Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Peter · Nov 30, 2008, 06:38 PM

Does anyone use it? What are your thoughts on it?

Maybe we should make a MacNN group?

anyway, this is me feel free to add me up. [email protected]

BLAZE_MkIV · Nov 30, 2008, 07:12 PM

I don't think it would be a good idea to link the real me to the virtual me. Letting any potential employers know what I do online etc.

Peter · Nov 30, 2008, 07:18 PM

what do you do online that is so terrible?

BLAZE_MkIV · Nov 30, 2008, 07:57 PM

Nothing, then again its not my definition of terrible I have to worry about. Lets say I have a political position that my employers wouldn't like. If I express it in a bar or on the street the people there here it. If I express it online anyone can pull it up with a search engine. Like apple doesn't let their employees post on forums etc.

Peter · Nov 30, 2008, 08:00 PM

why wouldnt your employers like your politlcal position?

BLAZE_MkIV · Nov 30, 2008, 10:43 PM

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...&oq=fired+for+

turtle777 · Dec 1, 2008, 01:41 AM

I'm using LinkedIn. It's ok.

-t

Peter · Dec 1, 2008, 05:27 AM

Originally Posted by BLAZE_MkIV

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...&oq=fired+for+

what is your political stance?

Wiskedjak · Dec 1, 2008, 09:32 AM

I've gotten my last two jobs as a result of LinkedIn. Great tool.

But, I also don't want to link the real me to the virtual me.

Dork. · Dec 1, 2008, 10:52 AM

I'm on LinkedIn as well, but it's more to keep professional contacts together. It was actually folks from my High School class at the last reunion who convinced me to join, so that we had a passive way to keep in touch -- whenever something important happens professionally to someone in my LinkedIn circle, if they let LinkedIn know about it, I'll find out about it, too.

Someone I used to work with recently changed jobs, and LinkedIn cheerfully let me know. There are also plenty of folks on my list who I knew from my last job, but never actually worked with, and I can keep up with where they happen to be working now.

But there is an awful lot of information available to your contacts on LinkedIn, so I don't make any contacts who I wouldn't be comfortable sending my resume to. That includes most of teh 'NN! Even your contact list itself may be too much to share with certain people....

starman · Dec 1, 2008, 11:04 AM

I started putting all my stuff on linkedin until I realized that it's the one and only place where people can connect my job and my virtual me, so I quickly removed it all. I don't have anything to hide per se, but I don't want people I work with knowing about the podcasts I do, and I don't want fans finding out where I work. I could make some of it private, but there are still things I want to keep separate.

andi*pandi · Dec 1, 2008, 11:06 AM

I'm linked in, but want to keep it strictly professional.

-Q- · Dec 1, 2008, 11:41 AM

As stated, LinkedIn is for professional stuff. If I don't know you professionally, you're not in my network. All the social stuff gets done thru Facebook and whatnot.

And LinkedIn has been great. Found some good contractors through friends-of-friends and its helped get my foot in the door for a couple of interesting job prospects.

rickey939 · Dec 1, 2008, 11:59 AM

Yes, I love it. Great resource.

Thorzdad · Dec 1, 2008, 12:17 PM

I'm on it. Haven't used it.

SpaceMonkey · Dec 1, 2008, 12:32 PM

I'm on it but I haven't used it much as a networking resource yet because I've really only had one job so far out of college and almost everyone in my network works for the same company.

Captain Obvious · Dec 10, 2008, 10:36 PM

I never understood what benefit I could gain by using it professionally. Maybe there are some fields that it benefits more than others but if I found myself looking to change jobs I would do it through individuals I know in a more discreet manner or I would go to a firm who specializes in that. If I was looking for clients or to network I don't believe LinkedIn would necessarily convey anything that isn't already up on my firm's site or could be trumped through a personal recommendation.

I have gotten requests from friends and acquaintances to join it for years but it just seems pointless to me. I have my contacts organized on my home and work computers as well as my work phone. I don't need a pseudo-facebook for all the world to see that details who I know. A lot of times it benefits me to be the person facilitating the professional introduction so not only could it steal some of my thunder but it allows the person seeking the introduction to build an impression of who they want to meet or hire based on a bio and resume rather than on my judgment on who is a better fit or who I feel they should meet.

E's Lil Theorem · Dec 10, 2008, 10:44 PM

I'm on it. I just have it out there so recruiters can find me. I always keep my options open and recruiters constantly find through it.

