Is LinkedIn worth keeping?

[hans]

I am genuinely wondering why I'm still on LinkedIn and if I should keep it. The feed page is like Facebook nowadays. Lots of circlejerk, plain commercial advertisements, etc. Maybe its great for "public speakers" or sales people to get a kick from their delusional circle of influence.. (they appear as "recommended" from nowhere) but to me plain social media garbage. For this reason I ditched Facebook about 10 years ago. I also don't like my data being in the hands of a large corporation.

However, in contrast to Facebook, to me I perceive LinkedIn to have some value from e.g. network connections, jobs section or heck.. try to play a game with recruiters to snatch a better deal. However are these points really worth it vs the cons?

It's not like I'm chatting with my professional network on a daily basis. In reality, it never happens spontaneousely..

The recruiters are a hassle. Some random kid straight from corporate BS school with zero people knowledge.. giving sparse details on a job that probably doesn't exists.. in the wrong area.. the wrong industry.. the wrong pay.. only to catch a commision. Their 2nd InMail always asks for a phone number so they can keep on bugging you for years to come.

So that leaves only the jobs search section of their website. But I wonder if that's really a high enough USP against competing vacancy sites.. or doing my own scouting for interesting companies/jobs and applying directly instead.

I wonder what guys think?

[madires]

LinkedIn is great for training SPAM filters. They had so many data scraping incidents that my email address should be on most address lists. This is the only good thing about them, seriously. As with other social media platforms there's also scam and foreign intelligence services looking for opportunities. It might be useful for finding a new job, but be careful.

[bd139]

https://old.reddit.com/r/LinkedInLunatics/

[tggzzz]

I joined linkedin when it first appeared. Seemed like a good idea.

Then acquaintances started to repeatedly request that I "recommend them". Er no. "Recommendation" implies more than "have talked to them on the phone".

I left pretty soon afterwards.

I've recently rejoined to see what's happened to colleagues who have now retired. I get a lot of spam from "people" (and I use that term loosely) advertising things/themselves.

Only tolerable since it is easy to train spamfilters

[tom66]

I maintain a LinkedIn account but rarely contribute.

I have gotten all of my previous jobs through the platform, besides the very first one, so I regard it as being useful from that end, but it is mostly recruiter spam these days.

[joeqsmith]

Worth keeping?  How about is it worth setting up an account?  I never joined.

[Stray Electron]

  I never joined.

   X2.  SHORT answer to OP:  No! 

   Linkedin is about as useful as Change.Org; it only exists to collect your personal data.

[tszaboo]

I got my last 2 jobs from contacts/headhunters on linkedin, and both time I got a salary bump.
If I scale those raises for the next 20 years, then my linkedin page has about the same monetary value as an asset as my house.

[Gyro]

LinkedIn, like many good things, started very well but eventually switched to sh*t. Most thing purchased by Microsoft also switch to sh*t. I suspect there's probably a link there.

I used to use LinkedIn extensively to keep in touch with old contacts and seeing what they were up to. I never got a job directly through LinkedIn but several through contacts (I think the statistics still say that most engineering jobs happen through contacts). I signed up early but left some time around 2018 when it no longer made sense for me.

[joeqsmith]

I just looked it up and sure enough, they are owned by Microsoft.  Like most things I don't care about, I had no idea.   Because I attempt to block all known Microsoft traffic, I thought I would try to go to their main page:

The connection has timed out

An error occurred during a connection to www.linkedin.com.

    The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
    If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection.
    If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

[floobydust]

LinkedIn is shit - Microsoft inept at running it. No Electronics Engineering as a profession, antique categories.
Same old same old algorithm- repeatedly asking you if you want to connect with people from companies you have previously worked for, including the assholes.
Someone viewed your profile, you were in a search hit!!!! Have to bounce, redirect, log in to see who or what, or just pay for premium. It's so childish. Are we in jr. high?

I'm told the site is much better, more menus and options appear when using Microsoft's Edge browser. One peer has that browser installed only for using LinkedIn.
I was surprised stay at home moms are struggling to use the site- which is all built around what corporation you are working for right now. Officially unemployed category moms are not really understood by the website.

[aeberbach]

LinkedIn started out in a deceitful spammy way, requesting access to your local computer's contacts database and then sending email to all those contacts to join LinkedIn. It's the original WhatsApp. I do not find anything there that is at all useful most times and do not care for the profile-boosting and endless "I wholly agree" that is most of the site's content.

