Career News 24/7: The Cynical Girl: Why LinkedIn Needs a Block Button

Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Cynical Girl: Why LinkedIn Needs a Block Button

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:45 AM PDT

I am open networker on LinkedIn. There are many benefits. It expands my network. I believe in connecting with everyone because you never know when you can offer help. And if there is trouble, or if I ever truly find myself annoyed with someone, I can disconnect from them fairly easily.

But you should know that there is no way to block someone from looking at your basic profile. If you receive an InMail, you can mark it as spam — but the onus is on you to manage your connections and your inbox.

This no big deal for me, but it is an awful burden for a user who is concerned about his/her safety.

I have never been concerned for my safety, but I thought I would give you a recent example of a weird exchange on LinkedIn that would go away — pretty easily — with a block button.

It starts harmlessly enough with a guy who wants to connect with you. Except he is probably not real.

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Then it progresses to an eager and complimentary note.

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Then it’s persistence.

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Then it’s more love.

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Wait! There’s more!

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Working in HR has taught me that people will use any platform — social networking sites, cafeterias, an encounter at Walgreens — to find connection, meaning, and an opportunity to get laid.

But it’s gross.

I have followed the LinkedIn recommendations. He is reported. And this guy will eventually leave me alone. But I join with thousands of other people who would really like and appreciate a block button on LinkedIn.

It would just make life a little easier, yo.

How many people are looking for work? Are you one of them?

Posted: 03 Sep 2013 03:45 AM PDT

97n/24/huty/7252/18 Labor Day marks the official start of a job search for many people.

When it comes to the labor market, I have a favorite quote.

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

I always look to the BLS for information on unemployment. And I subscribe to the monthly ADP report on jobs, payroll and job creation.

Some of my friends say that there are 90MM people looking for work. Depending on how you see the world, workers are either entrepreneurs who are in charge of their own careers or pawns in collective scam known as capitalism. It is fair to say that job security is a joke. And I am on record saying that 100% of the workforce should always look for work, as exhausting as that sounds. I hate that advice, but it’s true.

But when I hear that 90MM people are looking for work, that sounds a little high. So I went to Politifact to check out their take on the claim.

They write,

Bloggers and pundits have said that 90 million Americans either aren't working or aren't looking for work. That's a real number, but it includes high schoolers, college students and retirement-age Americans, leaving perhaps 20 million a better approximation.

I think 20MM is a high number, but it is better than 90MM.

None of this is good, though. The future of work isn’t fabulous. Shareholder value is a lie. Most companies are still trying to improve productivity by investing in technology and lowering the cost of labor. Middle-class jobs have been wiped out in many parts of this country — and across the globe.

If you have a job but you want a new job, the idea of a job search must scare the crap out of you. If you are out of work — or you are part of the long-term unemployed — you must be deathly afraid of being unemployed forever. And if you’re over 50 — or face other biases — the process of looking for work can seem daunting.

So let’s talk about your search. I want to hear from you.