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Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

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Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#441

Post by mihaaly »

42_ wrote: post #97
ThePhysicist wrote: post #28

From a professional standpoint LinkedIn gave me a lot of value for free so I'm mostly feeling positive about it, but I agree that like any social network it has downsides and can lead to psychological stress. Personally I live by the mantra that "scrolling is dangerous", i.e. I try to never interact with social media or news platforms that incite me to scroll down a feed of algorithmically curated news or updates, as…

Now that I think about it, most of my complaints about LinkedIn is about the "news feed". Its full of mostly useless content by wannabe thought leaders drowning out a few posts which may have been insightful/relevant. Job search and add/message connections are the only features I have found useful.

My complaint is more like the ludicrously low quality user interface. Lots of inconsistencies, ridiculously persistent notifications on actions you just did, supplying a stream of suggestions to completely irrelevant job ads where one is claimed to fit well, user unfriendly search history, not to mention the hopelessly clueless user support unable to grasp what one is talking about and answering for never mentioned aspects after asking for already supplied details and explanations, like if they were in write only mode. Not so long ago all icons disappeared for weeks without any fix which I did not report to user support for the obvious reasons.

For a professional community it is hopelessly clumsy. Also overpriced.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#442

Post by gonehome »

HenryBemis wrote: post #430
zenhack wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fwiw, I still get recruiter emails now and then years after having shut off my LinkedIn account. If they mention how they found me, it's usually through GitHub. ...not that I've ever had anything useful come from talking to a recruiter. The useful bits have always come through my existing personal network more directly, or through meatspace networking. I shut down my LinkedIn because I basically started to view recru…

Perhaps you are a dev, then GitHub/Lab is a good place to search for something specific, if your recruiter knows what the they exactly seek. In my line of work (audit/sec/GRC) most of my contracts start as "6 months of THIS" and they end 2-3 years later after I have worked on their operational model, on the manner their control framework is defined and executed, their deliveries to their external auditor are defined…

Even as a dev I think the person you're replying to is wrong.

Sure - if you know people that work at the specific company you're interested in then you can just get a referral through them, but if you don't then having a history of email contact with recruiters at interesting companies via linked in is quite valuable and makes it easy to jump to the interview process.

The job market is strong so we (devs) get a lot of email from recruiters trying to hire, and the recruiter quality can vary (generally employees of the specific company are better than hired firms), but in general I think this is a good problem to have.

I don't categorize the person you're replying to this way, but I've definitely seen devs go on a bit of an ego trip because of the recruiter emails they get and then treat them dismissively. A career is long, there's no reason to be nasty to them or cut them off - at some point you might need their help.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#443

Post by bonoboTP »

ikeyany wrote: post #420
bonoboTP wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "I deleted my [Facebook, Twitter, Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok] account and this is why" is a genre in itself. They rarely say anything new. Social media is a waste of time, the news feed is enraging, people put on a fake perfect persona, FOMO, insecurity, inauthentic connection, signaling, controversy, drama, dopamine, addiction. Unplug yourself, use analog tools, read books, have real life fun and deep b…

Reminds me of those people who swear off meat to reduce animal suffering, or people who swear off junk food in order to live healthier—it's all just a cynical ruse to feel superior. /s

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#444

Post by mlthoughts2018 »

stared wrote: post #307
mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t say they were my hand picked references. You could contact lots of references for me, many of whom I haven’t kept in touch with for a long time. My point is I have “nothing to hide” so to speak about my work experience or my resume - but despite this if I felt an employer was trying to use publicly shared personal network info to track this down, then that is a horrific employer to avoid. That’s why I’m not…

How you would envision a good screening process?

It’s crazy to me that you ask this, as though “treat candidates with respect” or “give candidates fair due process to explain their past or background” or “avoid seeking out biasing information before giving a candidate a chance to represent themselves” need some extra justification to be considered as part of a “good screening process”.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#445

Post by pnako »

take_a_breath wrote: post #300
pnako wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your mom probably knows you better than any of your colleagues. Did you lie when you wrote you have the ability to do a DCF analysis?