However... I have gotten (good!) jobs through LinkedIn. I'd say keep it but don't bother with it unless you're looking for something specific.

[Halcyon]

I hate social media, but to Linkedin's credit, I found my current job on Linkedin (it wasn't advertised anywhere else).

For certain industries it can be very useful.

[artag]

I joined some years ago, dumped it when they started to get a reputation for spam and worthless recommendations.
Haven't missed it.

IMHO personal contacts and scouting are the best ways to find a job. The vacancy websites are just full of recruiter spam jobs which always turn out to be filled when you ask. They just want you on their database and won't make an effort to find things quickly.

[hans]

Okay then, so probably my best bet is to ignore the feed, InMail spam (you can turn that off), don't add recruiters as contacts, and only log on when I need something done.

I've now hibernated my account to see if I will use it in the future. I'm actually going to jobhunt within now and a year probably, so lets see if I can do it without.. That would be final nail for me, as my gut feeling is still to get rid of it but only if that's to no (real) disadvantage

[mendip_discovery]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

[coppice]

LinkedIn started out as a spam machine. At one point over half of all the spam being filtered from my in boxes was from LinkedIn, and that was a LOT. I have never been able to take such scumbags seriously as a service provider.

[tszaboo]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Some of the headhunters are completely useless. I had one that cold called me on my work phone to try to poach me. I was sitting 1.5m from my boss. Another one sent me a job profile, that "I would be a good match", that I wrote because it was an opening in my engineering department. But there are also good agents and postings on it.

[coppice]

I joined some years ago, dumped it when they started to get a reputation for spam and worthless recommendations.

You must have missed something, since they started out as a spam machine on day one. They used to do really sleazy things like harvest email addresses of professional people, and cross send invites to join like sending you "Your buddy Joe Blogs in on LinkedIn, and has invited you to join" while sending Joe Blogs the same invite claiming you were on LinkedIn.

[schmitt trigger]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Exactly my perception.
I did get a couple of job interviews about 15 years ago. But nowadays it is more of a nuisance.
I allowed my password to expire and never renewed it.

[mendip_discovery]

l

You must have missed something, since they started out as a spam machine on day one. They used to do really sleazy things like harvest email addresses of professional people, and cross send invites to join like sending you "Your buddy Joe Blogs in on LinkedIn, and has invited you to join" while sending Joe Blogs the same invite claiming you were on LinkedIn.

That is how 90% of the internet worked back then. Facebook was no better. Remember a few years back everyone was sharing the next PayPal thing.

[coppice]

l

You must have missed something, since they started out as a spam machine on day one. They used to do really sleazy things like harvest email addresses of professional people, and cross send invites to join like sending you "Your buddy Joe Blogs in on LinkedIn, and has invited you to join" while sending Joe Blogs the same invite claiming you were on LinkedIn.

That is how 90% of the internet worked back then. Facebook was no better. Remember a few years back everyone was sharing the next PayPal thing.

Sure, but Facebook never tried to present itself as a professional service for professional people. Facebook and its ilk just washed over me, but I learned to despise LinkedIn. I had to sift through so may semi-plausible messages that I actually had to read through before confirming someone wasn't trying to meaningfully contact me over something professional.

[mendip_discovery]

I go in there every now and then to just laugh at the corporate head shots they have. Some of course have cool pictures, as they are way too cool for school, you know picture of them and their midlife crisis.

EDIT: For a laugh, I logged in on a private tab, and within a few scrolls past the adverts, a message/bot popped up asking if I was looking for a job. Feck me it's 9 adverts and maybe an odd post by someone I know. Its really not worth it.

[bd139]

I get the same auto generated crap in my corporate drone inbox. Absolute garbage most of it.

If you want work it's about who you know and keep on contact with, not who reaches out to you anonymously. "Oh I know a guy" is much better than "we need to hire a recruiter" for every org.

[tggzzz]

... not who reaches out to you anonymously...

Anyone who "reaches out" to me gets a tart request to stop being creepy and keep their hands to themselves.

[SiliconWizard]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Some of the headhunters are completely useless. I had one that cold called me on my work phone to try to poach me. I was sitting 1.5m from my boss.

I've had a headhunter call me at my workplace too, company phone! - which I thought was pretty dumb.