Chuckit · Dec 10, 2008, 10:46 PM

I'm with Obvious. People have told me I should do the LinkedIn thing, but I've never been able to think of a case where I'd want to have one.

Wiskedjak · Dec 10, 2008, 10:51 PM

In my industry (software design), I've been told by several employers that they won't even consider someone who doesn't have a LinkedIn page, the theory being that if you don't you aren't up-to-date enough on current trends.

Chuckit · Dec 10, 2008, 11:18 PM

That's…interestingly circular.

- - e r i k - - · Dec 11, 2008, 12:02 AM

LinkedIn is a current trend?

I have both LinkedIn and Xing accounts... just not that many professional contacts on either. I have however been headhunted through Facebook.

turtle777 · Dec 11, 2008, 01:05 AM

I have been "headhunted" through Xing and LinkedIn.

But for serious job search, they are no match to a profile / resume on TheLadders.com

-t

mattyb · Dec 11, 2008, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

In my industry (software design), I've been told by several employers that they won't even consider someone who doesn't have a LinkedIn page, the theory being that if you don't you aren't up-to-date enough on current trends.

Then these employers don't take security (IT Security) seriously. Trends are fine, doing security for a bank / building society / insurance company isn't about being trendy.

There are lots of companies that ask you NOT to have details on social networking sites.

EDIT: ask them if they put network diagrams, i.e. firewalls, the types, the IP addresses, who their clients are onto public websites.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by mattyb

EDIT: ask them if they put network diagrams, i.e. firewalls, the types, the IP addresses, who their clients are onto public websites.

You put details like that on your resume?

mattyb · Dec 11, 2008, 12:22 PM

Of course not.

Where does the 'public trend' use end? Flickr? Facebook? Paedos-R-Us? For a company to not hire people because they don't have a webpage on what is basically a glorified social networking site is, IMHO, stupid.

My argument was that in the IT Security field (which I had the pleasure to work in for a few years) there are companies/governments that do not want others to know what type of firewall is in place, how the dmz is laid out, what versions of OS are running on the DNS machines etc. Putting your CV up on a public website that anyone could see, with details of your latest project for client X detailing stuff such as the above could be against your past employers wishes, could help a potential competitor and could stop you from getting a future client.

Would the same companies that don't hire people because they are not on LinkedIn be prepared to put details of their network infrastructure onto public websites? If they were serious about security, I wouldn't have thought so.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by mattyb

Of course not.

Where does the 'public trend' use end? Flickr? Facebook? Paedos-R-Us? For a company to not hire people because they don't have a webpage on what is basically a glorified social networking site is, IMHO, stupid.

Perhaps. I'm not saying it's an argument I necessarily agree with, just that I've encountered employers in the software industry who feel it's important for potential hires to demonstrate an awareness of current trends. LinkedIn may no longer be "cutting edge", but it is the barometer for some employers.

Originally Posted by mattyb

My argument was that in the IT Security field (which I had the pleasure to work in for a few years) there are companies/governments that do not want others to know what type of firewall is in place, how the dmz is laid out, what versions of OS are running on the DNS machines etc. Putting your CV up on a public website that anyone could see, with details of your latest project for client X detailing stuff such as the above could be against your past employers wishes, could help a potential competitor and could stop you from getting a future client.

Would the same companies that don't hire people because they are not on LinkedIn be prepared to put details of their network infrastructure onto public websites? If they were serious about security, I wouldn't have thought so.

If you wouldn't put such details in your resume, why would you put them into a LinkedIn profile?

It seems that we're talking about completely different industries. I was very careful to explicitly state that I had encountered employers in the *software design* industry who wanted to see LinkedIn activity in potential hires. I have no experience with the IT security industry, and so can't speak to it. I also suspect that there might not be much need for LinkedIn in the fast food industry. All fields are different; security concerns in one field doesn't equal security concerns in another. There are certainly intellectual property concerns in software design, but I'm intelligent and professional enough not to post anything to my LinkedIn profile that might violate my non-disclosure agreements.

starman · Dec 11, 2008, 02:12 PM

I look at it this way:

I'm not looking for a job. I don't need to put anything on LinkedIn. If a potential employee told me I didn't get a job because of that, I'd ask him how loyal those employees with details on LinkedIn really are.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 03:23 PM

While finding a job is certainly one aspect of LinkedIn, it's certainly not the only aspect. Tracking one's network and extended network is also very valuable and sometimes their employers and contact information changes. If they maintain their LinkedIn page, it's always easy to contact them if I want to keep in touch, ask them about a potential hire or talk about a common challenge.

