LinkedIn ....... grrrrr

A post for those who use LinkedIn. I've been on it for years and seen it's growth to something that is now very relevant within my professional circles.

So I'm a fan BUT it has to be the most frustrating site that I use in terms of reliability. Frequently pages won't load and almost as often pages load with half the content they're supposed to have, or no content other than a header/menu bar. I've also found quite often that I can't access the content of my connections profiles unless I log out, and then there's only so much info you see. I'm not a Premium User, just a standard member.

I've also had occasions in the last few days where I'm happily reading my 'Home Page' and it just jumps off to http://www.linkedin.com/nhome/influencer-entitlement which it then can't load, so I'm basically thrown out.

Does anyone else have these sorts of issues, or is it just me?

I think some of the issues coincide with night time in the USA...... I use Internet Explorer 11.

Cheers!

I use it daily.. never have any issues... other than spammy connection requests..

I use a macbook & chrome browser...

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Originally Posted by ASW1

A post for those who use LinkedIn. I've been on it for years and seen it's growth to something that is now very relevant within my professional circles.

So I'm a fan BUT it has to be the most frustrating site that I use in terms of reliability. Frequently pages won't load and almost as often pages load with half the content they're supposed to have, or no content other than a header/menu bar. I've also found quite often that I can't access the content of my connections profiles unless I log out, and then there's only so much info you see. I'm not a Premium User, just a standard member.

I've also had occasions in the last few days where I'm happily reading my 'Home Page' and it just jumps off to http://www.linkedin.com/nhome/influencer-entitlement which it then can't load, so I'm basically thrown out.

Does anyone else have these sorts of issues, or is it just me?

I think some of the issues coincide with night time in the USA...... I use Internet Explorer 11.

Cheers!

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I'm seriously considering dumping LinkedIn sometime soon.

I get 15-25 sales calls a day to my work phone, all from folk browsing my profile and cold calling me. I have a choice of not answering any calls at all and pissing off my customers and colleagues or wasting over an hour a day simply saying no. The only reason I keep it is to help find a job when the time comes.

I dumped the LinkedIn app on my smartphone on the last update when it asked me to share my calendar and all my friends' details.

I hate it, it seems like a version of Facebook for 'thrusting' types. I tend to get folk asking me for jobs, headhunters doing the reverse and people trying to sell to me.

I used to like it but now I just get people asking me for jobs or asking if I want to buy products from their company. I get way too many recruiters adding me too, and then asking if I'm looking for work etc. It's become more of a hassle than anything else. It's still quite good to see what your ex colleagues and friends are up to in a professional capacity.

I'm on it, I don't mind people offering me jobs or trying to sell to me. I ignore any connection request from people I don't know or haven't done business with.

I do object to the FaceBookisation of it all though, there are more and more fake motivational messages, pictures of kittens, charity appeals and spammy doghseet like 'if this post gets 1000 likes I won't murder a kitten'. There is no place for that sort of thing, it's supposed to be a professional network.

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Originally Posted by Paul Stomach

I do object to the FaceBookisation of it all though, there are more and more fake motivational messages, pictures of kittens, charity appeals and spammy doghseet like 'if this post gets 1000 likes I won't murder a kitten'. There is no place for that sort of thing, it's supposed to be a professional network.

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^^^ This. I was going to say the same thing. In fact I was tempted to respond to one of the recent comments an ex-colleague had made on Linked In, with 'why is Linked In turning into Facebook?'. Caution got the better of me, thankfully.

I want to see references/links to good business articles. It's useful to know that contacts are moving on/being promoted etc. I don't want pictures of wordsearch puzzles that my 7-year old daughter would deem too easy, accompanied by thousands of comments of "The first word I saw was 'LOVE', 'MONEY', 'INTELLIGENCE' etc... "

Rant over!

It is slowly becoming Facebook for Business. Its actual usefulness is now diminishing.

Dumped it a couple of years ago for all the above reasons and a few more..........




B

http://www.joho.se/wp-content/upload...essional_x.jpg

I don't know how many times this has appeared in my timeline.

