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General => General Technical Chat => Topic started by: Warhawk on April 19, 2020, 10:13:46 pm

Title: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Warhawk on April 19, 2020, 10:13:46 pm
It's Sunday evening here and I hoped that this topic would interest some. After many years, I deleted my LinkedIn account. I do not have any social media now and it feels right (now). I used to be happy with the idea of maintaining the professional network but
it became overwhelming about the time when MS took over. I was particularly not happy with:

Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
I am just curious.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: golden_labels on April 19, 2020, 10:24:38 pm
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
A place where one goes to buy personal information focused on professional career.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: WattsThat on April 19, 2020, 10:32:43 pm
Means nothing unless you’re in the market for a job. It’s just FaceBook for the gainfully employed.

The social media sites are the first place HR types visit and they will form opinions from what they see, it may cost you moving to the next stage of the process. Hiring today is vastly different than what it was ten years ago and the bigger the company, the more it has changed, especially for older, white males, at least in USA. Yeah, it’s true, the amount of reverse discrimination is absolutely stunning. It’s a very good time for females in engineering. Female plus minority status and you go to front of the queue regardless of experience.

My job is identical to yours and I’ve got six months to go before I’m able to retire early. My employer of 12 years just put about 20% of the employees on a 50-50 furlough, one week on, one week off so it’s a 50% pay cut. Actually more than that since other deductions like health care and my car allowance remain at 100%. Ouch. If I wasn’t so close to retirement, I’d change jobs just on principle and that’s where the LinkedIn thing becomes an issue as I’ve never built my up my “brand”. I just couldn’t be bothered, never cared out it. Now I do but it’s too late. Oh well.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: coppice on April 19, 2020, 10:38:48 pm
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
Like Hormel, Linkedin is the place that spam comes from.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: digsys on April 19, 2020, 11:45:08 pm
Yeah similar BUT - I turn off all notifications etc that I can - never reply to any requests, unless they are people I know well and want to "talk" to - keep a "dumping ground" email addy for sites etc that HAVE to have an email and I want to keep an eye on - I log in app once a week to see IF there are ANY interesting techie news .. often not, but I do like reading some amusing posts from acquaintances :-)
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: DimitriP on April 20, 2020, 12:16:13 am
Quote
I deleted my LinkedIn account



 :-+
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: RoGeorge on April 20, 2020, 12:22:09 am
what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
I am just curious.

Sheeple.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: joeqsmith on April 20, 2020, 12:35:15 am
I am an introvert, nerd and I don't like people.
:-DD :-DD :-DD

I've never had an account on LinkedIn.  I also don't have a facebook or twitter account.  About the only social media accounts I have is on YT and here.  I don't see the problem.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Gregg on April 20, 2020, 03:27:28 am
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
LinkedIn is basically a cesspool of braggarts and ostentatious liars aggressively marketing themselves in meager hope of landing a higher paying job only to be deluged by head hunters interested in profiting from them. 
When LinkedIn started, I was influenced by coworkers to sign up. Against my better judgement I signed up with the bare minimum disclosure.  About a month later I realized what a mistake I had made and did my best to remove everything.  From this experience, I will never sign up for any social media no matter how out of the loop it may make me appear.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Bassman59 on April 20, 2020, 06:32:03 am
LinkedIn tells your boss that you're looking for a new job.

I mean, everyone is looking for a new job, either explicitly or just keeping an eye out for opportunities. But there's no reason to give the bosses any reason to think you might jump ship.

Anyway, I had a LinkedIn account for a couple of months back when it was a new thing. The primary results:

a) (actual) friends "recommending" me for particular skills I have but they have no way to support their recommendations. Thanks, guys, I know you mean well, but ...

b) a never-ending stream of salesdroids calling, asking if I do Skill X (no, I don't, didn't you bother reading the list of skills, oh, of course you didn't), and if not, can you connect me to the people who do? It got to the point where I (and others in the office) had the receptionist ask the caller to state their business. So the person trying to sell MCAD software (for example) would be told, "That person is not involved in that" and the discussion would end and the call would never get through to us.

c) the never-ending stream of recruiters calling on an office phone number during business hours. (All calls in go through the main line and if you don't have the extension you have to go through the receptionist.) And literally every single one of those callers (before they, too, got shut down) was pushing a sales-engineering job, never a real design job. The first few times it was amusing: "didn't you even read the skills list? what makes you think I want a sales job?"

