Sites like Jobster and Monster can be really good and effective for recruiters and also for people looking for different job opportunities. In these sites, you can upload your resume and put yourself out there for employers to seek you out and find out what you are about. I find these sites to be very good, especially for us seniors who are one semester away from graduating from college and need to be considering places to work at. They are a great option for recruiters to seek out future employees. It is another outlet for finding employees and a way for them to bypass expensive recruiting companies.
On the other hand, I do not like the part of the sites like LinkedIn that create networks and profiles. I agree with the idea of these sites being useful for job searching, but not for networking. I believe that this site, like myspace and Facebook, was creating for a useful purpose. But in the end they become overused and lose their appeal and credibility. In one of the articles the same idea was stated: “Just as we are now seeing a consumer backlash on MySpace--people have too many ‘friends’--we may see a similar reaction with the networking sites, and their value will decline." As you invite more and more people into your network and you have more connections, the less valuable and strong those connections become.
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I see what you are saying here. From what it seems like, are you advocating a system to show a connections strength? If you could prove how well you know the people on your network, would you think differently about these sites?
That is a genius idea IF (and that's a BIG "IF") it is for references. So, say you and I are connected, but I'm connected with Joe, and my connection with him is stronger, then when company a asks for a reference I can send both. Then, they can judge the references based on who I know better and how well I know them. It is like when filling out a paper application, and the application has the references section. In that section 2 things that apply here are asked: "Years Known" and "Profession". So, by having them have profiles on whatever service, the person looking to hire you can look at your references' profiles as well.
I think that would be cool. Then again, I have been wrong before...
I agree that showing the strength of the connection would add value to the network. Think Facebook. Would you friend someone you never met just because they're friends with a few random acquaintances? I think people are hesitant both socially and professionally on who they allow into their network.
Also, for those already in this network, seeing how strong certain connections are would be very beneficial. For example, you may be hesitant to contact a friend of a friend's sisters' boss for a possible job opening. But what if the degree of separation is lower?
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