This discussion primarily revolves around the discovery and utility of LinkedIn's "In your network" job filter, with a significant portion dedicated to a third-party tool called JobsByReferral.com that aims to leverage this functionality. A secondary, but related, theme is the general perception of LinkedIn's features and the broader impact of AI and individual initiative on product development.
Discovery and Usability of LinkedIn's "In your network" Filter
A core point of discussion is the existence and discoverability of LinkedIn's "In your network" filter. While initially met with disbelief and frustration from some users, it's confirmed to exist, albeit in a buried location within the "classic" job search interface.
- Initial Skepticism and Difficulty Finding: Users struggled to locate the feature, leading to questions about its existence and where to find it.
- "Really?! I still cannot find this in the mobile app or desktop :lolsob:" said nicksergeant.
- "I still can't find this. The job list is "infinite scroll" for me so there is no bottom. I don't see the word filter anywhere. Is there a URL?" asked citizenpaul.
- Location and Access: It's clarified that the filter is in the "All Filters" section, often requiring scrolling down significantly, and is particularly accessible through the "classic" search.
- "It's there -- go to the jobs tab, answer the first time questions if they come up, and when you get the job list, click All Filters, and scroll the filter list down (admittedly, pretty far down); there's an "In your network" toggle." explained 98codes.
- "Ah, wild! Yes I see it now! That is really quite buried." commented nicksergeant.
- "You need to switch back to classic search to see those filters (on mobile at least)." stated iLoveOncall.
- Potential Future Disappearance: There's speculation that this filter might be removed or altered with the rollout of LinkedIn's "AI search."
- "Edit: seems like this is only the "Classic Search", and presumably may disappear once 'AI search' is no longer optional?" pondered nicksergeant.
JobsByReferral.com: A Third-Party Solution and Its Implications
The discussion then pivots to JobsByReferral.com, a personal project that seems to facilitate the use of the "In your network" concept. This brings up several sub-themes related to its functionality, necessity, privacy concerns, and the broader implications of individual developers building solutions that large companies are slow to implement.
- Utility and Recognition: The tool is seen by some as a valuable feature that LinkedIn should have developed themselves, particularly for those who want to leverage their professional network for job seeking.
- "Perfect feature that LinkedIn should've developed themselves. Thank you for this!" exclaimed hackernewds.
- Privacy and Trust Concerns: A significant portion of the conversation addresses user data privacy, with several users expressing reluctance to upload personal LinkedIn data to a third-party service.
- "Why should I take all of my data and give it to you, a rando on the internet? Is it being stored? Will it be shared? Sold? Maybe, as there's nothing that says you won't. Looks neat, but strong pass because of the above." stated 98codes.
- "Personally I am not comfortable bulk uploading personal data of myself and my network to a third party server." noted thih9.
- "1. Download your entire LinkedIn data. 2. Give us your entire LinkedIn data." summarized bsoles, highlighting the perceived data request.
- Developer's Response and Privacy Measures: The creator of JobsByReferral.com, nicksergeant, addresses these concerns, emphasizing that the tool is primarily client-side, only sends company names for job searches, and has a privacy policy in place.
- "The app performs its functions entirely client-side except for the job search to JSearch, which only requires the company name." explained nicksergeant.
- "We also do nothing with your data. You can verify the app does not send your data to any backend endpoints except for company name (so that we can find jobs at that company)." he further elaborated.
- "Yep, done at https://jobsbyreferral.com/privacy." he noted when asked to clarify privacy information.
- GDPR and Jurisdiction: The conversation touches upon GDPR compliance and whether EU data protection laws apply to a US-based service handling data from EU users, with differing interpretations of jurisdiction and enforcement capabilities.
- "The GDPR implications of this service are also significant. Being in the US does not exempt you from observing that if any of your records are from European users." warned toyg.
- shados and toyg engaged in a lengthy debate about jurisdiction, with shados arguing that without a direct presence or specific targeting of EU users, GDPR wouldn't strictly apply, while toyg contended that handling EU citizen data, even indirectly, could fall under its purview.
The Power of Individual Initiative and AI's Role
A broader theme emerges regarding the contrast between individual developers creating solutions quickly and the slower pace of large corporations. The discussion posits that AI will exacerbate this trend, enabling more people to build their own tools to solve specific problems.
- Individual Solutions vs. Corporate Development: The speed at which individuals can build functional tools that large companies are slow to offer is a key point.
- "So maybe, MAYBE they'll have it in a couple of months? But someone can build it in a few hours, even if they're not super good at this stuff. It changes everything about how we think about products and SaaS software." stated shados.
- "This is exactly where I think we're heading as well. This project took about 2 hours." echoed nicksergeant.
- "It changes nothing, what you describe has always been the case even before AI. There are things people can build in a weekend that take weeks or even months at a larger company. Large companies have a way of slowing everything down, for reasons that have nothing to do with coding." countered deadbabe.
- "Correct, but the amount of people who can do it has drastically increased, and the amount of time it takes for most people to build these things has drastically decreased." insisted shados in response.
- AI as an Enabler: The rise of AI is seen as significantly lowering the barrier to entry for creating custom software solutions.
- "That's the whole point. In an AI world, you're no longer bound by the limits of what 3rd parties do or don't do, plus or minus some datasets (like in this case, the job postings)." argued shados.
- LinkedIn's Business Model: There's a critical perspective on LinkedIn's incentives, suggesting they might prioritize user engagement and notification-driven activity over features that facilitate actual job placement efficiently.
- "LinkedIn doesn't want you working, 'cause working people don't really have time to waste on LinkedIn (unless that's their job). LinkedIn wants you on their app with a racing heartbeat every time you get a notification that you hope will lead to job." opined pmdr.
The Value of Referrals and Network-Based Hiring
A significant portion of the discussion, initiated by dijit, explores the idea of leveraging professional networks for referrals, both positive and negative. This highlights the value of past colleagues as indicators of future performance and touches on the limitations and ethical considerations of such systems.
- Leveraging Past Colleagues: The idea that former colleagues are excellent predictors of hire quality if they are referred.
- "i totally agree on the problem, ex-colleages can be one of the best datasources for predicting the quality of a hire" stated willsmith72.
- Desire for Inverse Functionality: The wish for a system to proactively "recommend" or "un-recommend" former colleagues to current workplaces.
- "I really want the inverse of this." expressed dijit, "I really want a way of recommending people you've worked with previously; should they happen to apply to your current workplace."
- "I also design the opposite of this, where you would 'un'-recommend people, or essentially downflag their application." dijit also mentioned.
- Automation and Integration Challenges: dijit details the challenges of building such a system, including integrating with HR systems, handling impersonation, and the ethical considerations of "un-recommending" people.
- "The thing is, my system wasn't fully integrated in the the HR management system, so it would add a comment if someone applied with the correct details but recruiters didn't have access to the database of recommended people-" dijit explained about their project.
- Referral Process Evolution: It's noted that referral processes have become more sophisticated, requiring context and justification rather than being a simple endorsement.
- "Referral processes now ask how you know the person and why you’re referring them." observed Aurornis.
- "Referring randos to be nice isn’t a thing any more at any company that has been paying attention." added AznHisoka.