I am. Since I left all of the social networking sites (with the exception of Twitter for following some wacky celebs and artists) LinkedIn is one of the few ways that I stay connected to my professional network. In these uncertain times, I just feel like it's a safe thing to do. Also - you can write reccomendations for people and have them write them on bgehalf of work they've done with you. I can see who my friends/colleagues know at other companies, should I be looking at a position elsewhere. The HR guy who hired me is now an HR executive at another media company, so things like that are useful for me to know.
I also get industry updates because of different groups that I'm a member of on there. It took me a little while to get the hang of it. I liken it to a quasi-resume / virtual drinks & networking event.
Because of my privacy settings, you wouldn't be able to see my full profile. If you decide to join, we can link if you want to see how mine is laid out. (Everyone's got a different way of utilizing it, it seems.) Reply
Ah, that's right! I remember now that you left other websites!
I didn't know that you could write recommendations for people. Is there an active community around you on LinkedIn?
I'm interested in joining not to connect with friends but to find other freelancers. I've had some success via livejournal (surprise, surprise) and via freelance-focused blogs, but I'd like to know more people who write for a living.
What kinds of groups are there? Is it like el jay and Facebook in the sense that there's a group for everything, or is it industry- or interest-specific?
Yeah, I have a lot of nosey people in my life who just like to make my business their business and cause some chaos in the process! It was with a heavy heart that I left Facebook.
No active community around me, just my company, my alma mater, my industry, things like that. There are groups about every imaginable business and I'm SURE there are freelancer communities on there. I don't think there is anything that's not business-related, but I could be wrong. To be honest, I kinda just poach from my contacts and have a tendency to join their groups! ;)
I'm on there too! I honestly haven't used it much, though. I've got my profile all filled out, and I've friended a few people from various places I met them. Most of the people I've linked to are Hollins summergrad programmers. It can search through your email contacts and send invites to whoever you select, though, so finding people is super easy. I think it's a good idea to have a professional network site as opposed to Facebook, since your FB is often covered in things you don't want potential employers to see. This is part of the reason I hide on FB and signed up with a fake name. If you do join, feel free to add me, as well!
Is it easy to find people in your profession or with the same interests? I'm interested in meeting other freelancers. I've had some luck via Freelance blogs and Livejournal, and I like how nice it is to talk freelance-related business with people who are already in this world.
Not worried about employers seeing things on Facebook. I behave pretty well on there since I work as a teacher/mentor. Still, it would be nice to have a professional center.
I just joined and haven't done much with it, honestly. I joined for the same reason as Susan - a more professional site to give any interested potential employers. All my other social sites are set to private.
Is it easy to find people in your line of work or profession even if you don't know them? I'm curious about that side of things, of course (i.e. meeting other freelancers). Is the website easy to navigate?
I like the idea of having a professional drop zone that isn't Facebook.
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I also get industry updates because of different groups that I'm a member of on there. It took me a little while to get the hang of it. I liken it to a quasi-resume / virtual drinks & networking event.
Because of my privacy settings, you wouldn't be able to see my full profile. If you decide to join, we can link if you want to see how mine is laid out. (Everyone's got a different way of utilizing it, it seems.) Reply
I didn't know that you could write recommendations for people. Is there an active community around you on LinkedIn?
I'm interested in joining not to connect with friends but to find other freelancers. I've had some success via livejournal (surprise, surprise) and via freelance-focused blogs, but I'd like to know more people who write for a living.
What kinds of groups are there? Is it like el jay and Facebook in the sense that there's a group for everything, or is it industry- or interest-specific?
If I join, I definitely want to link up to you!
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No active community around me, just my company, my alma mater, my industry, things like that. There are groups about every imaginable business and I'm SURE there are freelancer communities on there. I don't think there is anything that's not business-related, but I could be wrong. To be honest, I kinda just poach from my contacts and have a tendency to join their groups! ;)
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Not worried about employers seeing things on Facebook. I behave pretty well on there since I work as a teacher/mentor. Still, it would be nice to have a professional center.
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I like the idea of having a professional drop zone that isn't Facebook.
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