. The basic version is very limited as you don't get enough info about people out of your network. However it is still useful for getting names and finding out about certain senior execs. You would definitely need to subscribe to get the most out of it.

Reply 14

babygirl110

Original post by arbaaz

45k?! omg! what is your job?

I work for a large consultancy, but my role is only at graduate level, it involves putting together reports for clients.

It's a huge consultancy but they don't pay very well, I've been gaining really valuable stills from the role so I hope I'll be moving onto bigger things in the next few months. I think the recruitment guy who contacted me on linkedin only based it on the title and might not have read my profile properly. Basically, the role he's looking to fill and my job have got the same title.

Reply 15

arbaaz

Original post by babygirl110

that's a coincidence ! :smile:

waa? I thought 45 k is a great wage, as if your a graduate you must only be in your only 20's right? :smile:

Reply 16

babygirl110

Original post by arbaaz

that's a coincidence ! :smile:

waa? I thought 45 k is a great wage, as if your a graduate you must only be in your only 20's right? :smile:

Unfortunately I am in the 20's :frown:

.

Yes, 45k would be a dream come true, too good to be true which is why the only thing I can do is ring him and ask him why he sent me the linkedin mail. The job is way beyond my experience, it would take me a minimum of two years to get there.

Reply 17

President_Ben

45k is pocket change people.

If you people saw what I've seen in my linkedin...

edit to add:
Here's a picture for those who care, http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/688/lnkin.png/
Hence, 45k IS pocket change people

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 18

TattyBoJangles

My dad has a LinkedIn thing, and seems to be getting headhunted by someone new every few weeks - one of those, he has now accepted a job from. So it's been pretty useful for him :dontknow:

Reply 19

babygirl110

Original post by President_Ben

45k is pocket change people.

If you people saw what I've seen in my linkedin...

So what are you on President Ben, if I may ask?

45k is nothing to some people, particularly in the City, but for someone like me, it would be an amazing leap and would close a lot of of my debts in no time.