I didn’t lie when I indicated I know DCF, but mom knew almost nothing about my professional work. She was able to endorse me without any knowledge and that pretty much eliminates the value of an endorsement. I realized then that it was more of a social network than a business network.

Your mom knows you don't lie and that's why she endorsed you.

If I was a recruiter I would consider that a better form of endorsement than a random colleague who endorsed you because they expected some similar favor from you.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#446

Post by ajtjp »

I've found LinkedIn to be great for two things - becoming aware of companies/opportunities I wouldn't have heard of otherwise, and building relationships with recruiters so that when I'm ready to move on from a job, I already have ins at the companies they work with. So far, that has led to two jobs, although not my current one. But it's absolutely been worth having a profile.

I mostly use it as some other people have mentioned - having notifications for messages, and ignoring the News Feed and most other features. Once a twice a year, I update my resume, and update my LinkedIn as well, which is not much extra work, but is essentially really low-cost marketing of my skills and experience.

Of the messages I get, some aren't worth responding to - the "I have a job to fill using Java, and you used Java once, you should apply" type - but some are from recruiters who are willing to build a relationship and place you when the time is right, even if that isn't right away. It's often worth taking a 30 minute phone call with them, or meeting up for coffee or lunch.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#447

Post by Plutonsvea »

I've always used a mantra of "You can't win the game without playing it". A large majority of recruiters and job searchers in the world use LinkedIn. If you're not willing to throw yourself out there in the LinkedIn world, I think you'll find you're not opening yourself to enough opportunities for your career growth. This is strictly from a growth perspective though.

I got my current job and wake up incredibly happy every day, and this opportunity only came because I glossed-up my linked-in profile and a few recruiters expressed interest.

Linked-In networking might be a terrible and sometimes cringe-y game to play, but trust me, you'll be glad you expended the few braincells it took to fake it when employers and recruiters start knocking.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#448

Post by robomartin »

One of the most perplexing things on LinkedIn is the terrible response rate to messages. No, I don’t mean spamming your connections. That’s not what I’m talking about.

In my experience, if you send a connection request to someone, they accept and you message them, you might receive a response in 5% of engagements.

My best guess is that people are accepting connections as a pavlovian response.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#449

Post by stared »

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #444
stared wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How you would envision a good screening process?

It’s crazy to me that you ask this, as though “treat candidates with respect” or “give candidates fair due process to explain their past or background” or “avoid seeking out biasing information before giving a candidate a chance to represent themselves” need some extra justification to be considered as part of a “good screening process”.

> It’s crazy to me that you ask this, as though “treat candidates with respect”

Well, THB, hard to fight with this strawman/framing.

Not sure what you consider "respect" other than "believe 100% what they say and write about themselves, however suspicious", don't consult anyone (even companies/people they wrote themselves in Resume / on LinkedIn), etc.

Re: Finally, I Closed My LinkedIn

#450

Post by aakresearch »

ravenstine wrote: post #204

I've never found a job through LinkedIn. I do like Easy Apply a lot, but it never resulted in anything. Every job I've ever had was found either through someone I know or by applying directly on a company website. I've had a few interviews resulting from LinkedIn, but it's not like LinkedIn gave me much of an advantage beyond Easy Apply. I didn't exactly get more interviews. In fact, I may have been getting fewer int…

I've got into my current role through Easy Apply, at the time I was looking for a job in the end of 2018. Quite surprisingly, as I normally try to avoid all sorts of social networks. And the role so far looks quite a dream! Hiring experience was great either - spoke to a hiring manager initially, did a reasonable take-home task (close enough to the real stuff), was invited for face-2-face interview with HM, CEO and one of the devs, received job offer 10 minutes after walking out of the building after the interview! It was Wednesday, I started the following Monday. Two weeks from application to starting in the new role :)
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