[invalidname]

No. But it is useful and solves a lot of problems for me.

It's pretty easy to see who you and the interviewer know in common. That way we can get references and pass the interviews more easily. I'm very experienced and at my level, if I didn't have references it would be unacceptable. LinkedIn lets people instantly see who we both know so they can ask about me and get a reliable answer.

I do the same when I'm hiring. It helps with my confidence level.