Yeah, I realize that salesdroids and recruiters have no qualms about fishing expeditions and they're unafraid of rejection and they don't care whether the person they're calling is even suited to the job being offered.

And LinkedIn doesn't care, either.

As for Facebook: yeah, a lot of you are all really proud that you've never used it and blah blah blah. But I find that it does serve its original function* of helping to stay in contact friends (actual people who know each other) and relatives (if you care about them) who may live all over the country and whom you actually see ... rarely. So it's good to see what they're doing, what their kids are doing, what their cats are doing, all of that. I have a lot of friends who were in touring bands (or were on tour or venue crew) back in the day, and it's nice to see what they're doing and hear their new stuff, and if they're going on tour. When I have shows I post links to them and friends get in touch and we get dinner and hang, which is part of the reason to keep getting in the van after all these years.

It all works well enough if you stick to a few simple rules. First and foremost, ignore or delete friend requests from people you don't actually know in real life. Second, ignore trolling. Third, if that person from high school turns out to have become a raving lunatic, don't even engage, just block the person. Fourth, go through the privacy settings and make all posts and all photos friends-only. (This is important, so the potential next employer sees only a photo and location information and not much else.) Fifth, don't join any FB "groups," as that's part of the data-mining operation. Sixth, disable the "personalized ads," and always browse in Private Mode through a VPN which limits the tracking. (Your ad feed will be full of nonsense.) Seven, never use the FB apps, only the private-mode browser.

* regarding "original function," I realize that Zuck and his douchy Harvard friends created FB as a way to basically rate college girls on their looks.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Bud on April 20, 2020, 06:52:53 am
Linked in has the shittiest most confusing web site ever.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: peter-h on April 20, 2020, 09:07:25 am
My mail server deletes all mail from linkedin :)

Good comments above. It's a network for certain types of people.

They also got hacked recently and all email addresses and passwords (yes; they were dumb enough to store passwords in plain, rather than hashes) got stolen and now are everywhere.

Facebook is much better for staying in touch with old mates and exchanging non PC jokes :) Just make sure you set up the visibility correctly (friends only, etc) and if your birthday is shown make sure it is a few days off, in case of identity theft. Use Facebook Purity to remove most of the adverts.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: MT on April 20, 2020, 01:47:49 pm
It's Sunday evening here and I hoped that this topic would interest some. After many years, I deleted my LinkedIn account. I do not have any social media now and it feels right (now). I used to be happy with the idea of maintaining the professional network but
it became overwhelming about the time when MS took over. I was particularly not happy with:
  • Tons of connection requests from people I've never met.
  • Facebook-like content in the feed (I did not follow any specific channel or people).
  • Technical articles are actually marketing promotions.
  • It was giving me nothing. I received a few job offers from obviously desperate head-hunters who did not even read the profile. I received just a single interesting job offer but this was initiated by my ex-manager who left the company and was starting a new team.
  • I visit customers and do technical presentations. Often people searched me afterward and wanted to stay in touch. I always felt guilty refusing their connection although I don't care for them aside from business.
  • I am an introvert, nerd and I don't like people. (it's different here on the EEVBLOG, I think I am with my species)

Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
I am just curious.

Technocracy's variant on the "old ages" slave markets.
:-Does he have good theets  sir?
:-Yes he does!
:-What about diseases?
:-Entirely free from it sir, all vaccinated.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: SiliconWizard on April 20, 2020, 02:21:28 pm
Technocracy's variant on the "old ages" slave markets.

I do agree with this.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: fcb on April 20, 2020, 02:22:15 pm
I use LinkedIn. It is basically FB for business. There is some great content out there - just have to sift through the dross.

Yes, the recruiters (COVID seems to have put them to sleep ::) ) are annoying. "R&D Tax Credit Specialists" now get instantly blocked, as do Chinese PPE suppliers.

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: SiliconWizard on April 20, 2020, 02:29:21 pm
LinkedIn tells your boss that you're looking for a new job.

