Anybody use linkedin.com professionally?

[mambo4]

I have received a couple of requests by people I know to connect with them via www.linkedin.com.

i looks sort of like a Facebook but targeted towards professional networking. honestly I'd rather not 'social network' anymore than i have to, but if it has a chance of improving my career (the (non-bass-playing, day job), and potentially opening doors that may not otherwise be on my radar, it seems like it could be worth it.

Have you sued likedin.com, in your (non-musician) career? what are your impressions?

[tycobb73]

I use it. But I'm a small business owner. I've gotten a little bit of business off of it. As it is for professionals, it does appear more professional than facebook. Overall I like it better than facebook. I don't know if I post a link to my site if it actually goes to the person's stie that's clicking on the link or my site so just in case here is my site.

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view...US&trk=tab_pro

[A Strohman]

I use it and have had several opportunities come my way because of it. I'm fairly happy with the firm I'm with but I'm always willing to listen to other opportunities. I was recently contacted by a company who saw my linkedin profile and we had a couple of meetings which resulted in that company extending me an offer. I ended up turning them down but I was happy to at least have gotten the opportunity.

[Yerf Dog]

Nothing to lose. More professional networking than social.

[dalkowski]

I'm self-employed and I use it. I do NOT use Facebook and never will because of its considerable privacy issues.

Not sure how much business I've gotten from LinkedIn, but I've found it useful for maintaining contact with colleagues and clients old and new and letting them know what I'm up to. Plus, it's a great way to hear about job openings and connect friends with them.

I belong to a few LI groups but they're pretty worthless.

Given that it's free (don't fall for their upgrades) and that it doesn't have all the crap that make Facebook such a time suck, I'd recommend it.

[relwof]

Originally Posted by mambo4

Have you sued likedin.com, in your (non-musician) career? what are your impressions?

I have yet to sue linkedin.com, and probably never will as I suspect they'd cancel my account if I did...

Seriously though, LinkedIn is a great resource for building and maintaining professional connections and increasing your visibility to potential clients/employers in hi-tech fields like software development.

- James

[relwof]

Originally Posted by dalkowski

I belong to a few LI groups but they're pretty worthless.

Depends on what you're looking for. It's been about two years since I did any intensive LinkedIn-based prospecting, but at that time joining groups related to your expertise and interests provided some significant advantages. Members in a group could search for other members, and filter results by location to find companies needing your skills near home. You could also see more information and send network requests to other members of the group, which helps build up your network, which increases your ranking in searches.

- James

[Alexander]

I'm a Recruiting VP in my day job - 85% of the companies out there are using LinkedIn as one of their top recruitment channels (for professional roles, that is)

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by Alexander

I'm a Recruiting VP in my day job - 85% of the companies out there are using LinkedIn as one of their top recruitment channels (for professional roles, that is)

Yep. I also see an increasing number of top end players on linkedin, too, so it might be a good idea from the music business side, as well.

[mrpackerguy]

Yes. Worthless.

[m0nst3r]

Originally Posted by mrpackerguy

Yes. Worthless.

Ditto.

[guroove]

completely useless, unless you are lonely and don't get enough automatically generated spam in your email inbox.

[gdthomas]

Hit and miss with it, used mostly to keep contact with old co-workers.

[tplyons]

I am on LinkedIn and would recommend anyone in a professional capacity be there too. I've received several offers to collaborate and farther my career from people met on LI. Essentially there is nothing to lose, and worst case scenario, some old coworkers find you.

[bongomania]

My wife uses it regularly. She's had some high-profile executive jobs, and has found it very beneficial to keep in touch with all of her past co-workers, because they have later moved on to other companies she might be interested in working for--so there's an automatic "foot in the door".

[Jerose]

As a student about to enter a the world of public accounting, I have found it pretty useful so far. It's helpful when you meet someone at a networking event and can add them on LinkedIn to stay in touch. Helps them to remember who you are and to keep you in mind for future opportunities. If someone I've networked with is looking to contact me, they can go to my LinkedIn page, see a picture of my face and my professional background.

[IotaNet]

I'm in sales and it's invaluable! I simply could not imagine not having it.

My professional life is built on creating relationships with key people -- from scratch quite often. Having the ability to research someone's background and potentially learn where they went to school, knowing their previous jobs and even knowing if I have a personal connection to them is HUGE. It's a great tool for that and most of the people I work with are using it. (I was just asked to do an internal seminar on how to better leverage it.)

It is also very useful for creating a "Professional Profile" that can be shared with potential employers and clients so they can know more about you and your capabilities. (Here's mine: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynedixon)

I was active on LinkedIn long before I bought into Facebook.

For me, it's a total win!

[MJ5150]

I use it. I have gotten plenty of sidework from it, and a full time job from it.

-Mike

[relwof]

Originally Posted by mrpackerguy

Yes. Worthless.

Originally Posted by m0nst3r

Ditto.

Originally Posted by guroove

completely useless

In what context? I have no personal experience with LinkedIn's usefulness for anyone trying to make a living playing bass. However, the OP asked specifically about the value "in your (non-musician) career". If you have (or want to get) a white collar day job, especially in the IT sector, LinkedIn is FAR from worthless.

Originally Posted by guroove

unless you are lonely and don't get enough automatically generated spam in your email inbox.

Sorry, gotta call this one. I've been on LinkedIn for around ten years, and I don't recall EVER getting spam from being on LinkedIn. AFAIK they never publish your email address unless you explicitly expose it (for example, put it in your "Summary" description text). Sending unsolicited messages or network requests via the internal message system will get you banned very quickly. LinkedIn is set up for professional use by busy people, not chit-chat, and they take privacy seriously. Have you actually used LinkedIn, or are you merely projecting angst from getting burned on some social site like FaceBook? Those are VERY different beasts.

[guroove]

Sorry, spam is the wrong word, but in all the years that I had a linkedin account, I never got anything useful, and all I ever got was requests to connect from it. I never got a job from it, and all I ever got was email that I didn't want.