LinkedIn has undoubtedly been a blessing. It’s hard to remember how professionals networked before it came to bear - oh yes, the old school networking events and such. But now, by a simple click or two, you are connected to the CEO of Microsoft, exchanging pleasantries, talking about favorite recipes, and next thing you know you are hired as the Architect responsible for all their cutting edge applications.
Well, maybe it won’t exactly play out like this but you get the idea. By the power of digitization, you get to connect with people much easier and it’s led to some amazing stories.
As you can tell from the title, it’s not all roses with LinkedIn. LinkedIn is just another social media platform. And while it’s great at connecting people professionally, it also comes with the downsides of any social media platform. While I agree everyone needs to put their best foot out there especially in this competitive climate, a few things on LinkedIn profiles may be cringy for some.
One of those that I’ve been thinking about lately is the titles I see on some profiles.
It’s usually something like this - Incoming X, Ex-Y, where X and Y represent titles at “prestigious” companies. (The previous line sounded like an algebra problem 😆). Anyway, I see the trend growing and being displayed all over LinkedIn and it just screams “Look at me, I’m successful”. Now, I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing. Yes, you have to sell yourself. But in my head, it occupies the same distasteful quarters as people who are all of a sudden CEOs and owners of companies that barely exist. I may be playing dumb but I’m yet to talk to an HR expert of how much of a role putting “Ex-Amazon” for example, places in catching the eye of a recruiter or whoever it’s meant for. Won’t the same info be reflected in the work experience section of your profile or resume? Also, are companies seriously relying on the fact that once you worked at place X, you carry all the necessary skills for your job including critical thinking skills, “human skills” such as emotional intelligence?
In the same breath, I’m yet to see a good explanation on what placing “Incoming Software Engineer Intern at Google” does right after you’ve signed an offer. Don’t get me a wrong, it’s a great feat and one should be really be proud for scoring such a coveted position. But my point is this, can you let the proverbial ink dry after signing on that dotted line before you rush on to the let the world know? One thing that we’ve witnessed from this COVID-era is that nothing is promised - including offers. We’ve witnessed stories of offers being rescinded even just days before the anticipated start date. It’s only a few months/ weeks away anyways; you can wait. The world will know you got the role
Don’t get me started about marketing schemes that’s making it’s way into LinkedIn. I’ve personally had 5 new connections try to sell me something this year alone. It usually starts with an innocent connection and then a message to ask how I’m doing. And then boom! It takes a turn for the worse. They proceed to tell you about a “fast-growing businesS” they are working on and want to discuss with you. Look, I’m not knocking your hustle but maybe LinkedIn is not the place for it? Definitely not my page.
I may have ruffled a few feathers with my personal take on this but that’s okay. I’ll conclude by sharing parts of a conversation I had with a friend a few weeks back. He complained of the feeling of “unworthiness” and drain he felt whenever he checked out LinkedIn. “I feel like everyone is surpassing me in their career”, he said. The interesting thing is he had accomplished a lot and was working in his field of study with a decent paying job. Even more importantly, he was genuinely happy with his job and life overall.
My advice to him was simple. It’s not a race. It’s a journey. The path to “success” in most things is not linear. Success in itself looks and is measured differently for everyone I told him to reduce his time on LinkedIn especially. Don’t let it be the first thing you see when you wake up (he was opening notifications first thing in the morning.).
There’s nothing wrong with a little motivation and inspiration. But focus on your own race. Don’t take exaggerated titles and accomplishments for face value. Guard your mental health. Run your own race. Focus on the things that matter, like family. The intrinsic reward and satisfaction outweighs the extrinsic.
Again, run your race. Run at your pace.