LinkedIn: Love It or Loathe It?

Don’t you love LinkedIn updates? You start a new job or finish a professional course, want to update it in the system, but try avoiding the post. You hope to upgrade your profile sneakily — and one day someone will see. But not today. Later.

Yet the gods of Microsoft think otherwise — and even after you specifically decline all posts and close the window, hours later notifications become unbearable. A new post is boasting from your main page. “How did it get there?!” you think in sheer astonishment.

Yet it’s too late, too little — people are already liking and commenting. Strangers are raiding your unsuspectedly attention-seeking profile. “Should I take it down? But that would look weird, wouldn’t it?” You give in - and let it all go.

It’s not a hypothetical story I just whipped up to increase engagement. This happened to me just recently — I started a new job. But as I wondered about my technical skills and the ability to live up to the digital age, my university colleague had a similar slip. He’s rather introverted and I’m fairly sure a public post of a new job is not something he would do. Yet here we are.

Every day I see updates about promotions, job anniversaries, and completed university degrees. Recent events make me wonder how many of these were conscious and deliberate — and how many slipped through the cracks and got published unintentionally. I suppose, we let it slip because it’s professional — we believe it contributes to our professional growth and long-term success. Would we feel differently if Instagram uploaded a random picture from our camera roll? I’m sure we would. Yet LinkedIn gets away with it. We let it go.

It might seem that I’m a devoted hater and don’t use social media. To some extent it’s true, but then it’s not. I’m intentional when it comes to my devices and socials. I think these days we’re too focused on serving something else but ourselves. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? After all, social media and tech should serve us.

LinkedIn serves a great deal. It’s funny how I come back and check my profile every single time I’m looking for a promotion or a new job. It’s my reference and the guiding light when it comes to navigating multiple CVs and cover letters.

Let’s admit: when looking for a new role, we draft countless versions and end up tailoring them to different industries and job titles. If you don’t, then you’re one of the lucky few who are incredibly specialized and have limited variability in your profession. Project managers and multicultural professionals like me? Everything goes.

Some of us worked across different industries, markets, and global locations. Some of us hold a variety of nationalities, residency, and taxpayer statuses. We use multiple languages and connect with people from various sociocultural backgrounds, generations, and walks of life.

Sometimes it becomes difficult to keep track of all the projects and adventures we dive into. Perhaps, LinkedIn is a blessing in disguise? Everything - in one place.

The introvert within me shivers at the thought that it’s available for everyone to see. But the odd ambivert puffs her chest out and feels proud of all the crazy adventures, experiments, knowledge, and experiences they gave me. Every now and then a recruiter reaches out inviting me to explore a job opportunity or consider a mutual project. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that what LinkedIn is all about?

Today I’m scrolling through my colleague friend’s profile and it’s astonishing how a decade went by. What’s even more surprising is his career growth. From a medical field, he dived into media, communications, and marketing… Only to end up in the Finance sector. It makes me giggle because our journeys are similar. I twisted and turned, moved countries and industries where I finally found my place managing projects and operations.

Reviewing our LinkedIn profiles gives me a different perspective and I feel a deeper sense of appreciation for this professional journey. We traveled so far, didn’t we? Perhaps I don’t hate LinkedIn at all. And when I do, I should let it go…