Deleting the LinkedIn account and becoming social network -free

[Halcyon]

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.

[steve30]

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).

[Bassman59]

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.

[exe]

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.

[16bitanalogue]

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

[Nusa]

This forum falls squarely under the heading of "social media". But presumably it's social media that you still like!

[DimitriP]

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.   

[james_s]

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.

[CatalinaWOW]

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.

[EEVblog]

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.

[Electro Detective]

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 

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 

 

[vk6zgo]

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!

[BBBbbb]

... 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...

[olkipukki]

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.

[olkipukki]

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? 

[johnh]

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

[Halcyon]

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.

[exe]

"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).

[SiliconWizard]

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?

[exe]

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.

[16bitanalogue]

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.

[Sal Ammoniac]

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.

[joseph nicholas]

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

[james_s]

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.

[Electro Detective]

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...