YMMV. I got my current position after a recruiter saw my LinkedIn profile (that was about 5 years old!) and contacted me last summer. I wasn't looking at the time, but it didn't take much to convince me to leave :-)
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That said, for a freelancer, LinkedIn has less value unless you are active in the same communities that your customers are.
If I was looking for a f/t job I might use LinkedIn, mainly because so many recruiters use it. In my own career, both with f/t jobs and freelancing, referrals and word-of-mouth always work best. A good recruiter can put you in front of hiring managers, but I would prefer finding a good recruiter face-to-face rather than on LinkedIn.
I think the worst way to find a job is filling out applications online and blindly sending in hundreds of resumes. LinkedIn at least sits a notch or two above that.
Comments
YMMV. I got my current position after a recruiter saw my LinkedIn profile (that was about 5 years old!) and contacted me last summer. I wasn't looking at the time, but it didn't take much to convince me to leave :-)
[edit] That said, for a freelancer, LinkedIn has less value unless you are active in the same communities that your customers are.
If I was looking for a f/t job I might use LinkedIn, mainly because so many recruiters use it. In my own career, both with f/t jobs and freelancing, referrals and word-of-mouth always work best. A good recruiter can put you in front of hiring managers, but I would prefer finding a good recruiter face-to-face rather than on LinkedIn.
I think the worst way to find a job is filling out applications online and blindly sending in hundreds of resumes. LinkedIn at least sits a notch or two above that.