Yup. Especially if you suddenly appear on LinkedIn when you've been working at your current company for a while. Bosses know this doesn't happen for no reason.

I remember in a previous job, my boss "casually" saying to one of my coworkers that he noticed the guy had just created a LinkedIn account. Yeah.

Anyway, not being on LinkedIn or similar is likely to make you look kind of "suspect" to potential employers, if you're actually looking for a new job. Whether that matters is up to you. I personally don't have an account on LinkedIn.

But when you don't, people tend to tell you that you are "hard to find".
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: coppice on April 20, 2020, 03:06:18 pm
LinkedIn tells your boss that you're looking for a new job.
This idea is a trick used to get you to sign up early, so you are on linkedin before you start your job.  :)
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: 16bitanalogue on April 20, 2020, 03:12:14 pm
I have an active LinkedIn account where I update my work history and 'resume'.

I do agree with the following:
1. Facebook like content. I do not post or reply to threads *at all*. I have seen so many people get into flame wars. Keep that shit out.
2. Head Hunters - never, and I mean never bother to read my resume. In fairness, I understand as I do believe they are required to 'contact' so many people as a quota. The only reason why I entertain head hunter messages is to guess what company they are shilling for. 8/10 I can guess correctly. I make that a game.
3. Far too many people who want to connect that I never worked with nor will never have an influence in my career path.
4. Pretentious "recommendations". What's the point of these? Full disclosure, I have 2 and I couldn't care less.

Some good things (for me):
1. I have been contacted by full time recruiters from the company in question. This is how I landed my current job.
2. It does keep me in touch with former colleagues and I have messaged them on the platform for job advice, answered their questions regarding local companies, and even snagged 2 former colleagues to work where we are now.

It may be better if one is active in the groups, but I do not participate. One former colleague has taken a more active role and blogging more or less on LinkedIn. Continually posting completed uDemy courses.

Now, if only can dump Facebook.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: olkipukki on April 20, 2020, 04:11:43 pm
I only add people whom at least I met personally and they/me want keep in touch later.
At the time they sent request and if I remember who is (s)he and I'm still interested (or way around), then a new entry in 'My Network'.

As today, I never spoke and met again approx 95% people in 'My Network', but that's not so important. I am after 5% remining.

P.S.
Never used Facebook and as result 'lost' a more than few 'friends' over years, but again - Conservation of Energy took a place and restore a order.

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: peter-h on April 20, 2020, 04:15:07 pm
"Yup. Especially if you suddenly appear on LinkedIn when you've been working at your current company for a while. Bosses know this doesn't happen for no reason."

Unless you have always been on it and everybody else in the company is too.

It is fairly normal, in many companies, and State agencies like the CAA, for most people to be permanently on there. Are they looking for another job? Of course they are! Everybody is, subject to what it is.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: coppice on April 20, 2020, 04:16:50 pm
Never used Facebook and as result 'lost' a more than few 'friends' over years, but again.
I've never used Linkedin, but at one point I was getting at least 100 spam messages a day from them, trying to connect me to people I'd never heard of. It works both ways.  :)
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: olkipukki on April 20, 2020, 04:19:29 pm
I've never used Linkedin, but at one point I was getting at least 100 spam messages a day from them, trying to connect me to people I'd never heard of. It works both ways.  :)

Nobody sent a spam to me from both places  :-[  :P
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Warhawk on April 20, 2020, 09:06:06 pm
Everyone,
I did not expect such coherent feedback. I value this community and it seems that my decision was a step in the right direction. Brilliant minds think alike. I'll do my best to reply back on some thoughts tomorrow.
Have a great time everyone.
 
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: exe on April 20, 2020, 09:53:25 pm
I had the same fear about changing Linkedin profile -- my boss would know. But then what? :) There are several assumptions such as that people care about this, or your manager will spy on you, or fear of other unpleasant consequences. I think a lot depends on the company, culture, your manager, hr... Even country culture. For some reason I think in the US it's very easy to loose a job. I don't how true is that, I'm judging from what I see in Hollywood movies.