[tom66]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Some of the headhunters are completely useless. I had one that cold called me on my work phone to try to poach me. I was sitting 1.5m from my boss.

I've had a headhunter call me at my workplace too, company phone! - which I thought was pretty dumb.

I can beat that.  I've had one email me on my work email about a new job offer. Come on, man... How stupid can you be...

[SiliconWizard]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Some of the headhunters are completely useless. I had one that cold called me on my work phone to try to poach me. I was sitting 1.5m from my boss.

I've had a headhunter call me at my workplace too, company phone! - which I thought was pretty dumb.

I can beat that.  I've had one email me on my work email about a new job offer. Come on, man... How stupid can you be...

I think that some (many?) HR dumbasses just use the first phone number/email they get ahold of for a given person and use that without a second thought. It's the same method as spamming. They play the numbers and statistically get some results.

[blackfin76]

should keep it.

Nee.

But sometimes it can be usefull to find your next job.

[PlainName]

I initially thought of it as a Facebook for work related stuff. So you could make use of the contacts you have at work and not have them see the crazy stuff you get up to at the weekend.

I avoid it mostly as it wants to be a job advertising website and is infested with agencies trying to sell me a job that I left years ago.

Some of the headhunters are completely useless. I had one that cold called me on my work phone to try to poach me. I was sitting 1.5m from my boss.

I've had a headhunter call me at my workplace too, company phone! - which I thought was pretty dumb.

I can beat that.  I've had one email me on my work email about a new job offer. Come on, man... How stupid can you be...

I must be living in a backwater. Why is contacting you at work - by a headhunter - dumb? How else are they supposed to contact you@your_work since I'm pretty sure you wouldn't splash your private phone number and email all over the interwebs (and if you did, probably not link them to your CV). Worst case, surely, is they get blocked by your company but there's a chance you may follow up, which is all they're after in the end.

[floobydust]

I had one headhunter phone my present day employer for a reference  The boss was freaked out of course. That was awkward - I phoned the recruiting company and flamed the manager, for hiring total bimbos. Headhunters are generally stupid and sharks that are only after the placement dollars and collecting candidates. I have a friend in that business and she tells me the stories. It's basically desperation to pimp you out, by people who have no idea about the technical skills names, meanings etc.
Within a headhunting company, they routinely backstab each other and steal candidates.

[coppice]

I had one headhunter phone my present day employer for a reference  The boss was freaked out of course. That was awkward - I phoned the recruiting company and flamed the manager, for hiring total bimbos. Headhunters are generally stupid and sharks that are only after the placement dollars and collecting candidates. I have a friend in that business and she tells me the stories. It's basically desperation to pimp you out, by people who have no idea about the technical skills names, meanings etc.
Within a headhunting company, they routinely backstab each other and steal candidates.

When you find an ex-engineer working in recruitment its such a wonderful experience. Most recruiters aren't just limited by their own understanding, they aren't even trying.

[tom66]

I must be living in a backwater. Why is contacting you at work - by a headhunter - dumb? How else are they supposed to contact you@your_work since I'm pretty sure you wouldn't splash your private phone number and email all over the interwebs (and if you did, probably not link them to your CV). Worst case, surely, is they get blocked by your company but there's a chance you may follow up, which is all they're after in the end.

Well, he didn't leave a phone number, so was expecting an email response, from my work email, about a competing job?

No, I am not going to do that.  Unprofessional to use your employer's computer systems to search for other jobs (and potentially a breach of contract) for one. 

[floobydust]

I have a few LinkedIn "connections" only with people I am really interested in and value, good peers. Instead of just anyone to jack up the number- which is a popular stunt.

I tried to add Dave as a connection, very long time ago. But it's only famous celebrities that are "on the list" lol. Didn't make it.
Also, making my connections visible to others is kind of shooting oneself in the foot if you are looking for work. You would likely have other peers, competitors to yourself on there and why aid recruiters? Why does knowing who you know matter? Seems like a zuckerburg strategy lol.

[...]  Unprofessional to use your employer's computer systems to search for other jobs (and potentially a breach of contract) for one. 

That is unprofessional?  I had a boss (married) using on-line dating site, another was checking out Sunshine Girls - with company computer. I walked in to their office a bit too fast for them to hide it. ICK. I've seen co-workers do their on-line banking, shopping, stream music as well.

