Who uses linked in?

[riverwed070707]

Has it helped you with professional networking? Do you see true value in it or just another form of social media?

I'm an event planner so I feel like I could create a pretty extensive network, I'm just not certain I completely understand how it can benefit me. Anyone here use it? How has it benefitted you professionally?

[snshijuptr]

I have used LinkedIn. It hasn't benefited me yet, but it has benefited my friends. A couple of my friends have used it to do informational interviews with my other friends. I introduced them and then they talked to each other. I have also met people at career workshops at my university who got jobs through LinkedIn.

[nikon_62]

I have an account there and I make sure when you google my name the first result is my linkedin profile with my resume. So far it's had some views and I've gotten some very nice references from co-workers and contractors.

In all though nobody has actually told me they found me because of it and I've not met any new contacts through the site.

[esterdsl]

For many IT pros, LinkedIn has become the de facto tool for professional networking. It’s a convenient way to stay connected to current colleagues, people who you’ve worked with in the past, and peers who work in similar jobs or with the same technologies that you do. This effectively creates an inventory that can be used across various jobs, personal interests, and affiliations. LinkedIn isn’t only a tool for individuals, however; organizations have also found ways to use the popular connections site.

[Fizgig]

I'm starting a new job at a major university in two weeks, due in large part to LinkedIn. I was investigating a company in the area, and used the site to see if I knew anyone who knew anyone there. A few of my previous friends/coworkers had contacts, so I told them that I was looking for a job and asked them if they would introduce me. It turns out that one of those previous coworkers (last saw him 6 years ago) had an opening in his department at the University that was right up my alley. I applied, went through the interview process, and got the job. It wasn't what I originally targeted but I'm actually more excited about this than what I was originally planning.

I never would have learned about the position if I hadn't been using LinkedIn. You just CAN'T throw resumes into the black hole of the internet and expect to land a good job. It is and ever has been who you know, and the site is a tremendous networking tool.

[Frugal]

I have tried using LinkedIn, and used to maintain a profile. However, I was not able to make any connections that helped me find a job, and I began to feel that it may have had some safety/privacy concerns in a way similar to Facebook. I don't like putting a lot of private information out there that people can see, even if it is only to "look for a job". Those are my two cents! Maybe someone out there disagrees, but I prefer old-fashioned ways of finding a job. I think for some people, in certain industries, LinkedIn could be a valuable tool (e.g. if you work in the tech industry, etc.).

[alex499]

Linkedin helps me connect with resources I never knew I had.

I teach a program on network development and Linkedin is rapidly evolving as a topic of supreme importance.

Imagine this - in the real world you know X number of people. Your relationship with the majority of them is fairly casual. Even with the few people that you know well, there is a fair amount about them which you will never know unless it becomes the topic of a conversation; or you may discover things about them accidentally or in passing.

With Linkedin, I have been able to look into the networks of the people that I konw well and begin to have conversations with them that have led to siginifcant new relationships, business, information sources, business intelligence, etc. Not only do I get know the people in my network much more deeply, but I get to continually expand my network and thus my value to my clients, my friends, and the group of people that I am looking to serve.

I've got a link to my blog where I posted a video on the power of a network and more deeply network development. Funny and very easy to understand. Check it out.

Linkedin and social networking 2.0 in general, have bridged the gap between my father's advice that "in your lifetime you'll be able to count the number of true friends on one hand" and my mentor's admonition that "you live in the middle of an enormous network of resources and relationships" and have allowed me to tap into and leverage both.

Great question and thanks for asking

[jerrycates]

I have friends who have been using LinkedIn and has got good work benefits from it. Not only it helps keep in touch like the common social media, but it focuses on the professional side of you as well. It's useful to some, but not for all.

[feh]

I have an account. I've had the same job for the last 15 years so it hasn't benefited me yet, but I can see its usefulness for professional networking.