Business schools love to tout the power of LinkedIn. Anytime I meet with someone from the Career Center, one of the first questions they undoubtedly will ask is: "Are you on LinkedIn?" As a matter of fact, I am on LinkedIn - and let me tell you Mr. Career Center Man, it is not as magical as you make it out to be.My profile is up-to-date. I've got 59 connections. My resume is uploaded....but yet no magical mystery job offer has ended up in my inbox.
This is not to say that I expected that to happen - but going off of some of the recent advice I've received, it made it seem like a reality.
Phone calls, networking, handshakes, being persistent but not pushy - these are the golden keys to networking. Especially when you're a college senior with no real work experience (outside of internships) to show for yourself.
Do I see LinkedIn as a useful networking site for people out of school? YES! You probably have connections to former co-workers, friends who actually have jobs - instead of undergrads, whose connections consist of other students and relatives (who you probably should be calling anyway).
Get out from behind your computer, don your nicest suit/skirt - and go get em the ole fashioned way. Save LinkedIn for a few years down the road because right now it'll just slow you down.
good points, sir. i do think linkedin can be used to create organic connections beyond peers, etc., but only after some feet to the pavement networking. people i have lunched with have often just told me to connect to them and then select some of their connections to get introduced through linkedin.
ReplyDeleteI think LinkedIn can help with the job search process and networking. My guess is that this type of networking will become more popular as technology use increases (LinkedIn has been around since 2003 and it's just starting to get popular now). However, you are definitely right, nothing can replace face to face networking.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with it being more useful for the older crowd because they already have the network that is necessary for LinkedIn to be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point about linkedin being more valuable for older more established people. I think linkedin is more valuable for hiring people than for being hired. The ability to pre-screen people after you read their resume is much more in the company's favor than the individual job seeker.
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