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Old 08-27-15, 07:53 AM  
LoveVA
 
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Originally Posted by bubbles76 View Post
This concerns me greatly actually. I am on LinkedIn, and the suggested contacts they come up with are staggering. I also don't allow anyone access to my email list, yet I still get hits. And I have an unusual name, which is unusually spelled. Sigh! It is CREEPY the data mining that goes on with LinkedIn and terribly invasive to me.

I only use LinkedIn for professional reasons and am a member of a few of their groups. Their groups are a great source for information and a space to converse with like minded professionals. I do love that about LinkedIn. I didn't know that it was considered a professional faux pas (or even a career deal breaker) not to have a LinkedIn account. That is ridiculous to me, but if I have to have one, I guess I'll keep it. I'm in Government, so it probably won't affect me that much.

Andtckrtoo, how detailed would a LinkedIn account need to be for you to consider hiring someone? Would they have to be active on forums? Have a certain number of endorsements? Have a certain number of contacts? My profile is not beefed up at all. Thanks!
It is indeed kind of creepy. However, as I've said before, you specifically don't have to allow LinkedIn to have access to your email list. Other people do and if your name is in their contact list, then a potential "match" will show up for you. A few people have mentioned that they didn't give LinkedIn access to their email list and still had random matches. Doesn't matter: most likely the other person did in fact allow LinkedIn to mine their email contact list. Or that other person could have put your name in Linkedin's search function to see if you were on LinkedIn. That also can trigger a "do you know this person" hit.

The very first time I set up my LinkedIn profile, my mortgage broker from several years back and another seemingly random person (completely unconnected to me in my career world) showed up in my list. I didn't give LinkedIn access to my email list either, but I'm sure the other two people did, which is how they showed up as matches.
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Old 08-27-15, 08:16 AM  
Vantreesta
 
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This kind of thing is a big part of my trust issues. I do not have accounts to these types of sites but anyone who has my email address can allow it to be seen. I have gotten emails from LinkedIn on behalf of my friends. I thought my friends initiated the contact but they didn't so this had to be how my address was hit. I have a hard time sharing personal and identifiable information with anyone anymore because of things like this. If I didn't love fitness forums and online shopping I wouldn't have online accounts anywhere really. I hate Facebook and the fact that anyone can snap my picture, without my even knowing it, and post it on Facebook or anywhere else for that matter, without my permission. We no longer even have control over what we want to share with the public. This scares me and makes me very angry!! I had to sign a waiver at my dogs' boarding place to allow their pictures to be on the kennel's Facebook page but the average joe apparently doesn't owe me that courtesy. I have had a couple friends ask if they can post a picture of me, not on Facebook, and I have agreed to their request, but my name is not attached to it. I won't even let my mom talk about me on her Facebook page.

Sorry to go on ranting, this just hits a very sensitive nerve. My information should be mine to decide to share or keep private.
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Old 08-27-15, 08:51 AM  
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I'm in LinkedIn, but I unsubscribed to the e-mails, as they were getting annoying. I do want to look for a job sometime in the future, and I've been told it's one of the best ways to put yourself out there. I've never been contacted by anyone in my past, but it did send me potential connections from my contact list. However, it never sends me any contacts from my former professional field.
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Old 08-27-15, 09:30 AM  
andtckrtoo
 
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Originally Posted by Vantreesta View Post
I'm definitely not trying to start an argument, but this bolded statement makes me uncomfortable. There are those of us who refuse to put our real names or pictures anywhere on the internet that can be accessed publicly. I understand that we can be found anyway bc nothing seems to be truly private anymore, but I am highly paranoid and distrustful of Big Brother. I am an outstanding and loyal employee a company would miss out on if they only hire someone with a Linked In account. (Obviously I have no interest in Facebook either.) Again, not trying to be argumentative, just giving my point of view.
I think a lot depends on where you live and the type of work you do as well, but here in the Silicon Valley, if you want to be hired in a technology role, you have to be comfortable with technology. Which means, having an online presence. Linked In is THE way people recruit and job hunt here. No where else holds the same variety of jobs. Of course, standard networking can help, too - there are exceptions. But having a good, online presence for the jobs for which I hire, and having a lot of connections, means that a person understands technology and can network. Of course, I hire for sales/Account Management.
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Old 08-27-15, 09:47 AM  
andtckrtoo
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Originally Posted by bubbles76 View Post
This concerns me greatly actually. I am on LinkedIn, and the suggested contacts they come up with are staggering. I also don't allow anyone access to my email list, yet I still get hits. And I have an unusual name, which is unusually spelled. Sigh! It is CREEPY the data mining that goes on with LinkedIn and terribly invasive to me.

