I keep hearing that utilizing LinkedIn is a great way to find a new job, but it has been practically useless to me. My profile is acceptable and I post on occasion, but the thought of "networking" with random people on the internet just so I can potentially work with them in real life makes me consider homelessness instead.

Have any of you had any luck on that site?
How do you guys do it?
Do you know of any eng. or manufacturing jobs where you don't currently work?

I actually found my last two jobs through LinkedIn, with the last being in 2022. As I start a new job search I plan on using it as well. However, I will say it has become much less of a tool as it seems to have a lot of spam accounts and messages on it now.

I used to be very passive like you on LinkedIn. But seeing how crappy the market is, I figured it’s better to be proactive instead of waiting for a fire to install smoke detectors.

So I do regularly schedule LinkedIn posts 2x/wk and did a major profile rebrand which led me to increase my connections by 20% and got solicited for job opportunities that offer premium rates. In other words instead of I have to chase opportunities, opportunities chase me. Huge game changer.

Now I can also describe the issue from someone’s 2nd or 3rd degree connection point of view. Too often I get random solicitation from job seekers wanting an internal reference to a job posting. I don’t know these people. I don’t know their quality of work. I don’t know if they have abrasive personalities. Why the hell would I risk my professional reputation for you? Amazingly these are how many people treat networking. Like that friend who only reaches out to you to borrow money. How likely are you to help?

Now on the other hand if someone built a good online reputation and demonstrates professional work and thought process I’d recommend that stranger gladly.

EDIT: Networking and posting on LinkedIn isn't just about visibility—it's about "warming up" the algorithms. When you're active, you're more likely to surface in Recruiter-side searches and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Keep in mind that many recruiters manage the "hidden job market"—roles that are filled through headhunting and referrals without ever being posted on public job boards.

I got a job thanks to LinkedIn in 2020. It was with a huge pharma, and a woman I had worked with thirty years prior at a different company had become President of one of the divisions of that pharma. She wasn't "random," and I had kept in touch with her, solely on LinkedIn, over all those years -- not a lot, but enough that her positive memory of me thirty years ago was kept alive. I congratulated her on her promotions at our former company, and on her move to the big pharma, and her promotion to Division President at that pharma.

I messaged her on LinkedIn, asking her to let the hiring people know that I would be worth considering, and to pay attention to my resume even though I'd been VP in my career and the job was HR Manager and not the top spot at the site. I wasn't looking to be the top dog anymore. She did, and I got the job.

I've also increased my connections through my LinkedIn networking, which has helped me in the past.

I even keep up now that I'm two years from retirement and have no interest in finding another job -- if I'm fired tomorrow, I'll just retire sooner. But it never hurts to maintain connection with former colleagues and others in my profession. Who knows, maybe I'll want to do some consulting or project work someday.

"How do you guys do it?" By being sure to congratulate my connections on their achievements, by wishing them a happy birthday, by sending articles I think they'll be interested in.

It sounds like you're an introvert. So am I. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can connect and communicate with your network without actually having to see them in person.

Linkedin isn't about networking with random people, its about keeping connections with people you have met. That way when their employer/department has an empty position you already have someone on the inside.

I found a job via LinkedIn but that was years ago. Lately it seems to be far less useful. I've always found that real networking happens in real life. I've stayed in touch with contacts via LinkedIn, but the idea of "meeting" people there, or reaching out to strangers, just seems odd and awkward to me.

I concur - the way I see it, there are lost of people in LinkedIn who are only there to feed their egos. Otherwise there's little value in having an account

It used to be helpful for me when I started out in my career now it’s flooded with AI disruption posts from job seekers and recruiters giving bad advice. I’m actively working to change the algorithm and only connect based on actual interests

From my experience people who tout the importance of LinkedIn already have strong and useful connections. An uncle who's a high ranking lawyer, his son who went to a top class university, LinkedIn allows them to check in with people who are at companies they might want to work at and leverage that.

For most people, it's a marginally more useful job board because it has a chat function with recruiters, but they'll call you if they want to talk to you anyway

I found my last two jobs through LinkedIn. I had been laid off when I was looking and I think both times I applied for fewer than 100 jobs and it took me about 3 months to find a job. My strategy was:

- I put 1-2 hours into my job search daily
- I didn't change my resume to "fit" the job. I just always focused on having a well-rounded and truthful resume
- I only applied for jobs that had been posted in the past 24 hours
- I didn't apply for any jobs that had been reposted
- I only applied for jobs that I was well qualified for
- I didn't bother applying for anything where there were thousands of applicants

I don't post or network at all. I have about 250 connections so I don't connect with people randomly. I was looking in 2022 and 2023 (got laid off two years in a row). I've been in my current job for just over two years and hoping that I won't have to search again, since I'm in my mid-50s and looking to retire in about 5 years or so.

