I have a LinkedIn account with more than 500 connections, some of them were my coworkers or classmates, the rest are either people that I met once or never. I used to check who has viewed my profile and check their profile, but don't check any more. Also used to review the feed and read some of the interesting articles, but don't do that anymore. I get many messages from companies or recruiters that are not interesting. How do you use LinkedIn? Is there anything I can gain from it?
LinkedIn is useful for looking people up. It’s also useful for connecting/reconnecting with specific people when you (or they) need something.
Just update your designation with every promotion and watch the 350k FANG offers pour in via inmail. It's fascinating how LinkedIn activity (if you're not an influencer signed up formally by LinkedIn Inc) is inversely proportional to how much real skills you have and your actual USD pay. You can see startup exit founders literally not logging in for the next year or two. It's literally like a career fair out there.
Say what?
There are a lot of desperate people out there looking for a career in tech. I once attended an event that ended up being a recruiter sharing her tips on how to get noticed. The audience questions were also very revealing. I’ve also seen similar crowds at interview prep meet ups and technical interest meet ups as well: lots of jobless or career-less people prowling, trying to get noticed...