Who you calling illustrious?

I have changed my opinion of the usefulness of it based on what people say here. I haven't joined though, mainly because secretly I still think it's for twats.

Only problem with it, as my OH has found out, is that when you're current place of employment are still unaware of your intentions to emigrate, how do you put yourself out there on LinkedIn when your colleagues are on it too? He tried putting out a post to his Canadian groups prospecting for work and horror of horrors it came up on the home page of a friend he is also linked to (but was not in any of the Canadian groups). It was therefore safe to assume that it came up on everybody else's home pages so he quickly deleted all of his posts and disconnected colleagues he did not want to read them. He then wrote a complaint to LinkedIn who, by the way, had previously assured him this would not happen. They say they can't investigate it because he's disconnected the connections.

NASTY.......

Alan, ouch!

I joined at the urging of my recruitment consultant when I was laid off. I haven't had a job out of it yet, but 2 consultants have approached me with job opportunities - real ones. IT's come in handy lately because current job is exhausting and I'm also studying part time, so I don't have the energy to really put into job searching. It's good for lazy people like me.

If the cap fits.....


Some care is needed in who you add your network and how you use it. In my previous employment I didn't have any colleagues or my boss as connections. I did pursue those connections that might be useful for future job hunting. I also use it to keep connected to former colleagues and friends back home. Those connections might come in handy one day!

I agree with Atlantic - I don't have any of my current coworkers or managers as connections on LInkedin. Esp as my profile shows I am looking for another job It does show where I currently work, though.

If you go to the settings page, you can turn off the broadcast of your actions. That way you can join groups, comment in discussions, and update your profile without it coming up in the feed of anyone your connected to.

Of course if they browse your profile they may see you are joined to this group or that, but at least LinkedIn isn't broadcasting it.

Regards

Chris

I agree, Linked in has gained popularity here in Nova Scotia, Relocation Nova Scotia has a linked in group and there are many other groups to join if you are heading this way...you do need to ask for referrals and introductions and eventually testimonials .. If you are looking for work here put it on your profile how you intend to come whether you are looking for an employer to give you a work permit or whether you have a full visa.employers here in NS have not got the confidence to hire an "outsider" but when they see who you are connected with on line it goes a long way to making networking easier when you get here.
When i go to any event and network i collect the business cards of the people thati want to connect with then come back and usually find them on linked in to connect there. I have also gained lots of info from looking at their connections as to other members of the company that i might want to contact.

You can hide all that crap in your settings though.

You don't need to show which groups you belong to in your profile, you can set it so that current colleagues do not see posts you make etc.

Case of read the faq first.

He did all you suggested but it didn't work. He also asked linkedin about it but they couldn't check as he'd already deleted and disconnected as much as he could before being rumbled....

That's what he thought.....he did everything (I do mean everything) that he could do in settings to make sure he wasn't out there for all to see. Our point is that you need to be careful....he nearly died from shock because he'd already looked at faq's, actually checked with linkedin first and was told he was safe, checked ALL the settings and it still went wrong.

I'm moving to Ottawa in June and trying to figure out how the hell I network without being in Canada...or knowing anyone there Is membership open to your networking group? It would be a great start if I actually had people to network with in Ottawa

I joined linked and I'm trying to build up my network through there. I need to do a lot of work on my profile as well I think. Has anyone posted their profile in English and French do you think this is worthwhile to increase your prospects?

Your more than welcome to join our group, I'll PM with the details. We also have fortnightly meet ups (or should I say Bi-weekly to sound more Canadian)....its a mixed group of all ages and 75% are Canadians. I take it you are coming over on a PR visa?

Depending on your occupation, there may be little need to post a profile in French.

What do you do?

Have you heard of Peter's New Jobs (PNJ)?

Cheers

JB0591

Thanks for the info - No I haven't heard of Peter's new jobs is it a web site? (will google now) I'm initaially coming over on a 1 year IEC visa but my husband is Canadian so I'll apply for PR as his spouse once we're there. We were intending to do that a few years down the line but got a bit impatient.

I have worked in the public sector for the last 10 years in Scotland and Brussels doing project, management, policy work, funding/accounting and a bit of events and web management too. Not really sure where this fits in on the Ottawa spectrum.

We decided on Ottawa as it has a big NGO and governments job base but not being a Canadian or a PR at the moment I doubt I'll be able to access the government jobs.

Im on linkedin too. I'm interested to find out how canadian people knew you were going over there...i take it you 'advertised' that on your profile. If not, how did you do it?

lns

I joined Linkedin before coming over last sept. My network has slowly started growing. BP are selling off most of their Canadian Business so I thought as I am here to start looking at what else is around.

I have upgraded my account to Business for the time being which is $24 a month. This allows me to send limited direct emails to people. This I have done with success in getting my resume to the right people. This is ongoing and the success of the contact made will/or not be evident in time

However I have been contacted several times asking if am interested in certain opportunities....but all have meant moving from where we are. People, especially recruiters can see your profile which is basically a resume and will contact you if you seem to fit the bill.

You never know until you give it a try and who knows what doors can be opened.

JET