LinkedIn - Weird Experience

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  • rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    Some of you be regular users of LinkedIn. I joined last August in order to facilitate my job search after my then-impending layoff was announced. Fast forward to today and I am still using it on a daily basis to network and search for jobs.

    So today get a connection request from someone named "Aliyah." (last name redacted). I've been responding to a lot of postings in the feed and getting likes and connection requests frequently, so I didn't think anything about it. Unless I have a reason to deny a connection, I usually accept.

    Right after I accepted the connection, I started getting messages that were . . . odd. Here is a transcript of the exchanges:

    ---------------------------------

    NEW CONNECTION 1:43 PM: Hello
    Hope you having a great day ?


    rhino 1:47 PM: I am, thank you! The same to you.


    NEW CONNECTION 1:49 PM: Thanks
    What you doing today if you don’t mind me asking ?


    rhino 1:52 PM: I just had a phone interview and I was working on an application for another job. And checking LinkedIn!


    NEW CONNECTION 1:52 PM: Congratulations!
    Are you single if you don’t mind me asking you ?


    rhino 1:52 PM: Thank you

    rhino 1:54 PM: Actually, I'm not interested in discussing personal information like that with people I don't know, especially on a site that I use for employment matters only.


    NEW CONNECTION 1:54 PM: I understand
    Well If you don’t mind I will like to be a friend


    rhino 1:56 PM: I'm not sure what that entails, but I hope you understand that I'm not on LinkedIn for social interaction.


    NEW CONNECTION 1:57 PM: Definitely
    So can we be friend ?


    rhino 2:00 PM: Thank you for your interest. If you mean friend in the sense of cordial interactions in business and career postings in the LinkedIn feed, where people can like and comment on messages and articles, sure. Anything beyond that I am unable to offer.

    NEW CONNECTION 2:15 PM: Thanks

    ------------------------------------

    After that, I removed the connection. Before that happened, a message to congratulate her on her new position as "Chief Executive Officer at Opening Doors for Working Woman (CEO)" appeared in my feed. Is "working woman" a thinly veiled reference to "I'm a hooker looking for opportunities on LinkedIn"?

    Very weird and uncomfortable!
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
    113
    Brownsburg, IN
    Sounds like a pretty normal social media interaction to me.

    They are all full of spammers, scammers, bots, and weirdos. Unlike you, I don't accept any invitation unless I am expecting it, know the person, or am reasonably certain I WANT to know the person. I get recruiter requests almost weekly, and ignore the majority of them. Oddball names, from oddball countries, are ignored. Even if legit, I don't have much interest in networking with some random IT person from Ghana.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    Sounds like a pretty normal social media interaction to me.

    They are all full of spammers, scammers, bots, and weirdos. Unlike you, I don't accept any invitation unless I am expecting it, know the person, or am reasonably certain I WANT to know the person. I get recruiter requests almost weekly, and ignore the majority of them. Oddball names, from oddball countries, are ignored. Even if legit, I don't have much interest in networking with some random IT person from Ghana.

    I am naive. LinkedIn is my first experience with anything like that, as I have purposely avoided stupid things like the Facebook. I didn't want to join LinkedIn, but my former boss told me that I should, and she was right. It has helped.

    I'm probably going to be more selective. I had a guy trying to interest me in crypto currency based on legal cannabis sales, but I told him right away I was not interested and then removed the connection. I'm still trying to build a bigger network, but I need to more carefully scrutinize the available details.



    She thinks your hot and wants to be your "work spouse". wink

    Well, she was right, I am, and who wouldn't?



    You should have said you were single and willing to meet in some dark alleyway. :dunno:

    I'm not a creepy French dude!


    That costs extra.

    Hush, you!
     

    DoggyDaddy

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    73   0   1
    Aug 18, 2011
    102,058
    77
    Southside Indy
    Sounds like a pretty normal social media interaction to me.

    They are all full of spammers, scammers, bots, and weirdos. Unlike you, I don't accept any invitation unless I am expecting it, know the person, or am reasonably certain I WANT to know the person. I get recruiter requests almost weekly, and ignore the majority of them. Oddball names, from oddball countries, are ignored. Even if legit, I don't have much interest in networking with some random IT person from Ghana.

    ^^^This.^^^ At first I would thank them for their interest and politely tell them that I was happy with my current employment. Now they get marked as spam and away they go.

    ETA: These come in through my email, and not LinkedIn.
     

    littletommy

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 29, 2009
    13,015
    113
    A holler in Kentucky
    I post songs on a streaming site, everytime anything new is posted, and within moments of posting, there’s at least a dozen new followers and likes, all female. The problem is, I can see that they never listened to what was posted. I never respond or follow them back, and after a week or so, their followings are gone. I know a lot of other musicians who get the same thing on their pages.
     

    gregkl

    Outlier
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    33   0   0
    Apr 8, 2012
    11,868
    77
    Bloomington
    I have been active on LinkedIn for many years now. I use it to stay in touch with people I have worked with from former jobs. I typically don't "link" with people I currently work with since they can see me or talk to me easily enough at work.

    I do have a lot recruiters and Asian tool builders try to link in with me. I check their site (easy enough to do) and if they appear legit, I link them.

    Knock on wood I have never had any issues but I have decided to ignore a few that seemed shady when I went to their page.

    Oh, and if I don't see any kind of professional potential benefit to linking with them, I don't.

    It is becoming a necessary tool in the times we live in if you are looking for a job. A guy at my company just got cut and he was told by a company that was interested in him to get his LinkedIn page updated and a current resume on it. And he was told he should get some endorsements written and posted.

    A lot of jobs now are either done through a recruiter or you apply through a company portal. Key word searches, all kinds of algorithms take the personal touch out of the initial contact. Having a LinkedIn page gives them something to look a little closer.

    I'm in sales. I use it to check out buyers I deal with to gain some knowledge. Knowing where they lived, went to college, etc. helps with ice breakers and finding commonality to build a relationship. Yeah, stalking, I know.:)
     
    Last edited:

    chezuki

    Human
    Rating - 100%
    48   0   0
    Mar 18, 2009
    34,151
    113
    Behind Bars
    Some of you be regular users of LinkedIn. I joined last August in order to facilitate my job search after my then-impending layoff was announced. Fast forward to today and I am still using it on a daily basis to network and search for jobs.

    So today get a connection request from someone named "Aliyah”.

    She attempted to connect with me also. I declined because I’m currently employed and only accept connections from people I already know. I almost texted and asked who she was.

     

    Dead Duck

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    53   0   0
    Apr 1, 2011
    14,062
    113
    .
    Just wanted to be your friend and you turned them down..... You're So Mean!
    Why did you turn her/him down....er, if you don’t mind me asking? :):



    I signed up on LinkedIn years ago to mess with an old friend I knew was on there. I couldn't think of a good cover so I went with Buck Rogers. An Astronaut, with NASA, and all the fixins. So I got my info from my friend, I left and didn't think much of it.

    Little did I know, LinkedIn sends me announcements every time my name is mentioned in articles or speeches or meetings. Apparently Buck Rogers is talked about at least a few times a month among the "Space" people. I've also had requests (or whatever they call it) from people in the aerospace industry, physicists, rocket scientists, etc... Who knew Buck was still so popular? :dunno:
     
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