LinkedInReviews 499

I had to go on Disability 12 years ago. Up until that time, I had been an RN with a BSN and Infection Prevention/Control certification for 10 years. I had much experience in both Oncology in many different settings, and later in Infection Prevention/Control and Quality and knowledge of Accreditation requirements, areas that were somewhat unique. So I made my profile and became involved in LinkedIn. I was able to connect with other business and healthcare personnel through this site. After I became disabled and had to retire from nursing, I didn't use LinkedIn much, but they still connected with me. I found out when connections got promotions, so I could congratulate them, I saw where long time peers worked and could access them, and mainly, even now (almost 4 times a week!) I find out that people have looked at my profile as they search for people to fill positions! In fact, this past 12 months, my profile has been checked 3-4 times a week, even though I state perfectly clear that I'm retired due to disability! So to those who are still out there working, you can be assured that employers and personnel departments and recruiters ARE checking you out! That is VERY GOOD if you are looking for job/career opportunities. On the other hand, some of the job opportunities I get are nothing that I'd either qualify for nor want! However, if I was looking for a new position, from what I see in my LinkedIn, and the times I'm checked out, I would definitely become a LinkedIn member, which is free.

Why does my account get blocked from time to time,
In case I chat with say 10 friends at a time my account is blocked,
We should be given the freedom to chat with as many connections as you want,
This is really pathetic service from Linkedln and if this continues people will stop using it,
No matter how many times I upload my identity proof you guys keep asking the same question again and again,
Do something to resolve this issue.

I made an account here because a company that I tried to apply to work for decided that it was MANDATORY to insert a LinkedIn profile in the application. Ever since I made one, I disabled communications on it, and yet coincidentally, I've been receiving job spam on my email consistently. I have to unsubscribe them to stop.

Prior to making an account, I used to get email from people saying they want to connect despite me not ever having an account on LinkedIn. Not only was this annoying, but it didn't make me feel that great about LinkedIn to begin with. Even after making the account, I feel like it has absolutely no use. I'm giving a third party all this information about myself. I like my manual resume and I don't like LinkedIn.

I still kept the account because (1) everywhere asks for it and (2) yes, there are some pros about LinkedIn. Despite being a seemingly failed version of Facebook, it still provides connects to possibly employment. I've seen many places hiring (relating to my field!) However, I wouldn't pay to use this website.

Horrible Customer Support. I get better support at a gas station. My account was restricted, took 12hrs for someone to get back to me, and the same regurgitated "read our user policies" response after I said I have and didn't violate anything. Been a member since 2006 and never have. Then they say it was because an image I uploaded to Linkedin Messaging service which I RARELY use and it's usually a 'yes' 'no' 'Thanks' ect. No images uploaded. When I explained this to rep in email - bc you can't even get someone by phone the cheap ******'s - he said "read our user policies. This will be my final correspondence."

LinkedIn might have a lot of similarities to Facebook when it comes to the search engine, messaging, even the timeline, but if you're trying to get yourself out there - LinkedIn is a good place for it. You're likely going to find groups that cater to your specific area, people who have the same job as you that you can connect with, and so much more.

I've connected with many people on LinkedIn as I'm an Open Networker and have found it to be quite enjoyable. I've posted in groups, shared links, told people about myself and heard some stories of how other people operate, and more. I've even made a few friends on there.

Now with that said be careful of who you talk too. Lots of people I've noticed will send you a sales pitch, and will be focused on trying to make a commission off of you instead of getting to know more about you. Some people will even try to scam you with fake job ads - promising you lucrative salaries, all expenses paid for, but sadly those aren't going to happen. Not unless you got an official message from a reputable company saying that. Does the term "419 scammer" ring a bell? They're scattered throughout LinkedIn. Luckily people can detect them more and more, but they can still slip through the cracks.

Overall this gets 4/5. A good place to showcase your skills, talking a bit about yourself, and opens you up to a plethora of opportunities. Even the simplest of things like networking can be great since you're opening yourself up to new people and new ideas. The new layout of the site stunk quite a lot though, but most people seem to have adjusted to that.