I was hired at two of the last three jobs because of timely appropriate contact from inside recruiters on LinkedIn. The third was through an outside recruiter.

I was hired at two of the last three jobs because of timely appropriate contact from inside recruiters on LinkedIn. The third was through an outside recruiter. Sure, 90%+ of the recruiter contacts on LinkedIn are not interesting to me. I could do a better job of telling recruiters ahead of time not to contact me. I use the contacts as a determination of the overall health of the industry and my visibility in that industry. Both useful things to have. In short, I like LinkedIn. I work with many ex-LinkedIn folks and I think it has added real value to my professional career.