Is LinkedIn worth keeping? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 01:14:15 pm
content: 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?

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 01:46:16 pm
content: 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.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 01:48:25 pm
content: https://old.reddit.com/r/LinkedInLunatics/

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 02:06:20 pm
content: 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

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 02:22:48 pm
content: 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.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 02:52:23 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on April 25, 2024, 02:42:50 pmX2. SHORT answer to OP: No!Linkedin is about as useful as Change.Org; it only exists to collect your personal data.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 03:04:00 pm
content: 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.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 06:04:27 pm
content: 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'sprobablya 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.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 06:28:21 pm
content: 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:Quote

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 09:27:53 pm
content: 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.

author: aeberbach
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2024, 10:18:56 pm
content: 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.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:26:28 am
content: 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.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 12:18:56 pm
content: 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.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 01:15:44 pm
content: 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

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 03:49:37 pm
content: 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.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 03:56:09 pm
content: 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.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 03:57:30 pm
content: Quote from: mendip_discovery on April 26, 2024, 03:49:37 pmSome 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.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:00:26 pm
content: Quote from: artag on April 26, 2024, 12:18:56 pmYou 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.

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:03:42 pm
content: Quote from: mendip_discovery on April 26, 2024, 03:49:37 pmExactly 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.

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:05:52 pm
content: lQuote from: coppice on April 26, 2024, 04:00:26 pmThat 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.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:12:08 pm
content: Quote from: mendip_discovery on April 26, 2024, 04:05:52 pmSure, 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.

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 04:17:06 pm
content: 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.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 07:35:00 pm
content: 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.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 07:55:50 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on April 26, 2024, 07:35:00 pmAnyone who "reaches out" to me gets a tart request to stop being creepy and keep their hands to themselves.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 08:06:59 pm
content: Quote from: tszaboo on April 26, 2024, 03:57:30 pmI've had a headhunter call me at my workplace too, company phone! - which I thought was pretty dumb.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 08:28:57 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on April 26, 2024, 08:06:59 pmI 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...

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2024, 08:37:24 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on April 26, 2024, 08:28:57 pmI 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.

author: blackfin76
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2024, 02:33:49 am
content: Quote from: hans on April 25, 2024, 01:14:15 pmNee.But sometimes it can be usefull to find your next job.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2024, 05:35:35 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on April 26, 2024, 08:28:57 pmI must be living in a backwater. Why is contacting you at work - by aheadhunter- 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.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2024, 07:28:19 pm
content: I had one headhunter phone my present day employer for a referenceThe 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.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2024, 07:36:56 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on April 28, 2024, 07:28:19 pmWhen 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.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2024, 09:08:14 pm
content: Quote from: PlainName on April 28, 2024, 05:35:35 pmWell, 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.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 12:19:07 am
content: 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.Quote from: tom66 on April 28, 2024, 09:08:14 pmThat 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.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 01:31:19 am
content: Quote from: floobydust on April 29, 2024, 12:19:07 amI'm not even connected to Dave! My invite ended up expiring because he never uses it.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 02:56:21 am
content: 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. OKshe is.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 04:40:57 am
content: LinkedIn web site is the text version of TikTok and a model of a garbage useless web site.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 02:44:22 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on April 29, 2024, 04:40:57 amYes, 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.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 05:05:09 pm
content: 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!

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2024, 05:14:30 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on April 29, 2024, 05:05:09 pmGoogle 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.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 30, 2024, 11:19:26 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on April 29, 2024, 05:14:30 pmI wonder if this is what they'll end up doing to Mandiant. From all reports that transition isn't going so smoothly.

author: dcbrown73
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2024, 11:37:05 pm
content: 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.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 01, 2024, 01:21:17 pm
content: Quote from: dcbrown73 on April 30, 2024, 11:37:05 pmWelcome to my world. They quickly discover my very harsh email blocking rules.

author: HuronKing
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2024, 04:14:27 pm
content: 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.

author: JacobPilsen
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2024, 10:37:31 am
content: Quote from: Bud on April 29, 2024, 04:40:57 amOnce upon a time, we called it facebook.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2024, 11:07:19 am
content: I managed to stay away from LinkedIn until now.Just yesterday I was asked to join by a very good friend.Today I took a closer look for the first time in a decade.And my conclusion:I am so glad, I never joined!

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2024, 04:14:49 pm
content: Quote from: victorb on June 19, 2024, 01:32:00 pmAre you a bot? Drinking Microsoft kool-aid? Your posts all recommend some company. Seems dodgy. 9 years and 19 posts?Who needs AI to "manage your profile more effectively"?What a load of bullshit.

author: hneve
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2024, 05:55:47 pm
content: LinkedIn's become a bit like Facebook lately, full of ads and self-promotion. The job section's handy, but dealing with recruiters can be a pain. It's useful for networking and job hunting sometimes, but I get why you might question if it's worth the hassle.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2024, 07:02:45 pm
content: QuoteIf your e a l l ythink about it, everything is about either ads or self-promotion or both, including this post !(well ok... forum too - Sorry Dave!)Depending on degree of blatancy/enjoyment/information/curiocity satisfaction some are tolerable, even enjoyable/informative (this forum for example - You're welcome Dave! ) , while other are not.The only reason to have a linked-in account coverd under a shroud of mystery (email address you will never use anywhere else, and your name mispelled appropriately with a very unique job title that doesn't match anyone else's) is to be able to look at other people's "exposed" profiles !!!

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2024, 09:18:22 pm
content: I know women that never post their latest employer on LinkedIn.For them - know your name, where you work. Gonna drive over and STALK, follow you home etc. It can be creepy for them I guess, some bad ex-boyfriend I suppose.

author: victorb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2024, 10:42:57 pm
content: Nope, definitely not a bot. I totally get why it might seem a bit off with all the company mentions. Just sharing experiences and thoughts on what’s worked for me, not pushing any agenda. As for managing profiles and all that AI talk, I agree it can sound over the top. Everyone has their own way of navigating these platforms, and simplicity often works best. Just here to chat and share genuine insights like everyone else!