LinkedIn - Random requests

ABajaninCork

Lately, I've been getting a few random requests from recruiters to join them on LinkedIn. Some I've never had dealings with, and even some from back home in the UK!

No job offers though!:D

I just wondered - Has anyone else had this? And are recruiters targeted on the amount of people they can link into? (They are sales people after all!)

looksee

Yes I have had a very persistent request from someone in the UK, which might just have a link to a social group that I am part of, but I am not on linkedin. I have been ignoring it.

tHE vAGGABOND

I start a new job in a week, the lead for which came from someone I added as a "random request" in linkedin.

She was a recruiter, based in UK, recruiting for a software dev place opening here soon.

So not all "random requests" on linkedin are scammers AT ALL

ABajaninCork

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

So not all "random requests" on linkedin are scammers AT ALL

I'm very happy to hear your news. At no time did I say they were scammers (although there's more choice names I could call them ), but I was curious, as I've had about five or six requests from recruiters to link to them.

My CV's on LinkedIn, so I assume they got my details that way. It's also interesting to see that several people have got job ops through LinkedIn, so I'm quietly hopeful.

As a matter of interest, are any of you that got job opportunities based in Cork?

DvB

I start a new job on Monday which came about through a random request from a recruiter on LinkedIn, so i'd not simply dismiss them out of hand, you never know whats around the corner or what may come from a simple networking connection such as this.

Eoin

Yeah, I've had a few requests from recruiters - though I think they're agencies I've dealt with before. I don't have a restricted LinkedIn profile, so I don't mind accepting them.

That site must be very valuable for recruiters, given that CVs they have on file can be so out of date. Certainly the CV I last gave to an agency (nearly 4 years ago) wouldn't be relevant at all to a job I'd apply for now.

RATM

As a recruiter who seeks a lot of passive candidates for difficult to fill positions I'd use Linkedin quite a bit to reach out to potential candidates. I only contact those who might be interested in the positions because I first assess that the jobs I have are relevant to their level of experience, technologies skill set, competencies, etc.

As I concentrate on just two niches most people I approach find it beneficial to connect with me. They often find that i'm already to connected to many of their work colleagues and industry people they know in other companies.

If they're not looking for a move right away then I still keep them in the loop about roles further down the line. I find a lot of people like to know what's going on in their industry regardless of whether they're looking to move or not. It makes sense to have a recruiter keep you in the loop about jobs/salaries, provided the info the recruiter is relaying is relevant to their career ambitions and salary expectations.

ABajaninCork

Thanks for all the responses. I had accepted a few and linked to a recruiter I knew from London.

But because the requests had been coming in more frequently, I decided to ask the question. I suppose it looks good, because I have more connections, but in some ways, it doesn't help me much as most of my connections are from the UK where I'm from. I've only worked in Ireland for five months, so don't know many Irish connections...

killerboy

Oh, so it's a good thing? I've been getting those and have been ignoring/declining them, because I thought - random requests, never good. But I don't use my LinkedIn profile that much anyway, maybe I should develop it a bit.

RATM

killerboy wrote: »

Oh, so it's a good thing? I've been getting those and have been ignoring/declining them, because I thought - random requests, never good. But I don't use my LinkedIn profile that much anyway, maybe I should develop it a bit.

It can be a good and a bad thing. My advice is to only connect with recruiters who specialise in your industry niche. Connect with 4, 5 or even 6 of them- that should uncover all the 'hidden jobs' that only agencies recruit for. I put emphasis on working with good recruiters who know their domain because the last thing you want to be getting is emails about jobs that are not relevant to your experience, salary expectations, location, etc.

If you work with 4-5 good recruiters you'll have the lowdown on what's available on the market. Let them know a little about your own requirements, salary, experience, etc so they can only show you targeted positions. Work with them and they can be very useful. If they prove not to be useful then you can un-connect from them.

Finally if you're genuinely looking for a move then let them all know. Don't go 'tyre-kicking' and time wasting though. Good recruiters want to work with good candidates who are genuine- we don't mind if a job is not for you or the timing for a move is wrong. But it can be very frustrating to have a candidate who is not serious about a move but letting on they are.

keane2097

Not a whole lot of point having your CV on LinkedIn if you're not interested in hearing from recruiters

Eoin

keane2097 wrote: »

Not a whole lot of point having your CV on LinkedIn if you're not interested in hearing from recruiters

LinkedIn isn't just for job hunting though.

keane2097

Eoin wrote: »

LinkedIn isn't just for job hunting though.

I would have thought it's pretty much the only reason a very large proportion of users have an account.

Eoin

Maybe it's at the back of some peoples minds, but I think a lot of people see it as just a social network for business contacts / present & past colleagues etc.

irishguy

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Lately, I've been getting a few random requests from recruiters to join them on LinkedIn. Some I've never had dealings with, and even some from back home in the UK!

No job offers though!:D

I just wondered - Has anyone else had this? And are recruiters targeted on the amount of people they can link into? (They are sales people after all!)

I get them the whole time. I have got two jobs through it (including my current one). Its handy to keep an eye on the market

starlit

I got a strange one there from Symantec, didn't think the job the person was offering from there was genuine though.