Author Topic: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?  (Read 7619 times)

PeterParker

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Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« on: October 30, 2019, 10:55:56 AM »
Hello all --

I've been at my current place of employment for a while. It's time to move on. Company is on the decline and there's no more upward mobility for me here.


I'm just wondering --- I polished up the resume and have been hitting the job applications, but a lot of friends + family have been touting the value of LinkedIn.

I never had a profile -- I value my privacy a bit. But I wouldn't mind building one for an hour if it means better career/ search visibility.

That said, to be seen you have to make the profile public of course --- and my boss is on LinkedIn and would probably see that I had newly created one at some point. Which would be an obvious signal that I'm looking (there really is little other purpose).


Should I just make one anyway?

Or are the potential benefits minimal vs. applying to 20-30 positions with a polished up resume anyway, vs. tipping off the boss that I'm looking?

HawkeyeNFO

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2019, 10:59:57 AM »
I got my current job from my LinkedIN profile.  Plus other businesses have asked me to interview since then.  Good value for the price (free).  Yes, your boss might see you on there, but in this day and age, he probably won't care.  Everyone has a profile these days.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2019, 11:02:46 AM by HawkeyeNFO »

BlueHouse

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2019, 11:17:38 AM »
I've had two consulting gigs come as a result of Linked In.  So yeah, I think it's worth it.

My advice:  create your profile, and immediately find your boss and ask him to connect.  Beat him to the punch and show him there's nothing worth hiding.  Don't think of LinkedIn as a place to find a job.  Think of it as a way to stay in touch with former co-workers and to network to stay on top of your game.  if the boss asks why you just joined, ask him why he's on it and say "same".


solon

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2019, 11:20:19 AM »
I have the same concerns. I already have a profile, but it's older and doesn't reflect all my skills. I'm afraid if I bring it current and polish it up, my boss will think I'm looking.

(Which I am.)

DeepEllumStache

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2019, 11:37:16 AM »
For a new account, BlueHouse's recommendation is perfect. A large majority of professionals have LinkedIn accounts so it's not weird.

For a current account, there's a "share with network" toggle so that you don't blast notify your entire network that you updated things. Turn it off so your boss doesn't get a notification. Unless your boss is actively checking LinkedIn (which tells you something too), they won't know. If your boss comments that you updated LinkedIn, say some friends were teasing you about not having it updated and you caved. We're open to teasing you if you'd like this to be a true statement.

BlueHouse

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2019, 12:02:36 PM »
I have the same concerns. I already have a profile, but it's older and doesn't reflect all my skills. I'm afraid if I bring it current and polish it up, my boss will think I'm looking.

(Which I am.)

In your privacy settings, you can select not to notify your network.

Go to settings/privacy / "how others see your LinkedIn activity
Then select "Share job changes, education changes, and work anniversaries from profile:  Choose whether your network is notified"  Select NO



Proud Foot

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2019, 01:16:08 PM »
Of all social media platforms I am the most active on LinkedIn. I see it as a way to network with other professionals and maintain contact with former associates. I also treat it as a way to keep my resume "out there" without actually sending resumes or applying for jobs. There is also an option to show recruiters you are open to job opportunities. While they do not 100% guarantee complete privacy they do claim to take steps to keep recruiters from your current employer to see that you are open to opportunities. And honestly if you are now adding a profile, if a recruiter from your employer sees it you can play innocent and claim you were unaware of that feature.

Like HawkeyeNFO said, everyone has a profile anymore. My opinion is that not having one might be seen as a negative.

reeshau

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2019, 03:52:46 AM »
I have the same concerns. I already have a profile, but it's older and doesn't reflect all my skills. I'm afraid if I bring it current and polish it up, my boss will think I'm looking.

(Which I am.)

In your privacy settings, you can select not to notify your network.

