From a HR/Recruitment perspective, Id always recommend having an up to date LinkedIn profile, especially for white collar professionals. When Im interviewing people, I always do a quick LinkedIn search for a candidate and this is what I usually take out of it:
- How significantly a candidate's LI profile differs from their CV. This isn't a major issue as you expect candidates to customise their CV to fit the role - after all, a CV often captures years of experience in 2 pages, so it does need to be properly focused. The LI would indicate to me the dominant parts of a candidates experience, just so I can see how much that aligns to the role. Obviously, if there is a huge difference between the CV/LI, then that is a potential red flag which needs to be followed up at interview
- If a candidate has a really good LI profile, it shows me that they are engaged with their profession and up to date with modern trends and ways of working. Conversely, if a candidate doesn't have a LI profile or if it is shabby, it would suggest to me that maybe they dont put much effort into their career or they have an old school way of working
To stress though, especially with the last point, LI is an
indicator, I wouldn't draw solid conclusions from a profile nor would it form a major part of a hiring decision. The only exemptions to that would be if I was hiring a recruitment professional or to a lesser extent a marketing professional. If a recruitment professional has a bad/non-existent profile, then really they aren't much of a recruitment professional because LinkedIn is a key tool. It would be like a heart surgeon without a stethoscope or a carpenter without a hammer. For a marketing professional, Id wonder how you can market an organisation when you cant be bothered marketing yourself.
That said, where having a strong profile comes in handy is with respect to headhunting. In this day and age, LinkedIn is the key tool when it comes to headhunting. Having a strong profile means you are more likely to appear when searched by recruiters. Also, if Im headhunting for a hiring manager Im not going to forward rubbish profiles, I'm going to forward the best ones. From experience, Ive successfully headhunted many candidates from LI and Ive also been headhunted myself.
Overall, it pays to have one - it might not make a huge difference, but it does have advantages which you would want in a competitive market.
