Linked In (FPL 23 Things)

Since I try not to ask other people to do things that I'm unwilling to do myself (though, just for the record, organizing a 23 Things program was *not* my idea), I thought I'd better blog a bit about the few Things we're doing at work that weren't a part of the North Texas 23 Things program in which I participated.

You'd think that after creating a Facebook profile, LinkedIn wouldn't be a big deal. And I have to confess that I like the idea of having separate networks for my personal and professional lives.

But I also feel like I need to provide a quality, professional presentation of myself -- and I don't have the time to fill in the details of my professional life right now. On the other hand, I haven't updated my resume in awhile so I went ahead and created a LinkedIn profile. I'll try to fill in the details gradually and keep it up-to-date in the future.

Thus far, however, LinkedIn feels kind of like our ILS: un-intuitive, clunky, and not that attractive. I tried to connect with my graduate school advisor. Sending an "InMail" was the most obviously advertised method of connecting, but required upgrading my account. Instead, I used an "add to network" message, which felt kind of like Tweeting, what with the character-use limitations. (What's up with that? Is there a world shortage on characters? You wouldn't think so working the reference desk!)

As a concept, though, I can see where some professionals (especially self-employeed) would get a lot of benefit out of the sort of connections that LinkedIn makes possible. And I think online connections are great in a world where working parnerships and collaborations are not so much limited by geography.

Will I get much use out of LinkedIn? Probably not. So far, I haven't found many of the people I'd be interested in Linking to -- mostly far-flung graduate school friends and other colleagues from past jobs. After all, I'm already connected to my current co-workers by.... work.

And (do I admit this on a blog my boss might be reading?) I tend to let my career happen to me*. No 5 year plan, no 10 year plan. Frankly, it's worked well for me so far. I really enjoy what I do. And (pessimist that I am) I kind of doubt that someone's going to contact me with a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none job offer that lets me (to mix cliches) have fingers in many of the library's pies without supervisory responsiblity. I mean, it took me 5 years in my current library that have that job description (and it's mine, not HR's) happen to me. I wouldn't know how to go about making it happen on purpose. [For the peace of mind of my current boss, before leaving I'd also need (1) even better pay, (2) relocation closer to family, (3) a great community, and (4) temperate climate.]

I think LinkedIn has potential. I hope I can find the time to fulfill it.


*Disclaimer: In graduate school I did outline a future for myself in which I would be able to bridge technical/material and public services with a goal of improving customer service. I think my current position lets me do that more than most other library jobs would (though still less than I might like), and that's probably why I'm content where I am.