Is being on LinkedIn important? In all fields?

[Anonymous]

Having this discussion with DH now. He's been out of a job for a year in the informatics research field, has a small network of ex-colleagues, and refuses to be on LinkedIn because he values his privacy.
A friend just told him he would refuse to hire an applicant who was not on LinkedIn.

What do you think? Do you have a LinkedIn account? Did you hire someone or were you hired yourself thanks in part to LinkedIn?

[Anonymous]

Old colleague from previous job contacted me through LinkedIn. He was looking to move; we had a position. He got an interview. It ended up not working out but it was very close to happening. The fact that we were both on LinkedIn really facilitated that.

Friend of a friend looking for work saw there was a job at my company and saw through LinkedIn that her friend knew me. Mutual friend put us in touch with each other. Don't know that anything will happen here because I don't know the people involved all that well and I'm not sure the job is a good fit - but that's how networking works, isn't it? You just keep trying to make a connection. LinkedIn can make that a lot easier.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to his field because I'm not in it, but I think people now do view it as strange if you have no online presence whatsoever. I know when I get interviewee names, the first thing I do is google them to see what comes up. If the person is relatively young (like age 45 or less) and nothing comes up at all, I do view that as strange though not disqualifying by any means. Does he have any kind of online presence?

The privacy issues with Linkedin are overblown, I think. I wouldn't (and haven't) put my whole resume up there with descriptions of my work, but I don't see anything wrong with just listing my schools and jobs. Frankly if someone wanted to find that info, they could google around and find it. It gives you enough of a Linkedin presence to be considered ok but not so much of a presence that you feel like your whole resume is out there for the world to see.

[Anonymous]

His friend who wouldn't hire someone for not being on linkedin, might be the exception--that seems a little excessive to me. However, if it came up in an interview and the applicant stated they didn't for privacy reasons, the interviewer might think the person had something to hide.

I don't think posting to linkedin would hurt, but it's not the end all be all. (I know someone who's deceased and his profile is still on there.)

[Anonymous]

He probably should put a profile on, not to leave any stone unturned. If he's networking, it can only help.

[Anonymous]

He can either join the 21st century workforce, or join the 53%

[Anonymous]

He needs to be on there. That's like saying I don't want to have a resume, but want people to hire me. He doesn't need to freak out over privacy like on Facebook.

[Anonymous]

I credit LinkedIn with helping me land my current job. I don't think it is a must these days to actually be on linkedin or be looked at as strange but I do think it can only help in your networking. It REALLY did for me.

[Anonymous]

I have an interview on Monday for a company I worked for 10 years ago. I had the HR manager on LinkedIn and she's been able to keep up with my career. We've spoken over the years when jobs come up that I could be a good match for. My current position I landed because I knew someone from high school and college. When I googled the company, the LinkedIn page came up and said I had a 1st degree connection. I never would have known otherwise. As much as your husband doesn't like it, he needs an online presence.

[Anonymous]

I have an online presence but no LinkedIn or Facebook account. Would that be considered a problem?

[Anonymous]

I get contacted by recruiters on LinkedIn and make it an effort to keep it up to date. Being a CPA, it is also important that I show an active license. Finally, I list a couple of my hobbies and the fact that I am reasonably fluent in a foreign language. These things are usually not on my resume so LinkedIn is a good way to show that I am not just a boring numbers person, but can be pretty interesting to work with. In terms of privacy, do I really care if people know where I went to school or the fact that I like art?

[Anonymous]

Both DH and a woman I just hired don't use FB or LinkedIn. DH just got a new job. I think people google and if nothing comes up they just think. - "huh. Ok." I did when googlin the woman I just hired, and I'm very active online.

Not having a linkedin profile is NOT the same as not having a resume. The guy who won't hire anyone who isn't on LinkedIn is bizarre.

[Anonymous]

He's losing more by not being on LinkedIn. He might be recruited, it's also a great networking and job searching tool.

I'm not following his privacy concerns. What does he fear? Does he shop online? People used to be afraid to do that. I'm not judging, just trying to understand.

[Anonymous]

P.S. As for his field, he should search. The jobs he's been applying to, are folks on Linkedin or not? And yes there are some folks who consider being on Linkedin a given.

[Anonymous]

I'm in a different field than your DH, OP, but I'm absolutely sold on LinkedIn. I've been approached by multiple recruiters for some really interesting jobs at great companies (Google, MicroSoft, and Oracle, to name a few). I'm not in IT, but in HR btw. I'm happy at my current job, but if I were out of work or wanted to switch companies, I'd absolutely use LinkedIn.