Ask HN: Does anyone find LinkedIn useful?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15054544

by nnd • 9 years ago

3 6 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have mixed feeling about using LinkedIn.

A few times I was contacted by recruiters from Apple and Google who found my profile, but mostly I just get InMail spam from people trying to sell their consulting services or 3rd party requiters.

I've also had pretty low conversion rate sending inMail to well-targeted people when I was trying to organize a conference?

Personally, I find maintaining a LinkedIn profile to be too much of a hassle with little benefits.

Does anyone have a success story to share?

andrew-lucker• 9 years ago

2500 connections. I don't even try to actively use LinkedIn, but I get some referrals and short-term contracts through the grapevine. Not sure if this is just my network, or if anyone can find use from sheer number of loose connections.

nnd• 9 years ago

I’ve been using it for about 5 years now, and barely have 400. Half of these connections are people I never met trying to sell me something.

newphoenix• 9 years ago

You should not have mixed feeling about LinkedIn it is a waste of time. 90% of my connection i don't know, but people sending me a connection request i accept for the fun of it.

Powerofmene• 9 years ago

I know very few of the people in my connections or they are so distantly removed from what I do that the connection is of no use at least professionally.

I can't honestly say I have even opened LinkedIn in the past year so I would have to say it is of no value to me. Initially, spam overloaded my email and InBox so I never really attempted to use it as it was initially intended because of the spam.

I did meet a few people I otherwise would not have because of searching profiles of people who were speaking at conferences I was attending but otherwise I have not used it to any real benefit.

sky_projektor• 9 years ago

I got two small gigs & had about 150 connections, all or most of them people whom I personally knew. But none, I felt did anything useful professionally, apart aniversary wishing at office jobs. Linkedin might be useful someday in the future as 'remote' is picking up, but I do not like spending time there & hence closed my linkedin account & chose a lighter online CV which do not spam me with unwanted group postings. And I also feel that post linkedin I am taking less advise of experts, which in some way is boosting my morale!

vfulco• 9 years ago

I don't actively market with it, meaning don't go out of my way to find clients through it. I do post pieces from time to time and people find me from around the world for resume editing, and LinkedIn Profile enhancements although I run a firm in Shanghai, China. Besides their own job seeking efforts, numerous clients who I previously worked with, have been approached by third parties for interesting opportunities.

Vince Fulco, CFA, CAIA vfulco[@]weisisheng.cn

Ask HN: Does anyone find LinkedIn useful?

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