Go to settings/privacy / "how others see your LinkedIn activity
Then select "Share job changes, education changes, and work anniversaries from profile:  Choose whether your network is notified"  Select NO

I would also note that even if you choose the "open to job opportunities" section (recruiter notification) LinkedIn will filter this information from recruiters from the same company.  This might not be perfect if you work for an organization of related companies, but you can go this far and still fly under the radar from your own HR team.

Papa bear

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2019, 06:11:15 AM »
Make the LinkedIn profile.  Your resume and chance that your current company finds out that you’re looking increased a lot more by having your resume out there and applying to jobs. Especially if you applied through a job board.

You’re on the clock now.  Time to get an offer before the cat is out of the bag.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Linea_Norway

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2019, 07:20:10 AM »
I have had a LinkedIn profile for a number of years, started when I first wanted to change my job, two jobs ago. It looks good if you have connections, so immediately connect to people you know, including valuable co-workers. This might be new hires who worked some interesting place. Or any of your coworkers could have a spouse working some interesting job.

Also, when I finish some extra education or finish a new project at work, I update my LinkedIn CV with it.

Me previous employer asked me to be the mentor of 2 new hires, young guys just from school. There wasn't so much we had in common at work, so I wasn't sure what to teach them. But I did at least advice them to create a LinkedIn profile, as a good career move. As we worked as consultants, it would also be good for our customers that they could check us out on LinkedIn. But not in the least place for their own future.

ender

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2019, 08:50:56 AM »
This doesn't help many of you who haven't done this, but I actively maintain my LinkedIn profile and update it every 3-6 months on a regular basis, which helps a bit with this.

frugalnacho

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2019, 12:11:28 PM »
I think you are overthinking it.  You don't need to be open to your current company that you are actively looking, but it would be foolish of you not to have an updated resume and they know that.  Linkedin is just a professional networking site, and doesn't necessarily mean you are actively looking.  I got my last job via a recruiter on linkedin.  It hasn't helped much since then, but I keep it updated just like I keep my resume updated because why not? Even if you aren't actively looking you should have an updated linkedin account and resume.  I mean you might get a pink slip by the end of the day for a variety of reasons completely outside of your control.  You may think you have no chance of being fired, but companies go bankrupt or get sold or get shut down for a variety of reasons and IMO you should be reasonably prepared just in case.  I don't think it will be seen as suspicious at all as long as you aren't making posts about actively looking for a job. 

startbyservingothers

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2019, 08:05:17 PM »
I do think you're smart to be careful.   I agree 100% with the people here that having linked-in should not be construed as looking for employment.

But you should be prepared with responses in case anyone asks.  You can use anything as a reason, (Plenty of good ones in other posts above) but the important thing is not to mention that you would entertain other job offers and if directly asked whether you are job hunting tell them no.   In my ('right to work') state, notifying your employer that you are searching for other employment gives the employer cause to terminate you and deny unemployment.  -  While many other states probably wouldn't deny unemployment in that situation ,  I'd rather be safe than sorry.***

*** Actually Linked In is the perfect way to look for jobs without declaring as much.   If you have a skill set in high demand, you can field offers from other companies, while honestly being able to tell your employer (if asked) that you are not looking for any other job.

Capsu78

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #13 on: November 02, 2019, 12:02:05 PM »
Early adapter on LI here-  My wife has been approached by both in house and external recruiters many times because of her profile. She has taken 2 executive level positions after they found her on LI.

To flip the equation a bit,  what message does it sent to potential employers when they "can't" find digital evidence of your career track?

I

maizefolk

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2019, 12:18:44 PM »
Early adapter on LI here-  My wife has been approached by both in house and external recruiters many times because of her profile. She has taken 2 executive level positions after they found her on LI.

To flip the equation a bit,  what message does it sent to potential employers when they "can't" find digital evidence of your career track?

LinkedIn isn't as big in my field, but I still keep one and try to update it once or twice a year. That last sentence is particularly important though. Once you move past entry level positions, making sure you have some kind of digital footprint seems to be extraordinary important for being taken seriously as a candidate.

BicycleB

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2019, 01:09:30 PM »
Supporting all replies to date, especially the one that you're a little weird if you're not on it.

