LinkedIn and employment

[Skidmark]

I am currently doing a welding course and I am almost done with it. On Monday I start work placement, internship/traineeship or whatever you call it.
Now the work placement thing might land me a job, if not, I will at least have made my self a very good reference.

Now when it comes to the welding industry having a lot of references and knowing the right people can help you a lot or so I am told at least.

My question is, what role does Linkedin have? do you link people to your page when you apply to job positions as if it is some sort of C.V.? do you add your bosses and co workers? What do people usually do on Linkedin? do you find Linkedin beneficial?

[Robo]

How'd you get into welding?

[Himu]

Yes, you add your bosses and co-workers and people you've worked with. Have them fill out recommendations on LinkedIn. It's mostly a resource for connection and communication between peers and job leads. With LinkedIn you can add to the CEO of a company to your LinkedIn and message them directly your resume and application for a positio rather than jumping through HR hoops. Even the. You can add HR people and tell them to shop your resume.

[Skidmark]

How'd you get into welding?

My father kinda worked with it since he worked as an industrial engineer. Got to try mma welding when I was 13 and since then I have always considered it as a thing I can work with if I do not continue along my academic plans.

I was half-assing the last couple of years of my studies and later on just generally felt that going to uni will probably not going to be the right thing for me to do at the time. loss of motivation and so on.

I applied to a 1 year education for welding, i think it is one of the best things that I have done, it pays well and is not as hard as people think of it, I do not sit on facebook all day per say but I do not carry shit on my back all day either. In fact, statistically, the average wage for works in the industry with only 2 years experience is way more than what our teachers get.

I still have all the respect and passion for science, intellectualism and academia, but i just never saw myself being paid for doing lab work. I at least do not feel depressed and stressed plus I get a lot of extra time on my hand to do some hobbies.

[pilonv1]

I have a friend who is a recruiter who uses LinkedIn extensively, put as much information on there as you think is necessary that will help you.

With LinkedIn you can add to the CEO of a company to your LinkedIn and message them directly your resume and application for a positio rather than jumping through HR hoops

I wouldn't do this.

[Himu]

I would and it's one of the very advantages of LinkedIn. Of course, it's dependent on the field, but in my field HR games are a hazard. You want the person who actually has say in creative to be the judge of your resume and whether or not they want to interview you. Each and every interview I've had was the result of communicating directly to a person in charge, whether a supervisor or manager or director, that I want that job, and not through HR hoops and that's how you get interviews with the CEO of the company itself like I did.

[demi]

I don't see LinkedIn being useful in the welding sector - or anything "blue collar". LinkedIn is a very technological oriented site. Development, Marketing, Publishing... etc.

Just my opinion, if you really want one there's no harm. I choose not to have one since I lack the credentials to look beautiful, or any contacts.

[Himu]

I think linkedin is probably useful in his area and it's worth a shot. Because while it's blue collar work, it's also skill-based work. Skill-based work requires contacts, so there should be something, whether people looking to hire or not.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Better to be welding than being some dime a dozen analyst running queries and trying not to fall asleep.  Plus some of the welders I work with make well over $100,000.  It's a great line of work.

Anyway, I don't think LinkedIn will work for you.  Are you aiming for union welding work?  If so, I've seen the hiring process for this and a lot of has to do with seniority (whether you are a journeyman or apprentice) and how well you do on the tests.  With enough work, you probably get some great recommendations but I do know a lot of the union stuff is centered around seniority.

Good luck.

[chronovore]

It hasn't yet landed me a job, so "useful" is relative. I find it "useful" to see updates on old co-workers and see changes to their status and profile when they change companies or their role within a company.

The signal-to-noise ratio has decreased as people have connected their twitter accounts to their LinkedIn accounts, and now it's pretty common to see where they've gone to lunch. 

[chronovore]

With LinkedIn you can add to the CEO of a company to your LinkedIn and message them directly your resume and application for a positio rather than jumping through HR hoops

I wouldn't do this.

Yeah, neither would I. CEOs are rarely impressed with a candidate's willingness to ignore process and end-run the structures put in place for new hires. Unless Himumu is living in a Hollywood movie, this doesn't work.

[Himu]

The point is, contact someone who works in the dept you're pursuing instead or contacting hr. LinkedIn is great about that and one of its many advrantages.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

With LinkedIn you can add to the CEO of a company to your LinkedIn and message them directly your resume and application for a positio rather than jumping through HR hoops

I wouldn't do this.

Yeah, neither would I. CEOs are rarely impressed with a candidate's willingness to ignore process and end-run the structures put in place for new hires. Unless Himumu is living in a Hollywood movie, this doesn't work.

A candidate who pulls that kind of crap is more likely to be on the "not a chance in hell" list when it comes time for interviews.

