I loved LinkedIn. In my role of Connector for Boston World Partnerships I find it particularly useful, since I am so frequently creating meaningful connections for colleagues and acquaintances.
Still, there’s always room for improvement. Currently, LinkedIn has two great features that aren’t, umm, linked in very well. Here’s feature #1, their job search capability:
And here’s feature #2, which tells you (once you have run a query and found a job that you are interested in) whether anyone in your network might be able to help connect you to your target company:
So what’s the problem? You can’t include feature #2 in the actual search. In other words, you can’t run a search that includes both factors simultaneously. It would be much easier and more effective, don’t you think, if you could filter your search right up front based on two qualifiers; companies that are hiring, AND which you are connected to.
That’s where I would want to start my job search. After all over 80% of new positions remain unadvertised, and most of them get filled by internal or front runner candidates who were networked in.
AfriGadget
Kiva
What I would like to see from Linked In is a better way to get in touch with people who you actually want to work with, rather than a rolodex. They started this with the “interested in” part of the resume, but seem to have stopped there.
I’d like to see something not unlike Incunation, but with a broader scope (i.e., maybe for people who aren’t working in the startup world).