Right I am going to say it - I am recruiter / headhunter (international telecoms)!!

So I use it everyday, for literally hours. My only gripe is how it is now turned into a total money spinner, I have a business account which originally was just over £100 about 6 years ago, now it is £450 - however if when it comes to renewal the card details are out of date on their systems the cost defaults to the current price changes, my friend has the exact same account and is therefore paying £650. The all singing all dancing recruiter package which allows you to literally contact anyone and send mass mail-outs is over £1500 per year.

But they have got me by the balls because without it my job would be super tough

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Originally Posted by Jamessh

Right I am going to say it - I am recruiter / headhunter (international telecoms)!!

So I use it everyday, for literally hours. My only gripe is how it is now turned into a total money spinner, I have a business account which originally was just over £100 about 6 years ago, now it is £450 - however if when it comes to renewal the card details are out of date on their systems the cost defaults to the current price changes, my friend has the exact same account and is therefore paying £650. The all singing all dancing recruiter package which allows you to literally contact anyone and send mass mail-outs is over £1500 per year.

But they have got me by the balls because without it my job would be super tough

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Seems reasonable price for professionals like yourself.

What would you have used before LinkedIn? Why should they give you this information for negligible cost - must make your job far easier. I suspect that the great number of recruiters only exist now because of the likes of LinkedIn.

OP - have you tried clearing your IE cache and deleting any LinkedIn cookies? That may help.

I am in the position of looking for employment just now (so if you need a CISO with financial sector and telecoms experience, you know where I am ...), and LinkedIn seems to be (almost) the only game in town. While there are job boards and other sources of jobs out there, everybody refers to LinkedIn as their primary source for recruitment for advertised positions.

As for the recruitment agencies, I have heard them admit that the fees are much lower than they used to spend when most positions were advertised in the newspapers ...

I don't tend to have problems with the site, but I don't use it so much nowadays.

The app however is a bit flaky. Slow transitions between pages, invitations still showing as pending after you've accepted them - you can visit the invitations pending page days after your last visit and they'll need accepting again or the page takes a while to cache and catch up. Basic errors for such a large app in this day and age.

A recruiter's dream, speaking of LinkedIn generally but I do get useful calls as a result. Some lines of work don't have any need to be on there though. Some people are just on it for the sake of it.

I am seeing more and more issues. Consistent it is not.

As a contractor I find it very useful.

I don't experience a lot of the annoyances that others seem to experience but I am strict about who I allow as a contact.
If they're not potentially useful to me I don't pair up - it's not Facebook, it's work.

Anyone posting pictures of cats is deleted - but then that's the same for Facebook too.

Don't use it anymore, too much bulls**t :tired:

I just had someone "Endorse" my skills - but they have never dealt with me professionally and presumably have only done this in the hope that I will reciprocate.

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Originally Posted by Wild Rumpus

I just had someone "Endorse" my skills - but they have never dealt with me professionally and presumably have only done this in the hope that I will reciprocate.

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I used to wonder about that but realised LinkedIn are a bit cheeky.

When you log in, this window flashes up saying 'Endorse so-and-so for such-and-such skill'). It's designed in such a way that it's not clear where the 'No' button is so you just click through it to get it off the screen. Hey presto, you've endorsed someone you barely know.

Avoid... can be more damaging than a drunken YouTube video for your career progression.

I find linkedin useful to keep in touch with people, as I tend to work on projects for a few months / years and move on to another project and generally another team: it makes it easier to find people I would like to work with again, in particular contractors who tend to move around a lot, or people who have moved company etc..
I just ignore the invitation requests from recruiters or people I don't know, it's just a minor irritation you have to live with if you want to be in it I suppose...
I have never experienced reliability issues with the website, but then I am not on it that frequently.

It's functions do seem to be a bit random these days. I use it to remind myself of people to know - and to avoid

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Originally Posted by mrwozza70

Avoid... can be more damaging than a drunken YouTube video for your career progression.

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Why?

It's no different to having your CV on a job website, except it gets more exposure and not just to agents but to potential employers.

I tend not to bother with it nowdays.
Linkedin seems to be just an area for people to post their CV's.

Started as a great tool but as the adage goes: "If you're not paying for a service, you are the product"

I lost the remaining faith in the company when I found out that their 'free' business card app on iTunes (you take a photo of a business car you are given and the app converts the image to a file in your contacts) was actually being used by them to data mine new contact information. They have gone on to deny it but people can make up their own minds.

Social media is the scourge of our generation.

I use it regularly particularly to try to get to speak to decision makers. I will send a request being as specific as possible as you can in 300 characters.

It's amazing how many people accept the request but nothing subsequently.

I think there is a "I want to get to the magic 500+ connections" mentality.

The jobs section has become a little pointless unless you subscribe as salaries are no longer visible.

But overall I have found it useful and have connected successfully with senior exec within FTSE 100 companies. I guess it depends how you use it and what you and the other party want from it.

It has outlived its usefulness for me

As far as jobs go I keep a close eye on the Guardian and NHS on line vacancy pages

The endorse their skill button puzzles me. I have only 50 or so contacts but 5 of them constantly endorse me for this and that. Im not sure what the protocol is, so i tend to ignore them. Is it like texts, is it rude to ignore them? Im also seeing more spam people trying to link in who i have never met, and also dont view my profile first, so they must be mass mail people in certain sectors.

Come on stick your name in the thread and I'll send you an invite...... :)

Their drive to keep people using the site more often has definitely resulted in a lot of crap being posted. I don't mind the contact from recruiters at all; it takes little time to respond politely in the negative. You never know if you'll need to contact them in the future. The endorsements is the crappiest feature by a long shot.

The good thing is that it's still useful even if you don't login very often. You can use it just to keep contact details for people who may need to give you a reference in the future etc.

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Originally Posted by nurek

It's no different to having your CV on a job website, except it gets more exposure and not just to agents but to potential employers.

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Exactly - I'd be surprised if a lot of agencies weren't quite worried about LinkedIn. The average commission to fill a role over here is 13%+ of the first year's salary. I'd say it's well worth a company's time to look at filling the role themselves through LinkedIn.

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Originally Posted by AM94

Social media is the scourge of our generation.

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That's just a bit OTT.

I joined years ago out of curiosity and have absolutely no idea what it's for. Somehow amassed several hundred contacts (all of whom invited me, I've never sent an invitation) and the last time I looked, I recognised about 10% of the names. Dozens of people have apparently endorsed me for work I didn't even realise I did. Nobody tries to sell me anything, recruit me (just as well, I can't do much) or anything else. My profile just sits there in cyberspace. I've no idea what's going on or what I'm supposed to get out of it.

Your industry will probably be a big factor on how useful it is to you, plus the time you put into your profile.

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Originally Posted by Eoin

Your industry will probably be a big factor on how useful it is to you, plus the time you put into your profile.

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Ah, you need an industry? That's where I've been going wrong!

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Originally Posted by Jamessh

Right I am going to say it - I am recruiter / headhunter (international telecoms)!!

So I use it everyday, for literally hours. My only gripe is how it is now turned into a total money spinner, I have a business account which originally was just over £100 about 6 years ago, now it is £450 - however if when it comes to renewal the card details are out of date on their systems the cost defaults to the current price changes, my friend has the exact same account and is therefore paying £650. The all singing all dancing recruiter package which allows you to literally contact anyone and send mass mail-outs is over £1500 per year.

But they have got me by the balls because without it my job would be super tough

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James, it seems we're in the same business (right down to the same market!)

LinkedIn is absolutely indispensable for us. All my team use it and it's absolutely the best tool to use if you're recruiting in a niche market. If anyone asks me for advice on job seeking, one of the first things I'll advise them to do is ensure their Linkedin profile is up to date. We spend quite a bit on subscriptions but it repays itself many times over.

Like any mode of communication though, some users of it are more intelligent than others and you're bound to see a bit of spam. I get recruiters approaching me as a candidate, having read only my company name and job title and thinking I work for a Telco.

The site itself is definitely prone to being a bit moody, loading half-pages and returning odd search results at times but it's normally nothing a quick screen refresh can't fix.