Does LinkedIn actually work?

Late last week I was meeting with a new client and discussing how to promote her web site. She said one of her clients asked her about LinkedIn and so she asked for my thoughts on it. We wound up discussing the site for about 10 minutes and when I left the office, walking to my car, I started to wonder if this site actually produces results for the users of it.

In my opinion, people use LinkedIn for two basic things. First is to find a job, whether it be full-time or consulting. Second is to network with people they know currently or reconnect with people from their past experiences.

Let's discuss the second first. Because LinkedIn has experienced huge growth, it is an excellent way to find former associates, friends, students, etc. I have found a bunch of people from my past lives to connect with.

Now the reason I believe that LinkedIn exists. To help people find work. And this is the reason I wonder if the site actually works. Guy Kawasaki posted a month ago about a LinkedIn makeover he went through with the staff at LinkedIn. It would be great to have him do a follow-up post about what the results have been with his newly updated robust profile. There is no doubt that he put a lot of time into creating his profile. The comments on his post are mixed with some showing success and many showing it being a worthless service. 

Does the amount of time you put into creating your profile = a better return? I assume more content will equal better results in terms of searches, but does it actually mean a better return in dollar, euro, peso, pound or any other currency. I haven't seen it yet.

In January, LinkedIn posted a release with some quotes about the job situation on LinkedIn. Here are a couple snippets:

John Zwieg, Senior Staffing Manager at Logitech said, "I started a pilot program with LinkedIn last year and in the first three months we were able to successfully fill 22 positions. We’ve now deployed LinkedIn Corporate Solutions across our entire North American staffing team."

Lori Rogers, Recruitment Services Manager with UnitedHealth Group, "LinkedIn has been a huge success and win for our recruiters. We’ve had numerous hires since we upgraded our users to LinkedIn Corporate Solutions. It’s a great source for our recruiters to search for business professionals and network with others in the industry."

I am considering doing a "Kawasaki-style makeover" to my profile and I am curious as to whether you believe it will actually make a difference in terms of gaining possible job inquiries. If so, what are the areas that work for you? Is it good job descriptions? Is it recomendations? Is it linking to as many people I can as possible? What's the best recipe for LinkedIn success?

So what I am looking for is feedback about how you use LinkedIn. Do you use it in one of the two ways I discussed above, or a completely different way? Have you received job offers from using the tool? If so, how much did you have to "work it" to get the offers? Do you believe it is a beneficial tool for employment?

Also, for the corporate LinkedIn partners, what are your results? Are you finding the talent you are looking for?