Problems with LinkedIn Search functions

[Sheree Ruland]

Yesterday I called and cancelled my LinkedIn Business Professional membership and asked for a refund. It was promptly transacted and the charge was refunded to my credit card.

As a loyal fan and advocate of LinkedIn, I'm so frustrated I can barely stand it. I use LI as a tool to find excellent candidates and network with a host of wonderful people. My network has grown quickly over the last few months and I'm up to right around 8,500 first level connections. I also belong to a ridiculous amount of groups, all of which have helped me grow quickly.

I can no longer perform simple searches, advanced searches, look up a member's profile, etc. I feel like I've put a lot of time and effort in growing my network for naught. I know there are members of this forum with much larger networks than mine and was wondering if others are having the same problem? This is very frustrating, especially after touting the virtues of LinkedIn to friends, colleagues and professionals around the world.

Is there a fix for this or is this issue even being addressed? I can't stand seeing the pink banner any more. If anyone has any feedback or is experiencing the same issues, is there a way we can band together and speak up? Power is in numbers, and we certainly have the numbers in this forum. I've also addressed this in the LIONs group, and I'm not sure what to do next.

Does anyone have any ideas or am I alone in my extreme frustration/distress? Even when I accept invitations in bulk, the system won't take me to my Inbox or show me who I've connected with - which was a powerful tool in the past.

Thoughts?

Thanks for listening. As an open networker I'm going through withdrawal!

Sheree

Sheree Ruland
www.linkedin.com/in/sheree

[Sheilah Etheridge]

Hey Lady,

Yep, this is a growing issue on linkedin. It is happening to anyone with a large network. Linkedin doesn't seem to realize that most of the paying members are also the ones with the large network so they are essentially shooting themself in the foot. I assume they are targeting meganetworkers because it is easier for them to connect with others and they are looking for ways to make people pay to grow a network or to use the features. Yet, it is those same people who do pay that can't use the features.

My network is still relatively small, only about 1350 connections, but even I have issues on the site. I haven't been able to look at my own Q&A's for months, I can't see my stats at all.

Maybe when enough paying members ask for a refund linkedin will wake the hell up and see where they went wrong.

Sheilah

[Sheree Ruland]

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your response to my blog, and it was definitely the right thing to do by canceling my account. I've found some work-arounds to get to my LI information, but it's been a challenge. Why tell people to grow their network when the site can't handle it?? I don't foresee LI changing, in fact they told me to delete connections so my account will work better. Unbelievable! I guess we wait and see if the media picks up on just how bad the system is, and if that forces their hand to make the expensive fixes they need. They are a living and growing contradiction and with more and more people realizing this, some other forum/networking site will be able to capitalize on their mistakes.

Happy networking and

Best always,
Sheree

[stacy zapar]

Hi Sheree,

I've got 7350+ connections and I've been experiencing the exact same problems. What's the point of building up a huge network of connections (and paying a monthly fee to boot) if you can't even search through your network or batch accept invitations? Soooo frustrating and disappointing. Numerous emails to LI Customer Service have been flat out ignored.

I'm with you... time to cancel the paid account and (hopefully) find a suitable alternative to LinkedIn.

Please let us know where you end up,
Stacy

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyzapar

[Sheree Ruland]

Hi Stacy,

It's amazing just how frustrating the whole LinkedIn mess can be for so many of us. When you see people like Vincent Wright firing LinkedIn, we can all take a lesson from that. I refuse to pay for something that doesn't work and it will be interesting to see where we all end up. It's unfortunate that LI doesn't bother answering emails from people who have been their biggest supporters by paying for services, growing their networks and really making the site as popular as it is. Unfortunately, it's not the place for mega-networkers unless you find ways to access it from other sites. For now I'm staying right here and voicing my displeasure in something I've worked hard to build, but I'm also on Facebook and Xing, and at some point I hope we don't need to put up with this type of treatment from a company that truly doesn't seem to care what their users want, need or think.

Let's stick together and good things will happen!

Best,
Sheree

[Vicki Z. Lauter]

Sheree - I thought I was the only person having issues with the LI search function! As an executive search consultant I too have been frustrated with the site crashing in the middle of simple search/review functions.
I have been on LI since it started; haven't decided if I am cancelling my membership yet or not.
I appreciate the vent and completely understand!
All the best,
Vicki Z. Lauter
http://www.linkedin.com/in/vzl6313

[Sheree Ruland]

Hi Vicki,

I started a Business Pro account again, thinking it would provide better service...it was exactly the same! I decided it was like paying for cable TV and watching snow all night. This is definitely a widespread problem and I truly don't believe they have any intention of fixing it, which is unfortunate. They'll end up losing a very loyal fan base.

Thanks for sharing and always feel free to let me know if I can ever be of assistance in any way!

Best regards,
Sheree

[Sheilah Etheridge]

Hi Sheree,

I saw in one of Vincent's post an address for a site called get satisfaction. On this site we can post issues we are having and customer service (as well as members) can reply. There are 6 linkedin employees there replying to posts and maybe this can be resolved.

http://getsatisfaction.com/linkedin

While on this site you can also look for other companies you're having issues with.

Sheilah

[Sheree Ruland]

Hey there Sheilah,

I got my response from Customer Service yesterday...delete/get rid of some of my contacts and my problems will be solved. I didn't bother responding back.

I saw Vincent is duking it out with LI on the site. I truly think it's a lost cause to try to get them to fix it before they either have to fix it, or they lose the majority of their membership because of it. Maybe they could sell it on the cheap to people who know what they're doing at some point. It is most definitely a site worth saving! It would be truly amazing if it worked. :-)

[Sheree Ruland]

Hello Jan,

I agree with you 100%, I see no short term solution, but one can create an alias to search their own network. How crazy is that? However, it works. I have no intention of culling my contacts and network that I have spent so much time building! I also use wink.com to search all networks for people, since searches are not longer an option on LI.

Best,
Sheree

[Professional Networking]

Sheree,

I agree with your frustration. LinkedIn seems to be taking "power" away from the users, and trying to build a wall around their data... its frustrating for an active networker to use their service, if it doesn't allow you to truly network openly.