Linkedin

[PI]

For those in STEM areas: Do you find that being active or having a large number of connections on Linkedin helps in any way? I have an account, but really never log in or accept connection requests as I am reluctant to go in there and be on another social media. A colleague told me that they are there for recruiting. What has been your experience? When I post jobs on Linkedin for postdocs/staff, the selection we get is not very good or focused on the sub-specialty. So what are the pros and cons of being more active there?

[lilyb]

LinkedIn is the only social media I do. I never post anything, and it easily creates a network that I've found helpful on several occasions.

I mainly use it to contact and follow the careers of former students. This is useful for our Humanities program in all sorts of ways (look what our graduates do!). I can also recommend that current students contact willing alumni regarding advice, internships, etc.

My department has never found a job candidate via LinkedIn.

[ciao_yall]

I have been on LinkedIn for years. I use it to stay in touch with colleagues, former students, and network. I don't post much, but I do use it to research people in preparation for meetings and job interviews.

I don't consider it "social media" because it's really for professional things, not for fun, politics, etc.

This subreddit/LinkedInLunatics is a great example of what NOT to do.

[onthefringe]

I use it to help track former graduates from various programs I'm involved with for assessment purposes, but not for anything else. No doubt I should update it to reflect my six-years-ago promotion...

[hmaria1609]

I've been on LinkedIn.com for most of my career as a librarian. I'm subscribed to both alumni groups of my alma maters (college and grad/library school), library related groups, and a few light topic ones. I have a mix of personal and professional people in my network. It's always a pleasure when I get a connect invite from people I know.

[bio-nonymous]

I keep my profile updated (occasionally) and accept connections from people I know (sometimes from those who know people I know well), and sometimes reach out to those I know who aren't yet connections to connect with me. It is a good way to keep in contact with former colleagues and students (find out who is working where and doing what, etc.), and a potential plus, if you are ever considering a move to industry, your profile will likely be viewed. I do not use it as a typical "social media". Some users do post about politics and so forth (probably NOT a good idea). I also sometimes get updates about scientific things that my connections find interesting that I may not have noticed in our world of information overload. I see few cons if you don't post a bunch of controversial stuff, and a few upsides.

[jerseyjay]

I am a historian, not in STEM, so take this for what it is worth.

I have been on LinkedIn for more than a decade and have more than 300 connections. I do not really "use" it regularly, but use it to keep in touch with people I have done business with. Mainly, these are NOT people in my field, but (a) professionals with whom I have done business with, such as accountants, attorneys, editors, etc; (b) people in higher education who are not in my field, such as professors in other fields, administrators, etc; (c) former coworkers when I worked outside of academia; (d) former students. I use it to keep track of my network, and to keep it relatively up to date. I have from time to time applied to jobs that I have seen on it, but these have almost all been nonacademic jobs (when I was not working in academia). I also sometimes see jobs that would be appropriate for students and I circulate these to our departmental list.

[PI]

Many of you said to stay in touch with colleagues. Why is it different than reaching out via email? Also, do you accept connections from everyone say undergrad students in your university or those who might be currently enrolled in your class?

[jerseyjay]

Many of you said to stay in touch with colleagues. Why is it different than reaching out via email?

Email is more personal and email is better. However, people's email addresses change every time somebody gets a new job. I have one colleague whom I worked with a decade ago who has had, as far as I am aware, jobs at three different universities since then. LinkedIn is a way to keep updated (assuming somebody updates their profile).

Also, do you accept connections from everyone say undergrad students in your university or those who might be currently enrolled in your class?

The short answer is yes. I accepted connections from people I have actually dealt with. I do not accept random connections from people I have never met. I would accept a LinkedIn request from an undergrad student who is or was in my class, but not just some random undergraduate whom I have never met. I do this so my network has some meaning.

Since LinkedIn is a social media company without much social, I do not see much downside of connecting to students--I do not post pictures from the discotheque, and neither do they. I am also interested in what my students end up doing in terms of jobs, and sometimes it is useful to know a former student at a particular company or institution.

[eigen]

I use it to keep track of professional connections, both former colleagues and students.

Having a robust network helps my students network, too: they can use my network as a starting place to reach out to people for informational interviews, to make connections, etc.

I also keep active enough to teach students how to use it, and have found it useful for posting jobs ads: our last open position got more people through LinkedIn's job ad than any other service.

Because of the benefit in networking, it's also the only platform I'll connect with current students on, since it's 100% professional and 0% personal, at least my profile.