LinkedIn is common, innocuous, helpful, and defensible. Go for it.

One trick I've heard: search for recruiters (and maybe employers) in your field after your profile is up to date, and read THEIR profiles. Apparently many of them have a feature that then tends to bring you to their attention. Depending on your field, being contacted by recruiters who are hiring is a thing. Which you can prompt without your boss knowing at all.

Another trick: search for people in your field and look at the ones with recent job changes. If they moved up, either in title or quality of employer, study their profiles and make yours similar.

maizefolk

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2019, 01:48:04 PM »
Early adapter on LI here-  My wife has been approached by both in house and external recruiters many times because of her profile. She has taken 2 executive level positions after they found her on LI.

To flip the equation a bit,  what message does it sent to potential employers when they "can't" find digital evidence of your career track?

LinkedIn isn't as big in my field, but I still keep one and try to update it once or twice a year. That last sentence is particularly important though. Once you move past entry level positions, making sure you have some kind of digital footprint seems to be extraordinary important for being taken seriously as a candidate.
YMMV.  I'm in a technical field, haven't had a LI profile (or any other social media for that matter) in years, and had no trouble changing jobs when I wanted to.  And that's at the Director/Senior Manager level.

If people google your name plus your job/field, do you come up?

It's quite possible it truly is simply a question of different expectations for different fields, but to be clear there are lots of ways to have a digital footprint that have zero to do with social media.

Proud Foot

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2019, 10:05:42 AM »
YMMV.  I'm in a technical field, haven't had a LI profile (or any other social media for that matter) in years, and had no trouble changing jobs when I wanted to.  And that's at the Director/Senior Manager level.

If people google your name plus your job/field, do you come up?

It's quite possible it truly is simply a question of different expectations for different fields, but to be clear there are lots of ways to have a digital footprint that have zero to do with social media.
Nope, no results.  I'm practically un-googleable, by choice.  You can search my full name and address and get nothing but junk, with the only real results buried a few pages down.  And my field is IT.

In an IT field, particularly if it is security related, could the lack of results be seen as a positive?

secondcor521

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #18 on: November 06, 2019, 11:32:18 AM »
Your manager may care.  As a former manager, I encouraged my people to develop their careers, even if it meant they were leaving my team or my company.  I worked to be non-egoist and selfless about it.  Some (most?) managers/companies are more possessive and insecure about it, though.

HR probably won't care, especially if your company is anything other than tiny.  They're constantly replacing talent, and they know at the end of the day it's a continuous job market out there.  If you get a better offer and leave, they won't take it personally.  At the most, they might try to collect a data point from you to monitor trends (are they losing people because of bad culture, low pay, or some other factor) to try to address in a systematic way.

js82

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #19 on: November 06, 2019, 05:43:27 PM »
I have the same concerns. I already have a profile, but it's older and doesn't reflect all my skills. I'm afraid if I bring it current and polish it up, my boss will think I'm looking.

(Which I am.)

I'll be updating my LinkedIn profile soon for the same reason, and I take precisely the opposite view.

Yes, they might notice.  If they do, GOOD.

In the event that your current organization offers you something to entice you to stay, you've already won.  If they don't, no loss.  If your organization is the type of place that would think about holding this against you, there's only one answer: run - far and fast.

Chris Pascale

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2019, 09:02:35 AM »
I have always thought LinkdIn is stupid, but last week started a profile at the suggestion of a contact who brought me to the US Coast Guard Academy as a guest lecturer. His point was that everyone now looks at it to get an initial look at you.

What always turned me off were the emails stating "Bill invites you to join his network." As such, I started the profile with an email account I use for junk mail only so that none of my friends are "invited" by me.

Good luck on your job search. Keep us updated.

Chris Pascale

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2019, 09:06:16 AM »
I have the same concerns. I already have a profile, but it's older and doesn't reflect all my skills. I'm afraid if I bring it current and polish it up, my boss will think I'm looking.

(Which I am.)

