Over the last 6 months I've read and had to make decisions on somewhere north of 500 cvs. (I am a software developer, but I'm also doing hiring right now) Lin

Over the last 6 months I've read and had to make decisions on somewhere north of 500 cvs. (I am a software developer, but I'm also doing hiring right now) Linkedin means you exist[1]. It adds some (ie more than zero) legitimacy to your experiences[2]. It gives a canonical link to places you've worked[3]. It standardizes the way experience is described[4]. Let me clear: I hate linkedin. It sucks, I get it. The last time opened it with an intention other than for hiring or updating my status due to a job change was well over a decade ago. But I also hate CVs, and you have to make calls somehow. [1] People send in fake or dishonest names to imply they are a single developer, but the goal is for you to hire their outsourcing company, or to obfuscate themselves because... (I never got to the bottom of all of them) [2] People lie. This doesn't completely solve that but it creates links you can at least vaguely understand, connections implied you've worked with others etc [3] When you hire from every single company "Generic Corp" isn't helpful, and it's often the case the company name people say is ungooglable, or at least gets multiple potential hits, then you have to try to guess which one the mean by where they live, if you can work that out from other companies they've listed... it's a mess [4] everyone writes CVs differently, which is great for self expression, but makes it harder to get a common feel for things