LinkedIn; Is it Working Yet?

I continue to be bombarded by well-meaning well-wishers who claim that LinkedIn is the professional entrepreneur's best friend.

I continue to use LinkedIn to inspect profiles of the staff and executives of large corporations.

I continue to find that in so many cases (OK, perhaps 1 in 5) the person I'm seeking, listed as working for that company, is "no longer with us".

I continue to fail to believe that there are that many deaths in industry, especially since most senior executives now seem to be younger (and fitter!) than me.

What's going on?

I believe that the recession takes its toll, executives and managers are laid-off, and quite apart from having more important things to do, have it in their best interests to "forget" to update the LinkedIn profile.

Who is going to head-hunt for someone whose profile (like the resume!) says effectively 'Up until nine months ago I was VP in charge of global buying at Boodarockin Enterprises, but I haven't been able to sell my meager skills since then", especially when that gap grows larger by one month every month.

Remember This

The LinkedIn profile is there to serve the owner of the profile, not the user.

Beware!