I'll be updating my LinkedIn profile soon for the same reason, and I take precisely the opposite view.

Yes, they might notice.  If they do, GOOD.

In the event that your current organization offers you something to entice you to stay, you've already won.  If they don't, no loss.  If your organization is the type of place that would think about holding this against you, there's only one answer: run - far and fast.

I like your attitude. I've always let employers know when I was looking. Some have criticized me for it, and others asked what they could do to make me stay.

bognish

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #22 on: November 09, 2019, 08:59:18 PM »
Linkedin is also a good way to find out if your boss has any connections at the company you are going to apply to. When I was last looking for a job there were a few non-ideal postings that I passed on applying to simply because someone there was in my bosses network. I assumed as soon as I applied the company would call my current boss and ask about me. If it was a perfect job I would take that risk, but not for a maybe.
Its also a good way to keep up with long lost coworkers or managers for references. Its about the only way anyone who ever worked for me would have of tracking me down if they needed a reference check.

Loren Ver

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #23 on: November 10, 2019, 06:02:07 AM »
Do you have friends/colleagues at different places?  If so, one of them could "ask" you to make a profile so you can more easily keep in touch/network.  That's why I built my profile.  Pretty innocuous. 

frugalnacho

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #24 on: November 11, 2019, 07:25:46 AM »
Linkedin is also a good way to find out if your boss has any connections at the company you are going to apply to. When I was last looking for a job there were a few non-ideal postings that I passed on applying to simply because someone there was in my bosses network. I assumed as soon as I applied the company would call my current boss and ask about me. If it was a perfect job I would take that risk, but not for a maybe.
Its also a good way to keep up with long lost coworkers or managers for references. Its about the only way anyone who ever worked for me would have of tracking me down if they needed a reference check.

I think most places have a little more sense and discretion than that.  They know how the game works and immediately calling up your boss/current employer and saying "hey bognish just applied to work at our company, can you tell us about him?" could be detrimental to you.  A lot of them won't even contact your current employer without permission even once you are pretty far into the interview process.  As a general rule I allow them to contact previous employers, but NOT my current employer.

rocketpj

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #25 on: November 12, 2019, 01:43:54 AM »
I had a friend whose managers saw him link with a competitor.  They called him in and gave him a raise and promotion.

Presumably it could go the other way as well.

GardenBaker

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #26 on: October 05, 2020, 08:30:30 AM »
Glad you've posted this topic. I just got notification that the company owner checked my Linkedin profile. I'm relatively new to Linkedin in the last month and I'm looking, but it's not public on my profile. Crossing my fingers he doesn't care and just looked at my profile as normal networking. I'm the only one in the company besides him with a profile, but everyone else doesn't care enough about networking or doesn't even know how LinkedIn works.

OtherJen

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2020, 08:37:42 AM »
My current full-time job originated as a cold contact on LinkedIn from a company looking to hire a freelancer with my skill set (I wasn't looking). My current side-hustle freelance contract also cold-contacted me via LinkedIn, and a previous gig resulted from a connection with a grad school peer.

In summary, I'm a fan.

Sibley

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #28 on: October 05, 2020, 09:10:02 AM »
Glad you've posted this topic. I just got notification that the company owner checked my Linkedin profile. I'm relatively new to Linkedin in the last month and I'm looking, but it's not public on my profile. Crossing my fingers he doesn't care and just looked at my profile as normal networking. I'm the only one in the company besides him with a profile, but everyone else doesn't care enough about networking or doesn't even know how LinkedIn works.

I frequently look at people's profiles because I'm trying to remember their backgrounds. Could be LI was just easier than digging up your resume.

maizefolk

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #29 on: October 05, 2020, 09:22:40 AM »
I also use LinkedIn as a way to refresh myself about who people are/what they do before meetings. Doesn't work very well for academics, but a lot of people in the private sector are good about 1) having profiles 2) keeping them up to date. It helps a lot.

