Cynosura

Recent conversations have raised this issue, so we thought it was time to seek your views.

Is there any benefit for a very senior person joining LinkedIn? Or are all of these networking sites useful only to middle rankers? Clearly there is real benefit to young executives who are trying to build up their career and want to connect with more senior people. In their case they may well be seeking to show off their qualifications as well as the contacts they have made in their short careers. The benefit to job seekers looks good as well.

LinkedIn appears to have the greatest benefits at the moment, although there is also Plaxo (seems to be good for North Americans and Asians) and Xing (better for Europeans) to consider. Job Seekers can build up a profile of themselves, connect with potential employers through their networks, be seen by recruitment consultants doing key word searches, even check out information about employers by asking those that work there. Through LinkedIn they can also ask and answer questions in order to raise their profiles and become ‘experts’. It’s interesting to note that Bill Gates (5 connections), Barrack Obama (500+ connections) and Ken Clarke (38 connections) all have LinkedIn profiles, but not Gordon Brown or David Cameron it would seem. Clearly there are some attractions for politicians and top businesspeople, although just 5 connections for Bill Gates was a bit of a surprise considering his philanthropic work.

However, the main group who appear to remain unconvinced about the benefits of online business networking are people running their own businesses, small, medium and large. Proportionately more consultants and small businesspeople can be found on the networking sites. Those running companies of 250 employees or more seem to be a little more reticent. The case for a greater online presence for them promoting their businesses (as opposed to promoting themselves) has still to be made. They don’t seem to have seen the possibilities open to them to sell their products or services, highlight their people’s skills (although that could lead to them being poached by competitors) and use these sites to raise the profile of their blogs (if they have one) and deliver creative presentations. Clearly there are many benefits to be derived from online business networking, but as yet the business case appears uncertain.

What do you think? We would like to hear your views.

• Which sites are best for you?
• What benefits have you derived from them so far?
• What are the sceptics saying to you about online business networking?
• Have you come across any best practices?
• Are there any profiles you think show the way forward and if so why?