For me, the value of LinkedIn is to find a job. It isn't even to keep track of my immediate network. The value is being connected to my network's network.

People with LinkedIn pages aren't always looking for a job. In my current job, everyone, including my manager, director, VP and CEO, has a LinkedIn page. Pretty sure they're not all hunting for a job.

mattyb · Dec 11, 2008, 03:24 PM

Sorry Wiskedjak, I'm not getting at you. It just annoys me when I hear of stuff that doesn't (to me anyway) make sense in terms of finding a job. Why should someone have a profile on a certain website just to have a job? Or even get in the door for an interview? A bit like a company only accepting CVs in Word format for example.

I'll stop ranting.

starman · Dec 11, 2008, 03:27 PM

My existence on the internet should not affect my ability to get a job, unless there's something directly connected between them.

Work doesn't know about podcasting, I don't talk about work on the 'net.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by starman

My existence on the internet should not affect my ability to get a job, unless there's something directly connected between them.

Your existence on the Internet might affect your ability to get a job, *if* your job might involve working on Internet-based services.

Originally Posted by starman

Work doesn't know about podcasting, I don't talk about work on the 'net.

LinkedIn isn't podcasting. I don't talk about work on my blogs. I don't talk about my personal life on LinkedIn.

starman · Dec 11, 2008, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

Your existence on the Internet might affect your ability to get a job, *if* your job might involve working on Internet-based services.

Isn't that what I just said?

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

LinkedIn isn't podcasting

No kidding. What does that even mean?

What I do in life involved both things I do for work, and things I do out of work. I can still connect with people that need help setting up a podcast by putting my info on LinkedIn. People do it all the time. It's not just for what you do at work, you know.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by mattyb

Sorry Wiskedjak, I'm not getting at you. It just annoys me when I hear of stuff that doesn't (to me anyway) make sense in terms of finding a job. Why should someone have a profile on a certain website just to have a job? Or even get in the door for an interview? A bit like a company only accepting CVs in Word format for example.

I'll stop ranting.

In your field, are you a member of any professional associations?

mattyb · Dec 11, 2008, 04:07 PM

No.

Wiskedjak · Dec 11, 2008, 09:01 PM

Do you understand that, in some professions, it's beneficial to be a member of a professional association?

Wiskedjak · Dec 12, 2008, 09:20 AM

The real value of LinkedIn is how easy it makes growing a professional network and maintaining that network. You may say "I'm not looking for a job", but, in a recession, job cuts can happen unexpectedly and it's nice to be prepared to hunt for work.

mattyb · Dec 12, 2008, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

Do you understand that, in some professions, it's beneficial to be a member of a professional association?

Yes. And that has nothing to do with using something like LinkedIn. Not sure how the professional associations that have any credibility in the US work, but being a chartered accountant or chartered engineer IS NOT the same as posting dross on LinkedIn.

As for software design, tell me which companies in the Fortune 500 insist on you having a LinkedIn profile.

Wiskedjak · Dec 12, 2008, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by mattyb

Yes. And that has nothing to do with using something like LinkedIn. Not sure how the professional associations that have any credibility in the US work, but being a chartered accountant or chartered engineer IS NOT the same as posting dross on LinkedIn.

As for software design, tell me which companies in the Fortune 500 insist on you having a LinkedIn profile.

I can't speak for companies on the Fortune 500. I can only speak for employers I've encountered. I do know that many companies do a web-search on prospective hires; if they find positive stuff through that search, all the better. When you search for my name in Google, my LinkedIn page is the first result.

My point about professional associations is simply this: professional associations provide accreditation of one's career experience. Software design and development have no such organizations. But, through LinkedIn, many of us have developed a more organic way of communication our associations through our professions. Through LinkedIn, several of the people I've worked with in the past have posted references for me. If someone wants to gauge my professional value, they can look at my LinkedIn page and read my references; they probably don't know me and they may not know my referrers but they *might* know someone who knows one of my referrers, and LinkedIn with expose that relationship, possibly giving more value to that reference. In a loose way, this gives me a sort of accreditation.

And, I'm also not saying that because *I* find LinkedIn valuable for me that it must be valuable for everyone; I think I've made significant effort to describe my personal scenario. For some people it has value, for others it doesn't; I've just been trying to describe to the OP the ways in which *I* find it valuable in case the OP might find value in those ways as well. It's obvious that you adamantly *don't* find those things valuable and I'm not trying to sell LinkedIn so any discussion with you on the matter is simply argumentative.