May be it can also be a signal to hr that they need to increase your salary :). I know at least one such case, but that was long time ago in Eastern Europe.

My experience is I told my last two managers that I would be leaving even before finding a new place. At the end I regret it, part because I promised to leave, but "thanks" to the current situation I backpedaled on it. I was promised to be given a different position that would be a better match for me. But I had to work out our conflicts, because I was close to be fired to not get a contract renewal. All in all, don't do like what I did, unless you are willing to get some experience in tough negotiations where you don't have much weight. I know a lot of people will state that this sounds obvious, my motivation was that I reached a boiling point and needed a lot of support to get through it. I also had one factor in my favor: a lot of people left the company recently, enough to keep me.

As of usefulness of Linkedin... I have tons of spam, a lot of "social sales", tons of useless connection request, etc. So, I only use it as my CV. When I'm looking for a job I also use lesser known websites, network connections, meetups, etc as not everything is on Linkedin (although it's kinda weird when a company doesn't have a job posting on Linkedin, even though it costs, afaik, ~$300 per week per job). I try not to spend much time on it.

PS you can make up a plausible story, such as you want to be connected with your colleagues, or stranger you've met on a meetup.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: 16bitanalogue on April 20, 2020, 10:19:59 pm
I had the same fear about changing Linkedin profile -- my boss would know. But then what? :) There are several assumptions such as that people care about this, or your manager will spy on you, or fear of other unpleasant consequences. I think a lot depends on the company, culture, your manager, hr... Even country culture. For some reason I think in the US it's very easy to loose a job. I don't how true is that, I'm judging from what I see in Hollywood movies.

I have continuously updated my LinkedIn profile over the last 12 years and have never worried about my boss or their boss seeing it. This has never been an issue and no one has ever come to me with concerns.

IMO, if I am updating my resume and LinkedIn profile highlighting any new skills or position within the same company I honestly do not see this being a negative. Frankly, it never has been a negative for anyone I have worked with in the industry here in the US and A. If someone has a boss that does bring this up as a bad thing then that is a hint to GTFO of that group anyway.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Halcyon on April 21, 2020, 12:32:56 am
I don't use social media (this forum is as close as it gets). I have thought about Linkedin, but I don't really see the point. I work in a very small and specialised industry where "everybody knows everybody". Linkedin really has nothing to offer me and being able to put down all my specific training would not be possible as some of it is protected. A resume has quite a bit of private information on it and I would prefer to control who I give it to.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: steve30 on April 21, 2020, 12:52:50 pm
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?

Never used it myself, so all it means to me is a website which sends me spam every so often (although I haven't had any for a long time).
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Bassman59 on April 21, 2020, 07:40:42 pm
I don't use social media (this forum is as close as it gets). I have thought about Linkedin, but I don't really see the point. I work in a very small and specialised industry where "everybody knows everybody". Linkedin really has nothing to offer me and being able to put down all my specific training would not be possible as some of it is protected. A resume has quite a bit of private information on it and I would prefer to control who I give it to.

For small/specialized fields I can absolutely understand your position. All of the players do know each other, and a lot of the knowledge is proprietary.

This leads to the obvious question:

Has anyone gotten a job -- not a contract gig, but a full-time regular employment position -- through LinkedIn?

Hell, let's expand that to contract positions, too.

I'm genuinely curious.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: exe on April 21, 2020, 07:57:37 pm
Has anyone gotten a job -- not a contract gig, but a full-time regular employment position -- through LinkedIn?

Me. I had many recruiter contacted me, I rejected all of them (because they are mostly noise and their "offers" are often ridiculous*). But one dude seemed to read my cv and offered a relevant position (he even mentioned company name upfront, no other recruiter ever done this for me). I previously was rejected for that position, so I gave it a go, I explained I applied already, but didn't even get to the screening interview. Long story short, I got a job in less than two weeks. Not much trouble from my side, all was smooth and fast. But that was one of a kind experience.

*I was once contacted about a very senior position. The next day another person from the same recruiting agency offered me a junior position in the same company.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: 16bitanalogue on April 21, 2020, 10:22:30 pm


Has anyone gotten a job -- not a contract gig, but a full-time regular employment position -- through LinkedIn?