Besides, that isn't the type of connections that people refer to.  Some random dude linking to a CEO won't mean shit to the CEO and the reasons should be obvious.  If you want to make your name known out there, participate in various organizations and get your name out there with your work.  LinkedIn won't generate great results because it's an employer's job market.  When a job gets 500 applicants, why would HR or someone like that ignore all of them and focus on some random internet person who added them to LinkedIn for who the fuck knows why?

It's why I haven't really touched my LinkedIn account in three years.  It's not really useful and I only had to do it because the company mandated that we had to for management exercises in 2009.

[Himu]

Think about all the people who send emails of their resumes and have to get through hr. many positions aren't even advertised on sites. By contacting someone from your desired dept about an interest in the company, you are cutting out the middle man. Most resumes sent via email are glossed over. I you send a good resume to someone who works there directly and has influence you may score an interview which is far more likely than doing the dance for hr.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Think about all the people who send emails of their resumes and have to get through hr. many positions aren't even advertised on sites. By contacting someone from your desired dept about an interest in the company, you are cutting out the middle man. Most resumes sent via email are glossed over. I you send a good resume to someone who works there directly and has influence you may score an interview which is far more likely than doing the dance for hr.

I agree but I'm not sure how LinkedIn fits into this picture unless it is to confirm that your friend or connection still has a job there and in what capacity.

Just linking to random managers, directors, and executives won't get you anywhere unless you know them and they can vouch for you.

[Himu]

Well, I think showing interest in a job is good enough. In my field, you get an interview by showing you can do good work through a portfolio. Many hr people working for creative companies and jobs know jack shit about what the bosses want. If you message say the art director at one firm and say"check out my resume/portfolio I'm in really interested in the designer position" and if your resume/portfolio are impressive, they will remember this. Why? Because they're the art director and they're always perusing for new talent. The goal is to make an impression and cut the middle man by contacting the source directly. Sure it's a risk, but the rewards and plentiful. I have had many a job interview this year from doing this and on my way to sealin a job thanks to LinkedIn.

[Skidmark]

I understand what you mean, especially the email your c.v. part. We were told to call directly and make it short. I called like 3 other places before I was told that I was welcome at the place that I am going to now. According to our instructors, it is even better to send your c.v. by regular mail than by email, at least that way someone will actually look at it.

[Himu]

I haven't mailed mine by regular mail but I have sent thank you cards.

[demi]

I understand what you mean, especially the email your c.v. part. We were told to call directly and make it short. I called like 3 other places before I was told that I was welcome at the place that I am going to now. According to our instructors, it is even better to send your c.v. by regular mail than by email, at least that way someone will actually look at it.

Just do what they ask. Most companies will ask you email it. Fax it. Or Snail Mail it. In that order, I've noticed.

You are in Europe, so things are probably very different to how it is usually done here.

[pilonv1]

Think about all the people who send emails of their resumes and have to get through hr. many positions aren't even advertised on sites. By contacting someone from your desired dept about an interest in the company, you are cutting out the middle man.

If you'd said HR then I would be more inclined to agree with you. But the CEO? They have enough shit to deal with without Himu-chan sending them his CV for no reason.

Regarding success off linkedin, it might be different outside the US where unemployment is lower.

[Himu]

I was wrong about CEO but many of the interviews I've had was with the CEO so it was the first thing to come to mind. The point is: contact anyone at the place you want to work at that isn't hr because fuck hr.

[CrystalGemini]

I'm in a creative field.  I haven't touched LinkedIn for years.  NETWORK is everything.  Not just who you know but ALSO what you know.  Yes there are resumes/C.V., interviews and portfolios and all that but then there's the part that you actually have to be able to do the work.  Most companies nowadays will have a probationary period (usually 90 days) where they see if you cut the bill and actually do everything you said you could.  If you're good, word will spread.  People will see your work and you will get the job.

It's what I like about my field.  Bullshitters get cut out fast.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Linkedin works great if you actually know the people youre connected too, and as they fan out across the world they might know of jobs for you and vice versa.

[ch1nchilla]

Got my job through LinkedIn. Oddly enough, I wasn't even really a fan before, but I created an account just to apply for this job-- I didn't even really set up my profile to include any details about myself or my experience... I just attached my resume and cover letter.

[chronovore]

Got my job through LinkedIn. Oddly enough, I wasn't even really a fan before, but I created an account just to apply for this job-- I didn't even really set up my profile to include any details about myself or my experience... I just attached my resume and cover letter.

Yeah, but "giant blonde gigolo in Tokyo" is a job that doesn't really require a filled out LinkedIn profile.

[recursivelyenumerable]

linked in is OK, but I got absolutely swamped with inquiries when I put my resume on monster.com - I'm STILL getting like 3 emails a day from recruiters even after I've tried to tell them all I'm already employed

[recursivelyenumerable]

linked in is OK, but I got absolutely swamped with inquiries when I put my resume on monster.com - I'm STILL getting like 3 emails a day from recruiters, months later, even after I've tried to tell them all I'm already employed