I only use LinkedIn for professional reasons and am a member of a few of their groups. Their groups are a great source for information and a space to converse with like minded professionals. I do love that about LinkedIn. I didn't know that it was considered a professional faux pas (or even a career deal breaker) not to have a LinkedIn account. That is ridiculous to me, but if I have to have one, I guess I'll keep it. I'm in Government, so it probably won't affect me that much.

Andtckrtoo, how detailed would a LinkedIn account need to be for you to consider hiring someone? Would they have to be active on forums? Have a certain number of endorsements? Have a certain number of contacts? My profile is not beefed up at all. Thanks!
A couple of things. Linked In does the data mining it does because it is a professional networking website. It's designed to connect you to others with similar interest so you can grow your network, get better job opportunities, and learn more about professional topics that interest you. The data mining is Linked In simply doing it's job. Most of the people who come up as possible contacts are contacts of contacts, or hold similar interests, etc. I ignore them, for the most part.

One thing to remember - I'm in the Silicon Valley where this is considered normal. The entire Valley is technology based. What holds true here, probably does not hold true in other parts of the country unless you are applying for a technology role.

To answer the questions directed to me - it really depends on the job I'm hiring for. I am an account manager/director for SAAS (Software As A Service) companies. I hire for sales-based roles. I NEED people who are technology savvy and who know how to network. If I saw someone with a small Linked In presence with only a few connections, chances are they are not a good fit for the position for which I'm hiring. If I were hiring a software engineer - a group who can be more introverted - I would not worry as much about the contacts, but I would want to see a decent resume outlining work experience.
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Old 08-27-15, 09:55 AM  
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Just ugh. I didn't realize that each person you looked at on linked in could see you looked. I was curious and feel like a stalker. I even got a message from someone I looked at but would never want to talk to again (nothing bad, just an old boyfriend who is more - ewww, than bad.) Why didn't I realize this beforehand. Just ugh.
I looked at the account of an old boyfriend's daughter, just because (in a weak moment) I wanted to see what his kids looked like (you know, to see perhaps what OUR kids might have looked like.) I was shocked when I saw that she, in turn, looked at MY account ... I didn't want the ex-boyfriend to learn that I'd been thinking of him: I was mortified.
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Old 08-27-15, 10:38 AM  
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Originally Posted by andtckrtoo View Post
A couple of things. Linked In does the data mining it does because it is a professional networking website. It's designed to connect you to others with similar interest so you can grow your network, get better job opportunities, and learn more about professional topics that interest you. The data mining is Linked In simply doing it's job.
The very part of Facebook I don't like, is in LinkedIn also ...


Quote:
Originally Posted by andtckrtoo View Post
One thing to remember - I'm in the Silicon Valley where this is considered normal. [...]

To answer the questions directed to me - it really depends on the job I'm hiring for. I am an account manager/director for SAAS (Software As A Service) companies. I hire for sales-based roles. I NEED people who are technology savvy and who know how to network. If I saw someone with a small Linked In presence with only a few connections, chances are they are not a good fit for the position for which I'm hiring. If I were hiring a software engineer - a group who can be more introverted - I would not worry as much about the contacts, but I would want to see a decent resume outlining work experience.
I'd been working for a tiny, entrepreneurial, one-man/one woman operation in a growing important subset of the healthcare industry ... and three weeks before the restructuring (with little notice as to my job) I chanced to glance over my boss' shoulder on his smartphone (I know little about smartphones) a LinkedIn-looking profile of what suspiciously looked much too young to be a future girlfriend of his ...

I had knowledge though (as I was part of it) that a lot of work was being sent to a different geographical area, hundreds of miles away ...

Three weeks later, I'd been given 3 days' notice.

I chanced to notice a credit card statement that came in, as that was part of my job, and I had to organize things before I left. He'd recruited on indeed.com (I'd never really heard of them before) and it is obvious he'd concurrently run a search on his own. He's great at Google now; and, as needed, duckduckgo (unfortunately, a repository of conduitsearch spyware-carrier). I'd taught him some but he'd run with it and grew to be better at it than I was.

LinkedIn figured in on that deal. But it had not driven the search for a candidate down there.

LinkedIn figures in with Lynda.com. I think the people over at Lynda are a subsidiary of LinkedIn.
Reminds me of the old-school Monster.com that was bought and paid for by several narrow-casted, local office applications software training centers.
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Old 08-27-15, 10:55 AM  
bubbles76
 
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Originally Posted by andtckrtoo View Post
A couple of things. Linked In does the data mining it does because it is a professional networking website. It's designed to connect you to others with similar interest so you can grow your network, get better job opportunities, and learn more about professional topics that interest you. The data mining is Linked In simply doing it's job. Most of the people who come up as possible contacts are contacts of contacts, or hold similar interests, etc. I ignore them, for the most part.