This is how I landed my current position. I have also reached out to former colleagues myself over LinkedIn for positions at said current company and they have been hired.

I had previously reached out to a former colleague over LinkedIn about positions available before I ended up where I am at. I was also hired at that company for a few years before other opportunities presented themselves.

Overall, I think it is good for my purposes. I keep in contact with former colleagues, minimize contacts to those who I know and/or worked with, and I keep myself 'out there' simply by having a profile up. As I mentioned before, being 'out there' (updated profile) has never been a negative; i.e., current boss doesn't raise an issue...because current boss is also on LinkedIn
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Nusa on April 22, 2020, 12:51:08 am
This forum falls squarely under the heading of "social media". But presumably it's social media that you still like!
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: DimitriP on April 22, 2020, 01:52:17 am
Forums, BBSs, "rooms", mailing lists, the internet, filesharing, and people that don't know the difference,  existed long before "social media".
Look it up using your preferred method.   
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: james_s on April 22, 2020, 02:09:51 am
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?
I am just curious.

It's just another tool, you can use it if you want, or not. I found my current job (fulltime salaried employee) on LinkedIn and have found it useful for reconnecting and staying connected with former colleagues but while I'm employed I'm rarely active on there. I also don't like the non-work-related content and chatter so I make a personal choice to avoid participating in that. The company I work for has hired numerous people via LinkedIn and I got numerous interviews the same way before I landed my current job. I think it's extremely common in the tech industry.

Do what works for you, ultimately it's a personal decision what tools to use, I certainly don't care if someone else uses LinkedIn or not. When it comes to social networking though it's probably the most useful example of the concept.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: CatalinaWOW on April 22, 2020, 02:54:20 am
I signed up on linkedin shortly after they started.  And found immediately that it wasn't for me.  It took several years for the detritus from that brief period to finally fade from my inbox.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: EEVblog on April 23, 2020, 01:12:23 am
Sure I am a terrible person but what are your first thoughts when somebody says linkedin? What does linkedin mean to you?

It used to be useful, now it's just turned into a link collection circle-jerk, and a tool that HR people can exploit to make it seem like they are still adding value to a company.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Electro Detective on April 23, 2020, 01:38:50 am

Forums, BBSs, "rooms", mailing lists, the internet, filesharing, and people that don't know the difference,  existed long before "social media".
Look it up using your preferred method.


The internet was a better place before the 'social media' cattle roundup vibe began

Now we have multitudes of average people pretending to be somebodies on the internet, 
getting their rears data mined and furthering the spread of adware on themselves and others,
making the wealthy usual suspects running these 'free' social nutworking sites richer  8)

LinkedIn harvested my Contact info from someone else gullible enough to join,
and I think the junk, invites and reply requests are finally gone = good riddance to bad virtual rubbish  :phew:

 
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: vk6zgo on April 23, 2020, 02:10:54 am
Never used Facebook and as result 'lost' a more than few 'friends' over years, but again.
I've never used Linkedin, but at one point I was getting at least 100 spam messages a day from them, trying to connect me to people I'd never heard of. It works both ways.  :)

A fellow'' ham I had talked to on the air was very enthusiastic about Linkedin, & I allowed myself to be persuaded against my better judgement.

I joined, discovered it was pretty useless, never did anything with it, but kept getting all sorts of nonsense e-mails from them, & from people I didn't know, or would ever want to know!
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: BBBbbb on April 23, 2020, 05:56:26 am
... circle-jerk...
This is exactly how I describe LinkedIn nowadays, one big circle-jerk of HR, Life Coaches (whatever the fuck...) and CEOs of one-man companies...
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: olkipukki on April 23, 2020, 06:41:42 am
I work in a very small and specialised industry where "everybody knows everybody".
Do you mean in your country, region or world?

As far as I know, it's played quite well for people open to move oversea/abroad either temporarily or eventually migrated.
Much easy place yourself under a radar with specialised skills than "average Bob".

A resume has quite a bit of private information on it and I would prefer to control who I give it to.
Usually, put some bullet points and buzzwords without any specific references and details.
Also, follow "Private Aerospace Corporation" instead of "SpaceX" pattern as current/previous place of works.


Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: olkipukki on April 23, 2020, 06:44:04 am
Never used Facebook and as result 'lost' a more than few 'friends' over years, but again.
I've never used Linkedin, but at one point I was getting at least 100 spam messages a day from them, trying to connect me to people I'd never heard of. It works both ways.  :)


I joined, discovered it was pretty useless, never did anything with it, but kept getting all sorts of nonsense e-mails from them, & from people I didn't know, or would ever want to know!

Is your name fall in "Jones Smith" or "Williams Brown" category?  >:D
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: johnh on April 23, 2020, 06:53:54 am
I was signed up to linkedin as well.

Then one day I thought enough of the bullshit and left.

Now HR of company I work for signed everyone u,.  didn't ask if we wanted to part of it.
Said it would be useful to find people with right skill set for projects blah blah  and more HR wank stuff
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Halcyon on April 23, 2020, 07:30:44 am
I work in a very small and specialised industry where "everybody knows everybody".
Do you mean in your country, region or world?

In the country but many of us have connections to our counterparts in various parts of the world.

A resume has quite a bit of private information on it and I would prefer to control who I give it to.
Usually, put some bullet points and buzzwords without any specific references and details.
Also, follow "Private Aerospace Corporation" instead of "SpaceX" pattern as current/previous place of works.
 

Yeh I do something similar.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: exe on April 23, 2020, 12:09:49 pm
"Private Aerospace Corporation" instead of "SpaceX"

Made my day :). Reminds me "I cannot disclose the name of the company, but it is big and based in Redmond" (the last example I took from an "NDA training of my former employer as an example NDA violation).
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: SiliconWizard on April 24, 2020, 12:55:51 am
Now HR of company I work for signed everyone u,.  didn't ask if we wanted to part of it.

That doesn't sound very legal. Did they create an individual account for each of you, filling in your profile, without even asking?
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: exe on April 24, 2020, 07:44:09 am
Huh, last two jobs I heard at least several times "put a like on Linkedin under our new post". I decided not to react on such stuff and I don't do what they ask for. I'm pretty confident that certain types of roles (such as marketing) have to use their personal linkedin account for company promotions. And if one changes the job and starts working for a competitor... Well, then there is a mandatory new post about "exciting news" and "new opportunities", and then all goes the same road again.

May be this is not even that bad, after all they are in marketing, and their spam blogposts are their portfolio. But I feel like they don't have a choice here.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: 16bitanalogue on April 24, 2020, 04:15:15 pm
Huh, last two jobs I heard at least several times "put a like on Linkedin under our new post". I decided not to react on such stuff and I don't do what they ask for. I'm pretty confident that certain types of roles (such as marketing) have to use their personal linkedin account for company promotions. And if one changes the job and starts working for a competitor... Well, then there is a mandatory new post about "exciting news" and "new opportunities", and then all goes the same road again.

May be this is not even that bad, after all they are in marketing, and their spam blogposts are their portfolio. But I feel like they don't have a choice here.


Most companies have an online presence - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ (is that still a thing). In fact, my companies email signature has all the icon links to said Social Media sites.

No one on the technical side of things has been armtwisted into liking any social media post, but I am sure this is a thing within the group that manages the company's social media.

If someone asked me to do it, I would refuse. I try, and sometimes fail, to keep a small online footprint. I do not comment or like posts on LinkedIn nor do I have a Twitter account. I am currently mulling over dumping Facebook.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Sal Ammoniac on April 24, 2020, 06:31:53 pm
The only "social media" network I'm a member of is LinkedIn, and that's just for professional reasons. The day I retire my LinkedIn account is getting deleted.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: joseph nicholas on April 24, 2020, 06:51:52 pm
Linkedin is a total waste of your time.  I deleted my account weeks ago and have never regretted it. 
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: james_s on April 24, 2020, 08:20:46 pm
Linkedin is a total waste of your time.  I deleted my account weeks ago and have never regretted it.

