LinkedIn
My experience on LinkedIn has been good but I do not use it to it's full potential. I do not fully utilize it as I could to network. You can connect with others and in specific types of entities. You can connect with others you happen to cross in training, at work, or in class. Linked in gives you a chance to promote others and their skills. You can follow people, entities, and Associations, etc. I follow some but do not keep up with them on a regular basis
The drawback is I have had people that I have never met recommend my skills. Sometimes the skills are not what I excel in or are not skills that I have. I do not believe that you should promote any one's skills unless you know they possess those skills and excel in them. LinkedIn rates your profile on others promoting your skills and on how many people viewed your profile. The views can be tracked. Due to the fact that your rating is being based on skills and views, it reminds me of a popularity contest. People can promote your skill and then other people that you may or may not know, pop up with suggestions on skills you should promote them for. If you do, you may be hoping they will promote you in return. I think that is how a couple of people have recommended a skill that I do not have. If someone really is promoting a person they know and their skills, it would be nice if LinkedIn required you to write a recommendation. The recommendation should describe the skill, how they utilize that skill, and how you know they have that skill. If LinkedIn did require us to write about the person as opposed to clicking a spot that just pops up with a pre selected skill, I would be more inclined to rely on the ratings and skills listed.
You can solicit people to recommend you and your can do that by including a request to your connections globally. I am not sure that is an appropriate way to ask for recommendations. It is a "canned" request and not personal at all. It does not tell what specifically they want to be recommended for. A recommendation could be written differently depending if they want to apply for a job for a position or if they want you to recommend them for an award, etc. I don't think that sending out a global request will give you results that will be useful for a potential employer.
I do not list my place of work and do not list the town I live in. I list general skills and positions I have held. If I was seeking employment and using LinkedIn as a tool I would be more specific. I do not feel comfortable enough with putting that information out there for the "world" to know.
techtooljule
#techhrd
Techtooljule, I have been on linked for more than a couple of years and still maintain a basic package. If you were to look at my skills I have none I am aware of that have been endorsed. I believe it comes back to the quality of connections you make which is also true of the PLN we have been asked to establish. There are a lot of folks out there that are willing to share a lot of non pertinent information which has no value. This is what facebook is for in my opinion. We have to monitor and manage these in order to achieve the ultimate goal which is make these truly useful, and set a standard of quality we are looking for.
ReplyDeleteTechtooljule, I have been on linked for more than a couple of years and still maintain a basic package. If you were to look at my skills I have none I am aware of that have been endorsed. I believe it comes back to the quality of connections you make which is also true of the PLN we have been asked to establish. There are a lot of folks out there that are willing to share a lot of non pertinent information which has no value. This is what facebook is for in my opinion. We have to monitor and manage these in order to achieve the ultimate goal which is make these truly useful, and set a standard of quality we are looking for.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree we need to monitor who wants to connect. That is the problem, you don't need to be connected to endorse someone's skills. They just popup.
DeleteI have heard that hackers go in and create a profile and act like they are in your field and send out connection requests. They build them up easily and then they are the "in" crowd. I do not connect unless I know them, have correspondence that includes them, or are from an entity that I follow and may want to correspond with on business issues, or they have an expertise in a subject I deal with often.
Do you actively use LinkedIn as a PLN tool.
Thanks for the great advice. I think you are 'spot on"
techtooljule
#techhrd.
The endorsement function does remind me of the popularity contest back in high school. I have endorsed people, but only those who I personally have worked with. I really don't put much stock in the endorsement aspect, but it must be important to someone.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first got the account and was building my connections, I did get connection requests from people I didn't know. I learned quickly that it was a sales promotion, in many cases. I still get requests from people to connect, but I am far more selective about it now. I've also purged some connections that I don't need.
I have used LinkedIn as a PLN. Many of the connections I have are work related. This helps me maintain contact with former co-workers and instructors I've dealt with in the past. As a member of some of the groups, I've seen links, conversations and other information which have proved helpful in dealing with law enforcement issues and curriculum development. For those reasons, I am more apt to stay with LinkedIn than say Twitter, or some other social media.
Have you been using any of the groups as part of your PLN, and what areas have you been able to incorporate information into what you do?
I completely agree about not wanting to share a lot of personal information about the town you live in or specific places you have worked, but I did not share that information. Like you said the whole "world" could see this and you never know who is going to be looking at this profile. Honestly, I'm struggling with LinkedIn as a whole. I don't think it's that user friendly and I can't figure out the different functions for the life of me. I'm doing my best to stay optimistic about using it and trying to learn a new function each day. It seems like most of the people that like it have been using it for many years now.
ReplyDeleteKelsey,
DeleteI do think that employers do put some information out there that tracks people following their "niche" and sends information automatically to their email. If someone was mobile and wanted to find a new position in a new area, it may help.
All, in all, I don't use LinkedIn's tools that would help me professionally as well as I could.