LinkedIn is a tool, but it isn't a magic wand. If you don't know how to use the tool. the results will be unremarkable.

Since your interest is in engineering or manufacturing, note that my work experience includes 15 years with a manufacturing company that had as many as 2500 employees across 10 North American sites. Most of those employees had direct labor roles, of course, but of the indirects, typically 15% were in engineering of some sort.

I got that job before LinkedIn was a thing. But I was on a social networking site (about a particular type of automobile), and became online friends with someone whose taste in cars was similar to mine. Eventually, we realized we both lived fairly close to each other, and I got invited over to his house for hamburgers one evening. A few months later, the company I worked for lost its biggest customer, couldn't afford the rent, and went broke. I told my car buddy I was looking for work, and he asked if I wanted to work for his company: he was the president of that manufacturing company where I ended up working. Several years later, he left the company, but I remained for another decade.

Networking certainly got me that job.

Eventually, I began a search for a new job. I was at my kid's scout meeting, and mentioned to another parent that I was looking for work. He asked if I was on LinkedIn: I was, but didn't ever post anything, and my network was perhaps 175 people then.

He made a post on LinkedIn that included my LinkedIn profile and said I was a friend of his who was looking for work. Three people contacted me. They all said something along the lines of, "I don't have anything for you, but let's talk and brainstorm." At least I got some free breakfast...

A couple weeks later, one of those three called me back. Within a span of two weeks, one of his team members took a job with a competitor, another was moving out of town as part of a spouse's promotion, and a third decided to retire. Could I hit the ground running and jump into an industry that was nothing like my old one? He needed someone to start in two days. I was there two days later, and continued through two ownership changes and COVID.

I don’t use it to network per se, I just add people I work with and essentially use it to show I exist. I mostly only talk to recruiters there.

I agree with you. Same experience. Virtually zero responses when I apply through LikedIn for anything. And by the time you see anything posted on Li, there are almost always over 100 applicants already. Doesn‘t seem to matter if you have the paid version. Just a donation. Pretty useless overall in my experience.

It's great to use when you are job searching because you can let recruiters know that you are looking for a new job and talk to them when they reach out. I got my last job like that 3 years ago and it only took me a few weeks.

I hardly post but after 6 months of applying I finally got an offer. It wasn’t easy but I just kept at it for everyday.

I've gotten interviews through LinkedIn, but no offers. I did however get a job in October through Hiring Cafe. Give it a shot.

LinkedIn to me has been very useful for job searching. I have been able to find a job through it and I think it will be useful if I ever need to again. I don't connect with people i don't know. If you feel it helps you can connect with job recruiters. It helps in a few ways.
1. By making your account and posting your job history you are promoting yourself to recruiters. I have received a lot of offer just through this. So make sure you post your history.
2. I connect with pastor coworkers. If there is a job posting in a place they are at I would contact them to see if they can help out.
3. Lots of job postings and you can set alerts to be notified of them.

Personally, I have never liked LinkedIn. It's basically an ad platform for self promotion but not much meaningful help. Yes, recruiters can message you there, but they should also be able to email you.

I actually prefer Indeed. If you're prompt on Indeed, you can apply painlessly using Indeed apply if it's available for that posting. I tried some of the newer sites, but in the end Indeed is what ended up working. A few years ago, I found Indeed useless and preferred Dice and CareerBuilder, but they have both gone drastically downhill. Indeed seemed to get better.

LinkedIn was pretty awesome years ago, maybe before 2023. Ever since then the vast majority of jobs on there are literally fake. I've been tracking job ID's by poster and title for about a year, and 94% of the jobs are removed and reposted. They exist simply to fake the effect of "company growth", while all of these companies are actively laying off workers.

Right now I'm working on my anti-AI business, and it's unbelievable how much extra people will pay knowing that AI will never touch their software. I may be on track to make 8 figures for the first time in my life, all thanks to people's understandable hatred of LLMs.

LinkedIn is great for networking. Where do you live? You looking for a Job? My company is an engineer based company out of Washington State. One problem I see with LinkedIn is it's becoming to political. Just needs to be Job focused with help from your network or new connections to land a job or interview tips.

To me LinkedIn is just another 3rd party site that exists for the sake of themselves. When I first started using LinkedIn around 2011 ish I met a few hiring managers/business owners that didn’t hire me but wanted to add me to their profile as a connection. I realized then that this site is copying FB but for jobs. I deleted my account.
Fast forward to 2021 my boss asked me to join again and being part of a corporation, it did have some cool learning tools. After that contract ran its course. I probably had 50 recruiters reach out to me , and even tho I was qualified I was not given one job offer. In summary if you‘re trying to grow a network or brand, or your job is a recruiter, LinkedIn is great. If your a job seeker this is the last place I would go to for a job. I’ve had better success with indeed and craigslist.