This morning I woke up with a smile on my face because I had a good sleep last night. Then I heard my phone buzz, I checked and saw I had a LinkedIn notification. I've been getting a lot of those lately and I was wondering who had their life together, enough to want to connect with me at barely 7 in the morning.
One look at the person's profile and my day which was yet to begin was already ruined. From the person's profile, I could tell that they were my age group and they had a very bulky profile too. I went through it and I felt blood rush to my head. I was either jealous, intimidated, or just sad, possibly all at the same time.
It got me anxious to see all of their experiences and achievements, and I felt like a failure for a moment. I have dreams of becoming a professional in a field I've always wanted and I'm not close to achieving them yet. Also, I feel lost sometimes because I can do several things but I don't exactly know what to focus on.
pexels
My LinkedIn connections on the other hand look like they've always known what they were doing and they never have gap years. I'm not one to be pressured by social media but LinkedIn is a different ballgame. Everyone is either a CEO, manager, or team lead.
They all occupy a prestigious position and have done two times what I dream of in less than 5 years. They're avid volunteers or founders of NGOs and foundations. Even the ones yet to complete their university degrees have trained thousands of people in one business or the other.
There's no way they aren't superhumans! I don't know their tricks of being so successful in just a number of years. They write the longest motivational posts and I don't particularly see anything out of the ordinary. Luck, privilege or good ol' hard work? I don't know.
My husband swears everybody lies on LinkedIn and maybe there's some truth in that. A while ago, we met an acquaintance of his that works at a supermarket and then he connected with this person on LinkedIn only to see that he was a big boy CEO on LinkedIn. Well, no shade, but that's not what we saw when we ran into him.
I've had a notification about my friend starting a new position at work and I excitedly text him and he tells me he only moved to another desk and nothing changed.
Instances like these make me think that I'm not using LinkedIn effectively. The ability to be extra and glamorize your profile is what makes your LinkedIn fully optimized I guess 🤷♀ In Nigeria we call it 'packaging', presenting yourself bigger than you actually are to gain prestige.
Well, I took deep breaths afterward and continued with my day. I don't need that kind of pressure.
Do you lie on your LinkedIn profile or on your CV? Does it work in getting you the job? This is a safe space, talk to me.
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I don't lie on my profiles or CV. I value honesty greatly and need an employer with the same values, or screw em.
Same here!
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This seems like a major challenge I faced on LinkedIn while I was using it to source for clients. I eventually left the platform for more than a year now as I couldn't cope with the entire LinkedIn community.
I use my account to apply for jobs only. I don't think I can key into the community at all.
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I've even stopped using it for anything at all
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I don't lie on my LinkedIn profile. I keep it pretty realistic with where I've worked and what I've done. I'll be looking for new work sometime next summer. In my interviews, I bring evidence of the work I've produced in case the conversation comes up. People tend not to believe you otherwise.
More importantly, though, I keep my actions public. What I mean is that I don't put in extra hours, or work for free, at no cost. I make sure that if I'm involved in a project, I take charge where needed and stand back when necessary.
I never liked embellishment. Write what you actually did and make sure you can back it up.
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You're right; LinkedIn is full of hilarious liars.
I'm not in some high-flying corporate career where I need thousands of fake connections to climb the ladder.
I run my own very small business, but all I got was contacts from people trying to sell me something (usually vapourware "self improvement courses" or businessman's clubs).
What I found funniest was that my business is very small, basically myself and my wife working from home here in the UK. But I found at least a dozen people who put on their profiles that they worked for my business as managers in the Dubai/Los Angeles/wherever office.
So I deleted my profile there, the data they were gathering was intrusive, and it was just a waste of time for what I do.
Oh wow 😄😄😄 this is crazy. I know people claim to work at made-up organisations, I didn't know they actually claim real companies. So wild.
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Indeed everyone lies but it's not just with LinkedIn, it's job hunting in general, I know how many lies I have told 😆
😄😄😄
Teach me your ways
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I usually pad up my cv, not proud of it but these people want experience 😆
I use my friends and relatives' company's that I know can back me up.
I could actually do this with my brother's business 😄
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That what I've been doing mehn, I get jobs but I quit a lot too 😆
Welcome to the club🤣
😆
I have never posted on linkedin, I created the account for those jobs that requires LinkedIn account link.
But the packaging is crazy, everyone is successful on LinkedIn, even those seriously Job hunting would be giving job etiquette and inspirational post about how they moved from zero naira to millions in weeks ,when I can boldly see on their display pictures open to work and on their bio Job seeker.
Then the way they finish so many courses in a short period of time eh, in 1 month I got over 6 course certificate completion from one person, and the courses do not even relate I just had to conclude that these people genuinely just like the congratulations messages they get When they post anything sucessful
I never get it really. How do they expect a recruiter to notice them when they look like the ones offering the jobs themselves.
See, I'm tired of that place.
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I don't even have a LinkedIn profile. I'm already not managing my other socials right. I do not need one more tuber of yam on my small plate. Lol.
You just hit the nail right where it should land. I have an account but I barely go on LinkedIn. Scrolling through LinkedIn always had me feeling like I was moving too slow in life. It was just too much to handle.
Linkedin has become the headquarters of "fake it until you make it," however in my opinion, just like any other social media network, connect with individuals with whom you actually resonate, otherwise you will be inundated with the lies that Linkedin is known for.
It used to be my favourite social media platform until I found I could make money just by reading intriguing pieces like this one.
I wouldn't say I misled anyone on my Linkedin profile; my institutions simply enjoy moving slowly. Some of the skills I described haven't been fully honed, but I'm still a work in progress.
Yay! 🤗
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