OtherJen, do you do anything special in terms of how you use LinkedIn/present yourself on the site? I've come to realize that there's a lot of undocumented knowledge floating around about what works and what doesn't work on LinkedIn and being based in academia I'm exposed to almost none of it.

OtherJen

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #30 on: October 05, 2020, 09:30:55 AM »
I also use LinkedIn as a way to refresh myself about who people are/what they do before meetings. Doesn't work very well for academics, but a lot of people in the private sector are good about 1) having profiles 2) keeping them up to date. It helps a lot.

OtherJen, do you do anything special in terms of how you use LinkedIn/present yourself on the site? I've come to realize that there's a lot of undocumented knowledge floating around about what works and what doesn't work on LinkedIn and being based in academia I'm exposed to almost none of it.

Honestly, I wish I knew! I haven't had any training in SEO or other marketing strategies. My husband is hoping to be out on the job market next year and I'd love to understand how to help him maximize LinkedIn.

I think in my case, my profile gets picked up by searches with certain keyword combos, and there aren't too many people who have my exact skill set (my background is academic biomed research but I've worked in research publication support for years). It definitely seems important to highlight any unique skills or fields.

BicycleB

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #31 on: October 05, 2020, 10:39:44 AM »
In past years, I've been told that if you click on / peer into the profiles of recruiters in your field, they tend to get alerted or see you higher in their searches.

I would assume that updates to your profile raise your search availability. Last time I checked, there's a setting that determines whether your updates are public/private. I think that if someone notes you as someone to follow or is a first-level connection (LinkedIn equivalent of a friend), the public setting means they get a poke when you update. Could lead to interest.

I will defer to anyone up to date on these!

bbqbonelesswing

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #32 on: October 05, 2020, 10:45:59 AM »
I don't think an employee making a LinkedIn account is a red flag. Just about everyone I know is on there at this point.

You can set your profile to let recruiters know you're open to opportunities, and this will also hide the status from your employer. I've had mine set up like this for a long time and nobody at work has ever said anything. Meanwhile, I get a steady flow of recruiter messages.

frugalnacho

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #33 on: October 05, 2020, 11:01:06 AM »
I get notifications from linkedIn telling me how many people have recently viewed my profile.  It tells me the names of those people, but often also obfuscates most of the names, although it always lets me know how many of those views have the job title "recruiter".

I have my "signal your interest to recruiters" setting set to "no".  I still get contacted by recruiters some time.  I currently have a recruiter trying to poach me for a similar position.   When I had the setting on "yes" I would get contacted by recruiters all the time.

BicycleB

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #34 on: October 05, 2020, 11:17:49 AM »
I think the level of recruiter messages partly varies based on profession.

Perhaps as an academic, the number of expected messages would be smaller in maizefolk's case, compared to someone in say software or engineering?

BiggerFishToFI

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #35 on: October 05, 2020, 06:30:58 PM »
Would you stay at your current job if your boss treated you better or offered you more money?

Do you have any sort of FU money?

Personally, I’ve made the greatest leaps in my career (both financially and work-life balance) when my employer has felt threatened by my commitment to them.

If you are a somewhat valuable employee, I believe it is in your best interest that your boss knows that you are looking for other positions all the time, in my opinion of course :)

MrTurtle

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #36 on: October 05, 2020, 06:42:57 PM »
Definitely make one because it helps tremendously.  Just take the same things you wrote on your resume and put it on your LinkedIn profile.  Your current boss won't think it's suspicious.  Even when you check that box for "actively searching," only recruiters will see it.  Oh yeah, don't add recruiters from the company you work for. 

Here's my case study:  I lost my job in April and checked a box on LinkedIn to let recruiters know I'm available.  Days later, my now-current employer contacted me through LinkedIn for a position they weren't even advertising.  They ended up offering me 25% more than my previous employer paid, in a lower COL area.  My job search lasted all of 5 weeks.  I'd say that made updating my LinkedIn profile a good use of time.  Either that or I was getting FUUUUUCKED at my previous job, or maybe a little of both. 

