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Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

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Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#81

Post by pc86 »

Amadou wrote: post #47
dev1n wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are in the red, with zero money coming in, isn't anything better than nothing, at least as a gap till you find something better? I'm not sure I would call it pride. Some won't apply to jobs if they feel it is below them because the general consensus among employers is that if a better job comes along that this person is more qualified for, they will quit that "lower" job. source: my Econ professor

Yep, but the smart people just dumb down their resume. Resumes are marketing tools, they should be tailored for the job no matter the "level." I'm not saying lie, I'm just saying put in the truth that will get you hired and leave out the truth that will stop you from being hired.

Lying on a resume is a terrible decision (don't say that to michaelochurch!), but nobody expects a resume to be the whole truth. I've seen people get fired because they lied about a degree, or said they were a Senior ___________ when they were not, but I've never seen or even heard of someone getting fired because they left a job off of a resume.

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#83

Post by RyanMcGreal »

WestCoastJustin wrote: post #2

Age and skills seem to be a factor. The people in the video are 40+, with many doing marketing/sales. The HN community, based off the what is your age? poll [1], suggests the majority here are between 21-35, so we probably are not experiencing their problem. Second, networking is a major factor, if the software keyword system is really the issue, you need to find ways around the system, email your old co-workers, etc…

There was a good HN discussion when spark was first released:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3237478

Several people ported it to other languages. Here was my humble effort:

https://gist.github.com/quandyfactory/1368953

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#84

Post by rbanffy »

WestCoastJustin wrote: post #2

Age and skills seem to be a factor. The people in the video are 40+, with many doing marketing/sales. The HN community, based off the what is your age? poll [1], suggests the majority here are between 21-35, so we probably are not experiencing their problem. Second, networking is a major factor, if the software keyword system is really the issue, you need to find ways around the system, email your old co-workers, etc…

> There were lower level job, but many did not want to take them

There is an interesting twist to this story. Last time I was looking for a job, I applied for a position the recruiter saw as a downgrade from my then current one. It was a very cool company that does very cool things, but no amount of talking convinced her I would not stay with them or that I would voluntarily get myself a pay cut in order to work for them and that money is not my primary motivator.

Hackers may be a weird bunch, but recruiters are not much behind.

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#85

Post by benburton »

kvcrawford wrote: post #46

I hate LinkedIn. The pay walls and forced semi-hidden profiles are insanely annoying. I wish I had the resources to build a competitor centered around openness and UX. It should monetize on really strong programmatic job matching, driven by the improved data from reducing all the UX friction. Somebody, please accept the challenge.

TheLadders has been claiming that the data-driven matching approach is their mission for the past few years, but unfortunately they still seem to want to put everything behind a paywall.

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#86

Post by tieTYT »

nikatwork wrote: post #67
tieTYT wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They ask. Are you just supposed to lie or refuse to answer?

Valid dodging answers include: - I took a sabbatical - I did private/contract work for a while - I took a working holiday - I spent some time renovating my house - I took some time off to look after a sick relative Take the Jesuit line that if there is a kernel of truth in the statement (eg you fixed your gutters one time while unemployed) then you're not actually lying. Really, this HR obsession with "zomg a gap in…

Actually I was asking about what you do when they ask how much you were PAID at your last/current job, not what to say when they ask why there's a GAP in your history. What do you say to that?

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#87

Post by bad-news »

minouye wrote: post #14

I don't get why LinkedIn gets a free pass on a lot of the shady stuff it does. Case in point: if I have a free account, public details are hidden when browsing profiles and I'm told I need to "upgrade" my account to view them. Viewing the same profile in an incognito window reveals the "restricted" details. That seems like an ExpertsExchange level trick.

Oh, you mean ExpertSexChange.

Re: Is LinkedIn Cheating Employers and Job Seekers Alike?

#88

Post by nikatwork »

tieTYT wrote: post #86
nikatwork wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Valid dodging answers include: - I took a sabbatical - I did private/contract work for a while - I took a working holiday - I spent some time renovating my house - I took some time off to look after a sick relative Take the Jesuit line that if there is a kernel of truth in the statement (eg you fixed your gutters one time while unemployed) then you're not actually lying. Really, this HR obsession with "zomg a gap in…

Actually I was asking about what you do when they ask how much you were PAID at your last/current job, not what to say when they ask why there's a GAP in your history. What do you say to that?

Ah, yes that's a tougher question. It's a red flag to me, but sometimes beggars can't be choosers.

Here are some tested dodges:

  - "I don't think it's appropriate to discuss that" (be firm)
  - "I signed a non-disclosure agreement and I'm legally obliged 
    to keep my renumeration details confidential" (needs confidence to work)
I've caved once to this question when I really wanted the position. Luckily I told the truth because they demanded to see a payslip before I started.

But if they play hardball like that in the interview, you can expect the same treatment throughout the company - don't kid yourself that things will change once you're employed.

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