Are you “Linked In”? Specifically, are you a user of the networking website known as LinkedIn or any of the other such sites?

I understand and appreciate the value of networking. In fact, I am a registered user of LinkedIn. I even admit that LinkedIn has proven to be helpful in a few ways. I have gotten some good business leads, helpful suggestions and even connected with a couple old high school friends.

Recently, one of my friends mentioned the Catch-22 situation involving being on LinkedIn. While it is a great source of networking, there is one glaring drawback. Sure, you can announce that you are looking for new employment, which could be extremely helpful if the right eyes see it. However, there is a great chance that wrong eyes (aka your current boss or coworkers) will also see your desire for new employment. That can’t be a good thing.

I never really thought about that, probably because I am happy with my current employment situation. For those unhappily employed, this presents a problem. I suppose you can always contact your connections individually and inquire about job possibilities, but that isn’t quite as effective as just announcing your quest to everyone.

Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it makes you work harder in your search for employment opportunities. Sure, it is easier to just announce to everyone that you want a new job in whatever field, but is that similar to a guy walking into a crowded bar and just yelling, “I want a date”? I might have gotten a bit philosophical (or ridiculous) with that line of thinking, but it does make sense.

The other option is for me to try to figure out how to get the message out semi-anonymously. That second option is a lot more time consuming, so I am going with the first, especially since I am self-employed and don’t need to figure it out.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist