Re: A recruitment agency's wet dream
I've been on LinkedIn for four years. It works for me and it helps me make money. I manage a LinkedIn Group with over 21,000 members. Benefiting from LinkedIn is easy ONLY if you never, never, NEVER accept a connection from someone you don't know. LinkedIn is not Facebook. It's not social networking, it's PROFESSIONAL networking. Quality, not quantity, of contacts counts. I won't accept a connection from someone that I haven't had personal contact with, such as a phone call. Emails don't count as "personal contact".
In four years I have connected with three recruiters. Since I have 150 connections and my profile states I only connect with people I know I get connection requests from recruiters weekly, practically begging me to connect with them. I refuse the connection, then click "I don't know this person". LinkedIn flags that profile.
Did you accept a connection from a stranger because you hope that stranger wants to make money FOR you? WRONG! That stranger is hoping to make money OFF you! Waiting for that magic PM from a stranger contact that says "Hey! I want to pay you money to _____ !" That is never going to happen.
LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers) are the worst. Many of them are fake profiles and harvest your contact information.
Join LinkedIn Groups that are relevant to your field AND are managed properly. Join in on discussions and be insightful, relevant, and DIFFERENT. Show insight into your business that nobody else sees. Opportunities will come
If you see job posts in a Group's Discussions area, if you see non-relevant discussions, if you see "make money blogging" posts, if you see "How to find hidden jobs" spam, then that Group is managed badly and you cannot trust what's posted there, and you need to leave that Group immediately.
Again - only accept connections from people you know. Only accept connections from recruiters you are actively working with. The LinkedIn benefits will come, yes they will.