[nycbug-talk] LinkedIn: Worth it or not?

[Steven Kreuzer]

On Oct 21, 2008, at 2:00 PM, Matt Juszczak wrote:

> Slightly off topic, but here goes:
>
> I'm on a lot of "Social Networking Sites".  I find that they are more
> hassle than they are worth.  First, I find that the only true  
> contacts you
> can really make are either people you meet in person or people that  
> refer
> you directly -- but most of these sites like "Linked In" are turning  
> into
> everyone being friends with everyone and half the people I'm friends  
> with
> are recruiters, or people I've never met before.  MOST of the  
> successful
> job leads I get are from places like this list, or people contacting  
> me
> directly on monster/dice, etc. which I only have active when I'm  
> looking.
>
> So what are your thoughts?  Do you find LinkedIn (and similar sites  
> like
> Pulse) to be beneficial to your tech career, or too annoying to  
> manage and
> think about?
>
> -Matt

For what its worth, my current employer found me through LinkedIn.  
Another nice
feature is that if you add all your former coworkers into your  
network, you'll usually
have access to their most current and accurate contact information  
which comes in
handy when a potential employer asks you for references.

SK