Is LinkedIn Worth It?

Has It Helped You?

By Mitchell Slepian

LinkedIn officially launched on May 5, 2003. I remember joining it shortly after. I worked at Vonage. I was at my desk when someone called to do business with us. The caller mentioned she found me because she saw I was connected to a colleague of hers on LinkedIn. That was part of the platform’s original purpose – to provide connections. I really didn’t know the person she mentioned, whom she connected me with. But my eyes opened.

I began connecting with more and more people. I am careful with who I connect with. Many people probe your profile and try to scam you for money. They say they are recruiters and resume writers, and that they hold various professional credentials. They impersonate legitimate employees at companies such as Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and many others. Those companies often post notifications on their websites to alert users to these fraudsters. They tell how they will write your corporation’s content and provide a fake copy as an example. They always ask for your credit card. I have never fallen prey to these shenanigans. Yeah, Facebook, Instagram, and X have scammers. But in my experience, LinkedIn attracts more.

I know many people who are obsessed with making new connections and are posting routinely. I do both. I always hope it’ll lead to bigger things. We all want that. Has it? Not yet. I hope.

Companies post. Of course, those who do it right build their business. It can be great for that. For the last year or two, I have had a Premium membership. I did that a few years ago and canceled. I decided to try it again. It gives you first dibs on its job board, InMail, and other good things, but only in limited ways.

But the question raised is, is it worth it? My views have increased. I post my blogs and corporate content, and I’m a top poster on the Nikon Z users’ page. For the most part, the same people like and comment. The bigger question is, do people read what you post? Meaning, I add links to things. I can pretty much see who is clicking on them. For the most part, the LinkedIn audience does not. I do better with emails, Facebook, and Instagram. 

People write about how to do better on LinkedIn. People talk about it all the time. Have I gotten any interviews by applying to roles on its job boards? Yes. Has it helped me land a job? No. Other job boards have worked better. Much better.

Bottom line, it is important to use LinkedIn. But one must not rely on it as much as some do. The key things are to use many of its competitors and be careful who you connect with on LinkedIn. The same goes for other sites.  Will I renew Premium? Probably. It does offer some pluses. Is it the best platform? No.

But I am sure I will see ‘ya on LinkedIn and the other sites.