One thing to remember - I'm in the Silicon Valley where this is considered normal. The entire Valley is technology based. What holds true here, probably does not hold true in other parts of the country unless you are applying for a technology role.
Yes, I know how it works. I'm guess I'm just surprised as I'm not in the same field I was in before (IT to something different), so I'm surprised they still have my email address or even want to do a search on me. That's where the creepy comes in Recent hits I'm not so surprised or find creepy, as most of those would make sense and are professional. People I no longer keep in contact with I delete from my email.

I don't necessarily agree with this, " if you want to be hired in a technology role, you have to be comfortable with technology. Which means, having an online presence. " My husband has been in technology for years and is currently in cyber security. Very comfortable with technology. Not so much with having an online presence. He does not have a LinkedIn account.

Thank you for the response to the other questions.
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Old 08-27-15, 06:31 PM  
LynnO
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Originally Posted by andtckrtoo View Post
A couple of things. Linked In does the data mining it does because it is a professional networking website. It's designed to connect you to others with similar interest so you can grow your network, get better job opportunities, and learn more about professional topics that interest you. The data mining is Linked In simply doing it's job. Most of the people who come up as possible contacts are contacts of contacts, or hold similar interests, etc. I ignore them, for the most part.
I can see how you love it and how it helps you do your job. Not necessarily easier but it gives you broader range. It is odd that it didn't link me with a single person in my field - and i have two areas of expertise - when put together - puts me in with the same couple hundred people, on and off, especially in the geographical region I used to live.

I see how you love it as a sales person, I see how recruiters love it. It is doing something that used to take sales people years and years to do- put together a network. I am a bit surprised that salespeople and recruiters dismiss us normal joes' concern with the downside.

Anyhow, I learned my lesson. I was never shocked like this by either google or facebook. I'm also wondering how to get my presence out there without sending up red flags to my bosses (see very small world I work in). Hey, things are rough and all the sudden I'm in industry groups on Linkedin.

Anyhow, no need to go around in circles. Some people don't care about the data mining, some will never join because of it. If anyone has suggestions on how to slowly ease into it, while seeming low key- I'd like to know. I will probably look for a job in about a year but meanwhile, i don't want to seem like i have a foot out the door to my bosses or customers. I have no deep need to change jobs but once my children are gone, I might be up for something more demanding. I also might not mind using it to actually meet others in my industry now that I'm in a new area, to network, as it was intended.
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Old 08-28-15, 04:21 PM  
beyond.omega
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<snip> I'm also wondering how to get my presence out there without sending up red flags to my bosses (see very small world I work in). Hey, things are rough and all the sudden I'm in industry groups on Linkedin.

<snip>
If anyone has suggestions on how to slowly ease into it, while seeming low key- I'd like to know. I will probably look for a job in about a year but meanwhile, i don't want to seem like i have a foot out the door to my bosses or customers. I have no deep need to change jobs but once my children are gone, I might be up for something more demanding. I also might not mind using it to actually meet others in my industry now that I'm in a new area, to network, as it was intended.
You really might be overthinking this. I wouldn't worry too much about any activity on your part on LinkedIn raising a red flag at work. People get on linked in and do stuff...or they don't. It's just one communication tool amongst many. Unless you add "Looking for a job because my current boss is a jacka**" to the description of your profile, no one is going to think you have one foot out the door for any activity on LinkedIn. People are more focused on what they themselves are doing to promote themselves with LinkedIn to spend cycles thinking about what you are doing. As such, they see connecting to you as much a way for them to promote themselves as to get to know you. Now is a good time to connect to your current colleagues and customers in a casual networking way so that in a year you won't be cramming. But likely you will be able to get another job whether you do so or not.

I have never used LinkedIn to randomly meet strangers in my industry, and I'm not sure that is it's primary intent. It is a business communication tool, not a dating site. Usually I do other things (go to conferences, recruiting events) to meet people and then connect on LinkedIn to people I met that way. I don't connect with everyone I meet or talk to, although currently I do accept almost all invites from recruiters, since I'm looking for a job. I have used LinkedIn to reconnect with old colleagues, but only those I was "connected to" in a previous job. That is people I knew/worked with in some capacity...not random co-workers at old jobs, or strangers I don't know who are in connections of people in my network. Admittedly, I am an engineer and introverted, so that may be why I'm a little more conservative in how I use LinkedIn. But since we are still human beings as we know it, LinkedIn has not replaced the other ways we have of networking (yet.) Only enhances them.
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