The uselessness of LinkedIn recommendations

Disclaimer: I am on a long-term contract with NXP so I am not unemployed... Thankfully :)

I remember when I first came back to the US from Israel and I thought finding work would be easy. I figured a few quick calls and interviews would get me a contract or a job. This was actually tougher than I expected. I didn't have security clearance and most of the jobs in the DC area are security related. All high level jobs there expect you to have high level security clearances. Being unemployed (by choice) made it even tougher. Here's where I thought LinkedIn would help me.

I contacted my old employees from my previous work in Israel. I got a huge response from them, and I posted 10+ recommendations from my colleagues and friends. My recommendations are glowing, not just glowing but long and expansive and descriptive, and overwhelmingly positive. None of these recommendations were quid-pro-quo. I thought this would open may doors for me.

Nothing happened. Almost no-one cared. The recommendations counted for nothing. It is sad that this is still the current state of affairs.

Thankfully I have generated an excellent reputation with my current co-workers and recruiters, so I am happy that I don't need to rely on LinkedIn recommendations anymore.