The advantage of using LinkedIn for HR professionals is obvious. Employers and recruiters are searching on LinkedIn and Google to "make their resume piles smaller," according to author Dan Schawbel. And an uncluttered desk, as we all know, leaves more room for their collections of teeny-tiny ceramic gnomes. There is also a benefit to the job hunter in that you must approve LinkedIn recommendations before they are posted. If you object to a former supervisor pointing out your minor deficits, like your charming habit of showing up to work in your bathrobe and your scuffies, you can put the kibosh on the reference with a click of your mouse.
Why bother to ask your managers and your co-workers to write you references on LinkedIn? It's so much more efficient to write your own! Some might consider this dishonest, but that is a myopic point of view. After all, who knows you better than you?
Gathering bogus references is not the only use of LinkedIn. According to Garone, Kate Ruddon, vice president of talent acquisition for Activision, uses sites like LinkedIn "early in the recruiting process ... to obtain background on a candidate's work experience, area of expertise and education."
Once again, the fundamental laziness of the HR person dovetails neatly with fundamental lack of honesty that has made you a success. Who do you think fills in all the data concerning your education and your accomplishments? So what if you got your AA in needlepoint from West Dingo State? You could have earned an MBA from Harvard Business School if you weren't so committed to preserving the noble art of tatting.
Put it all together and I think we all now see the fundamental utility of LinkedIn -- it's the one place where you can demonstrate how honest, decent and accomplished you are, even if you have to lie and cheat to do it.
