LinkedIn ??

Okay, so I am trying to apply to this career fair around here, and it's asking me for a linkedin account. I don't have one, because I don't like sharing information me to the general public- And on the job fair site I'm trying to apply to, it says "We need your linkedIn account, that has information about you, so we can ensure you are who you say you are" ....WHAT??
This is just a little creepy and stalker-ish to me!! I hate it when accounts like linkedin show up when someone is googling my name, so that's why I don't want to make an account...Would anyone be a little creeped out at this?

I know that in my "professional" world, linkedin is pretty standard. I haven't done much with the account other than list my degree and previous jobs, and I did join the CFA group within linkedin. But I get requests from people for references all the time, and I know they can be important in helping people get jobs.

How having a linkedin account would verify that you're you is beyond me.... but no matter how creepy I find ALL of it, it is the world in which we live now. You have a FB account - so why the problem with linkedin? Given you do have FB, if an employer needs it for the job app, you have three choices: 1) join linkedin; 2) don't apply for the job, or 3) apply for the job, and explain that you're non-conformist and are willing to put yourself out there on FB, but not linkedin.

The thing is, I don't mind facebook as much because I don't think the info on there is as personal, like I don't have job info on there, it's only for friends and random mundane musings that no one would care about, unless they were my friends...
I dunno, somehow listing my previous jobs is more scary to me, because if anyone who googles me can know where I work, they know where I can be found every day if they wanted to find me, and I'm afraid of stalkers lol...

I guess it didn't bother me because I belong to a professional organization where people can get that information about me anyway.

My industry is so regulated information about me is available to any potential employer (but not just anyone with internet access) - and my fingerprints are on file. I always hated that, but had no choice.

What about joining linkedin and not filling in that information? I know it kind of defeats the purpose, but ....

Never even heard of Linkedin.

I'm on LinkedIn, but honestly haven't gone out there to update any information about myself in a couple of years.

Think of LinkedIn as a version of Facebook for professional working people. I know many people that use it as a means to network with others in their field, and often use it to find (or land) jobs.