I'll look at jobs using an employer's computer when confirming an opening got posted, to confirm that lazy HR is going to replace that guy and not overload me more.
If no hiring action is being taken, that is unprofessional IMHO. Then I'm looking for a new job, on company time lol.

[Halcyon]

I tried to add Dave as a connection, very long time ago. But it's only famous celebrities that are "on the list" lol. Didn't make it.

I'm not even connected to Dave! My invite ended up expiring because he never uses it.

[floobydust]

I mention it because it's funny and shows how social media is so overrated and plastic in a way.
On LinkedIn people showboat- their exaggerated number of connections, their social standing, the fame they are following. I got requests from strangers all over the world and no, I have no idea who you are and I don't pad my number of connections. Some HR person frowns about it, IDK.
My generation cares about merit, not image so I have few connections but each is highly skilled, not fake... is Kardashian Test Equipment Co. on there lol. OK she is. 

[Bud]

LinkedIn web site is the text version of TikTok and a model of a garbage useless web site.

[coppice]

LinkedIn web site is the text version of TikTok and a model of a garbage useless web site.

Yes, LinkedIn is terrible. It would be easy to create an effective portal for connecting professionals, and LinkedIn is so bad it shouldn't be hard to make people migrate to it. That hasn't happened. I find that interesting.

[floobydust]

LinkedIn china shut down recently, August 2023, cut 716 jobs. Microsoft seems to have put their LinkedIn effort into china - the social media function was banned in 2016. Several years and dollars wasted on the InCareer app.
Fixing LinkedIn in the West, can't see it happening. I found "LinkedIn Mastermind Club is an AI-integrated online community portal for professionals to learn and connect." Sounds super creepy. Who needs HR when the AI can do it lol.

Look at Google+ crash and burned, you have a couple trillion $ market cap yet are totally impotent. Why?
Mega corporations can't do it. They aren't in it to make it good or to better society - it's about their hidden agenda towards data mining private information, all in the name of "advertising". Or maybe it's social control, influencing voters - who knows. Lemmings do not jump off the ice pack!

[coppice]

Look at Google+ crash and burned, you have a couple trillion $ market cap yet are totally impotent. Why?
Mega corporations can't do it. They aren't in it to make it good or to better society - it's about their hidden agenda towards data mining private information, all in the name of "advertising". Or maybe it's social control, influencing voters - who knows. Lemmings do not jump off the ice pack!

Google is easy to explain - inconsistency. They have spent 20 years starting things, finding they aren't taking off, and killing them. No fixing. No migrating existing users to their next iteration of the concept. just dead end after dead end. Some of these are markets they didn't give up on, like VoIP. They started and killed several attempts at that, with no follow through from one try to the next. They can't seem to understand the concept of a pissed off customer. Their cloud services were a disaster when they tried to offer clever ones, with lots of Google specific "value added". Then they hired someone with a functioning brain who offered basic cloud services, which were easy to migrate into and out of, and their cloud stuff took off. Nobody wants to buy in too much to anything proprietary from Google these days.

[Halcyon]

Google is easy to explain - inconsistency. They have spent 20 years starting things, finding they aren't taking off, and killing them. No fixing. No migrating existing users to their next iteration of the concept. just dead end after dead end.

I wonder if this is what they'll end up doing to Mandiant. From all reports that transition isn't going so smoothly.

[dcbrown73]

I'm a c-level IT executive.  LinkedIn is only good for providing a way people selling something to find you.

Meaning I haven't found anything of value that LinkedIn provides.

[Halcyon]

I'm a c-level IT executive.  LinkedIn is only good for providing a way people selling something to find you.

Meaning I haven't found anything of value that LinkedIn provides.

Welcome to my world. They quickly discover my very harsh email blocking rules.

[HuronKing]

I maintain my LinkedIn account but I don't contribute to any of the social media aspects of it. The public discussions are vapid and pointless. But, I have received legitimate job offers through it including from Tesla Inc. and I went through the whole interview process (including a chat with Dave Baglino) before I told them to go f**k themselves (the relocation offer was a joke).

In my particular case, I am also a part-time professor so my students connect to me on LinkedIn and I am happy to let them use connecting to me to help bolster their profiles and help them find jobs.

I've also been contacted by random students at other universities who are interesting in how to break in to my field. I'm always happy to give 30 minutes of time to a student who is brave enough to cold message me to ask for career guidance.