It may be a waste of *your* time, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of everyone's time. As I've already mentioned, I got my current job via LinkedIn and numerous interviews prior to getting hired. I've kept in touch with colleagues and gotten some of them hired. It very much depends on what industry you're in, if you want a job at one of the big tech companies then not having a LinkedIn presence is definitely going to put you at a disadvantage. I'm not a fan of social networking but I'm happy to use any tool at my disposal that gives me an advantage.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Electro Detective on April 25, 2020, 02:16:11 am

Linkedin is a total waste of your time.  I deleted my account weeks ago and have never regretted it.


Well done mate  :-+

Facebook junkies and Twitter addicts might get a hint, and retrieve their lives...  :horse:

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: tszaboo on April 25, 2020, 08:05:30 am
Has anyone gotten a job -- not a contract gig, but a full-time regular employment position -- through LinkedIn?
Yes, I've got my last two jobs through LinkedIn. Both were upgrade in terms of salary and responsibilities.
Keeping my profile updated and relevant is the best investment of my time, with the highest return in my life.
I dont know what is all your problems with it. You can turn off the spam emails. You can remove yourself from the search results. You can actually delete the phone app if the notifications are bothering. And then if you are looking for a job, just go back. Simple as that.
Its a tool, if it is used correctly, it could mean the difference between being unemployed, having a shit job with no future, or having the time of your life. If you cannot see the benefit of being searchable for something, that directly effects the quality of your life... Then I guess that new job offer just going to ride in through the gate on a white horse.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: olkipukki on April 25, 2020, 11:08:16 am
Linkedin is a total waste of your time.  I deleted my account weeks ago and have never regretted it.

What time did you waste with Linkedin?  :-//
Do you change a job everyday or need (re)connect wih a world population or trying to "follow up" with everything/everywhere?  >:D

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: Electro Detective on April 25, 2020, 11:24:25 am
It's good that TWO members here scored something from LinkedIn  :clap:

But any scumbag can copy an amazing LinkedIn resume, and goodbye to the job you deserved   :'(

Who checks, patrols and controls this type of low down activity?

Who would you complain to   :=\   and what would they do about it?

It's just another 'air' site reeling in desperate for jobs people,
even a dating site would offer better security and remote hope opportunity

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: m98 on April 25, 2020, 03:23:36 pm
But any scumbag can copy an amazing LinkedIn resume, and goodbye to the job you deserved   :'(

How that? If your resume is so unimpressive that someone could get away with copying it, you wouldn't worry about that scenario in the first place.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: james_s on April 25, 2020, 04:58:30 pm
I'd love to sit in on an interview of someone who copied a resume and see how well that goes when they're asked to tell about this or that project they worked on.  :popcorn:
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: coppice on April 25, 2020, 05:05:03 pm
I'd love to sit in on an interview of someone who copied a resume and see how well that goes when they're asked to tell about this or that project they worked on.  :popcorn:
One of the biggest weaknesses in many people's CVs is they say they worked on this and that, without saying if they were the project lead or just made tea. So, you get some equally interesting interviews expanding on honest CVs.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: james_s on April 25, 2020, 05:07:59 pm
I've never embellished my resume at all, it's completely honest, which means it doesn't really stand out from the crowd all that well but the companies that have hired me have been very pleased with what they got. It's crazy the amount of bs some people put in there, I've had people reach out to me to ask about resumes after getting an application from someone who worked with me in the past and some of the things people claimed to do are just absurd.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: SiliconWizard on April 25, 2020, 06:59:05 pm
I've never embellished my resume at all, it's completely honest, which means it doesn't really stand out from the crowd all that well but the companies that have hired me have been very pleased with what they got. It's crazy the amount of bs some people put in there, I've had people reach out to me to ask about resumes after getting an application from someone who worked with me in the past and some of the things people claimed to do are just absurd.

Yeah! But as you said, this is just for exactly that: attempts at standing out from the crowd.
Bullshitting a resume is silly, but I think many people do that in reaction to how absurd recruitment processes have become.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: 16bitanalogue on April 27, 2020, 02:23:33 pm
I've never embellished my resume at all, it's completely honest, which means it doesn't really stand out from the crowd all that well but the companies that have hired me have been very pleased with what they got. It's crazy the amount of bs some people put in there, I've had people reach out to me to ask about resumes after getting an application from someone who worked with me in the past and some of the things people claimed to do are just absurd.

