LinkedIn makes me sick to the core. It's like entering an ultracorporate hellworld with no connection to reality. Full of #ThoughtLeaders and #ChangeManagementCoaches, all presenting this ultra-sanitised 'aspirational' image of a world where the only joy in life comes from work, and everything is squeaky clean.
I agree, but I view it from a ruthlessly pragmatic perspective. Job alerts, making the occasional cold contact with people who have similar research interests, etc.. I've actually made some decent use out of it in the few years I've had one.
In theory, there's nothing that you can do with LinkedIn that you can't do with e-mail and mailing lists, yet for whatever reason some people are more open to being contacted on there. Maybe there's an informality to it, the ability to see a human face, it doesn't get buried in work e-mails, or any/none of the above.
Just don't scroll through the newsfeeds, unless you've meticulously curated it or enjoy reading mindless corporate propaganda.
It's an absolute shithole full of shitlords. It can help for getting random recruiters to contact you, but not much else - the endorsements aren't worth anything.
1. For cyber-stalking work contacts or women you're talking to on dating apps.
2. Once you have a high-skill career with experience so you can laugh at offers for consultancy work.
If you're looking for the kind of work LinkedIn was designed for at the moment then you're better off just applying for public sector jobs. At the very least once you beat the thousands of other applicants you won't have to worry about immediately being made redundant.
Linkedin is facebook for the underemployed/unemployed.
Have you ever had any significant job leads obtained from Linkedin? Have you ever had any significant interactions on Linkedin that has resulted in an improvement in your career?
I had an account from 2007 to 2019 when I deleted it in a huff.
With respect to businesses: if you're not the buyer or the seller, you're the product.
Better to use your offline social/professional network, you can get as many leads from mates on facebook, and be diligent in a job hunt on job boards (especially specialist job boards).
During my last job hunt I applied for >300 positions in a 3 month period. I had about 5 interviews. I only submitted a one-page CV and cover letter for each. If there was any kind of corporate application system that required me to set up an account and pick my high school subjects from drop down menus I didn't apply thinking correctly that I wouldn't be considered for any such position.