So yes, make a LinkedIn profile and while you're on the internet, get a salary report from one of those websites that does salary reports so you know what your skills are worth, unlike the sucker I was last year.


markbike528CBX

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #37 on: October 05, 2020, 09:29:46 PM »
PTF mostly.

I'm retired and I just brushed up my LinkedIn profile for the fun of it. 
I took a skill quiz on HTML and failed, but then took the Excel test and passed.

 While I was farting about, an old colleague messaged me, so we connected again. 
The colleague is currently working at a place I used to work at many years ago.  Apparently, not much changes at that place.

My vote for OP is to do the LinkedIn account.

MissPeach

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #38 on: October 06, 2020, 11:40:31 AM »
In my field a lot of recruiters are using it similar to how sites like Monster or Indeed were used years ago. I've gotten a few job offers and interviews from there. I'm not huge on social media (I like my privacy too) but I would at least put up a profile.

force majeure

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #39 on: October 07, 2020, 01:39:19 PM »
I turned off notifications,
switched on, open to recruiters.
Also, have profile set to "invisible" - i can look at other peoples profiles, they dont know its me.

Imma

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #40 on: October 07, 2020, 02:05:28 PM »
I am starting my second job found through LinkedIn soon! So I'm a fan. I l'm 30 and I've only sent one job application in my life, for my first "college level" job. Other than that I've always been recruited or (as a teenager/student) assigned through temp agencies. I keep in touch with recruiters, especially the ones who have given me jobs in the past. Imho it's often easier to progress in your career by moving to a new company rather than an internal promotion. I wish it wasn't like that, I'd love to stay with an organization for a longer period of time. But it seems like that's not what reality is like these days. So I keep my LinkedIn updated all the time (so it's not seen as suspiscious). And what I like is that by working through a recruiter, I get to discuss salary range before even talking to a future employer. In my field it's not common to list salary in the job advertisement and I've heard stories of people spending a lot of time doing interviews and all kinds of assignments before they find out what the future employer is willing to pay.

BussoV6

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #41 on: October 08, 2020, 03:00:46 AM »
The company I work for encourages professional staff to set up a linkedIn profile. We have developed quite a lot of business as a result of initial contact via LinkedIn.

Go for it...

BlueHouse

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Re: Value of LinkedIn, hiding from boss?
« Reply #42 on: October 08, 2020, 08:50:31 AM »
...

OtherJen, do you do anything special in terms of how you use LinkedIn/present yourself on the site? I've come to realize that there's a lot of undocumented knowledge floating around about what works and what doesn't work on LinkedIn and being based in academia I'm exposed to almost none of it.

When I was still relatively new to my current career (about 15 years ago), I joined LinkedIn and was very active with it.  I never set my account to looking for jobs, yet I've had two contracts arise from it and hundreds more that I'm not interested in.  I attribute my success on it to creating groups.  I was no expert, but no one else had created these very niche, subset groups.  I use a few software products that are popular in my industry, so I started the "[product] Working Group".  I'm not an expert, but I wanted to get better and I wanted to have easy access to the people who are experts with that product.  Then I used attendee lists from  conferences I had attended that are related to that software product, or at least to the industry, and emailed anybody I could find to personally invite them to join the Linked In Group. (LinkedIn has options for inviting people...you just supply their email address). 

Then I did the same thing for another software product that I have actually never even used, but that is common in my industry.  Then I did the same with a certification that is used in my industry as a "study group".  Great success! 

Not only did I get to network with all the leaders in the field and get free help when I ran into a stumbling block, but when companies/recruiters are searching for someone in my field, they use those product names as keyword searches and I come to the top of the list because not only am I associated with that group, I'm the OWNER/MANAGER. 

I also make it a point, when I receive what looks like an interesting job lead, even if I'm not interested, to send the lead to some other contact in one of these groups.  It's the easiest method of networking....think about how you feel when a friend of yours recommends you for a job.  I do this all the time, and now all of those people think about me when they need to fill a vacancy.