Yeah! But as you said, this is just for exactly that: attempts at standing out from the crowd.
Bullshitting a resume is silly, but I think many people do that in reaction to how absurd recruitment processes have become.

For a long time I took the advice of using "action words":
1. Drive development...
2. Authoring white papers...
3. Leading cross functional...

The above and the "skills" section of my resume is something I am considering on nuking. I been in the industry for a long time, good I hope I know how to use a multimeter and scope.

Side topic, the biggest scam is the "you must write your resume like X!" I have a hybrid resume where my schooling is last - I highlight my industry experience first.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: tszaboo on April 28, 2020, 10:26:19 pm
It's good that TWO members here scored something from LinkedIn  :clap:

But any scumbag can copy an amazing LinkedIn resume, and goodbye to the job you deserved   :'(

Who checks, patrols and controls this type of low down activity?

Who would you complain to   :=\   and what would they do about it?

It's just another 'air' site reeling in desperate for jobs people,
even a dating site would offer better security and remote hope opportunity
How would that even happen? Like they would claim, that they worked at the same company as me? Or they completed the same projects? All it takes is 3 minutes to figure out if someone really worked somewhere. And besides, sociopaths will exist, no matter what you do about it. As well as bad HR people.

Its like saying cars are bad, because someone might put a car bomb in it...
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: h4x0r on April 29, 2020, 12:22:03 am
Been on the site for 14 years.

It serves no purpose other than shameless hot air and self-promotion, interspersed with ads and corporate marketing bullshit.

When I joined, it was simply an IT industry oriented networking site. Obviously that has scaled and morphed.

I get all kinds of inane recruiter-bs and I politely decline, or simply delete depending on content.

I never made any effort to 'expand' my contacts. But all of my contacts are legitimate and I know them personally, unlike most users.

With the correct applied scrutiny, you can make it work for you, but it's relevance in todays Interwebs of Everything is sinking.

I wouldn't say it's a bottom-feeding social media site like Farcebook, but it's probably one rung above....  certainly not buoyant with enriching content.

If you're not in the IT-related industry, I'd say do not bother with it.

Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: SiliconWizard on April 29, 2020, 12:29:07 am
For a long time I took the advice of using "action words":
1. Drive development...
2. Authoring white papers...
3. Leading cross functional...

Yeah, that's typical HR requirements. Used to do that as well as the skills section on top.

The above and the "skills" section of my resume is something I am considering on nuking. I been in the industry for a long time, good I hope I know how to use a multimeter and scope.

Wise move.

Instead of "action words", you may still want to highlight some of your key achievements in your industry experience section, instead of just listing what your duties were. Other than that, don't bother. If you land a job because you wrote your resume like HR droids ask you to, it will probably be a position in which they expect you to work like a junior but with 10 years+ experience.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: pidcon on June 01, 2020, 07:04:47 am
You're not alone, as I also felt that the LinkedIn account had little value to me. I deleted my LinkedIn account shortly after MS pushed more advertised content or certain "LinkedInfluencer" using aggressive marketing methods into my account. It felt like I was constantly reading what they wanted me to read, and struggling to remove the news feed even though I have clicked on the not-interested button many times. Before MS, I always hated that anonymous people could review my profile, and there's no way to find out who those people were, even if you had a Premium account. Other that showing off my own measly credentials, it didn't do much for me.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: HazelHoward on May 19, 2023, 01:41:00 pm
Although this thread is three years old, I wanted to share my thoughts on LinkedIn. Deleting your LinkedIn account and going social network-free can be a personal choice that brings a sense of relief and freedom. LinkedIn means different things to different people. For some, it's a valuable professional networking platform to connect with colleagues and explore job opportunities.
Title: Re: Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free
Post by: ebastler on May 19, 2023, 03:09:37 pm
Although this thread is three years old, I wanted to share my thoughts on LinkedIn. Deleting your LinkedIn account and going social network-free can be a personal choice that brings a sense of relief and freedom. LinkedIn means different things to different people. For some, it's a valuable professional networking platform to connect with colleagues and explore job opportunities.

And would you, by any chance, also have a value-adding link which you would like to share?  >:D