LinkedIn Etiquette

It is useful to have as many contacts as possible, and there really is no drawback to accepting a request.

I have over 500 contacts, quite a few are people I really know, lots are people I do Buisness with.

When job hunting, I was able to find people in the department of companies that I was interested in. I was able to get advise about jobs that were posted, about the hiring process and even a few forwarded my résumé to the hiring manager.

I also get lots of recruiters contacting me, most of the time it is not a position I am interested in, but that is not a bad thing. I have passed some jobs on to people I know are looking, so it is worth the emails or messages for that opportunity.

As long as I don't go on LinkedIn, I don't have to see the posts people make, so there really isn't a hassle to have contacts. The apps make it hard to write personal notes. The web page is better.

Sky_Render wrote: I'll start taking LinkedIn seriously when someone tells me they actually got a decent job using that site.

I almost did with a Mortgage company who wanted someone to document their IT and training info. We mutually decided it wasn't the best fit because they couldn't promise full-time employment past a 9-12 month window.

I wasn't willing to give up a full-time job at the time for a short term contract that didn't come attached a MONSTER pay increase.

Grtechguy wrote:

mtn wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: I'll start taking LinkedIn seriously when someone tells me they actually got a decent job using that site.

Not me, but a woman that my company headhunted was found on Linkedin. She told me her salary was nearly doubled with her move from Mississippi to Illinois. I don't know if that means 30k to 60k, or 50 to 100, but it is definitely a decent job.

But, did her her cost of living double?

Definitely went up, I can guarantee it didn't double. According to CNN, cost of living is about 15% higher.

I used LinkedIn to keep in touch with people I know in the industry. When someone leaves Company A for Company B it's nice to maintain that connection. Sure, they could send me an e-mail. And when they don't because they're busy at their new job, it's handled. Plus, when we're looking to hire, I always check out a candidate's LinkedIn page.

In reply to David S. Wallens:

And if they don't have one does it influence your decision at all?

I don't have a LinkedIn because it is just like Facebook in my personal opinion. As others have noted, it started as a good idea but is now a platform for trying to sell crap.

If an employer is going to make a decision to hire me or not based on LI rather than considering my documented experience and resume it's probably best that I not work for them.

bgkast wrote: In reply to David S. Wallens: And if they don't have one does it influence your decision at all?

A little, yes. How engaged are they? And if they have one, what's on it? Is it a giant mess that's full of spelling errors? Does it read like a B.S. press release? Does it present a nice picture with some personality? When we're doing interviews, I like to take in all of the information possible.

Curmudgeon wrote: I don't have a LinkedIn because it is just like Facebook in my personal opinion.

For me, Facebook is for friends and family. LinkedIn is for business contacts.

I see them as two different tools for staying in touch.

I get that. Used to be LI was just that, business only. I had a page, was linked to various folks, then I started getting all kinds of junk as others mentioned. So down came the LI page.

I wonder if it's a setting thing because I get very, very little e-mail from LinkedIn. I dunno.

Seriously, what junk? I am a purchasing manager. I am the one that lots of sales guys want to speak with. I very rarely get people trying to sell me stuff, I get more people trying to get jobs (with me or companies that I am connected with) and I get recruiters.

I get a email a day with status updates and one for jobs I may be interested in. Every now and then I get a personal message. If I am busy, I delete the emails. If I am bored I go online and read them on the site.

I sent out a resume last week for a real decent job (not through linkedin) and saw that the president of the company that I applied to viewed my profile.

I run 6 separate Email inboxes, one is only for business stuff including my household bills etc and that's the one I used for LI. I got random requests from people I didn't know, the one that really turned me off was one referencing a brother who's in the concrete business down in Florida. I accepted because it looked legit and my brother won't dump crap on me, next thing I know I get Emails in that inbox from all over the place trying to sell me crap.

It's fairly obvious to me someone is datamining LI for sales leads, it doesn't help that I'm listed as the managing partner in an LLC. That's why I deleted my page.