By: Owen Fugit

Editor-in-Chief

Every day, millions of Americans get out of bed and go to work. This is no secret. But if you look a little bit deeper, one question starts to emerge: “How did they get here?” Now, the answer may seem obvious at first. They probably submitted a resume and a cover letter to an employer they wanted to work for and then interviewed for the position. It seems straightforward enough. However, the search for jobs is confusing and strenuous, and it is difficult to know the qualifications for any given position. That’s where LinkedIn comes in. In early 2003, tech bros brought this website to life with a mission to connect people with jobs and their managers for some reason. In the more than 20 years since, LinkedIn has morphed into something very strange, and very, very funny. Today, I will take a deep dive into the world of LinkedIn and give you a journalist’s rundown of what this website is, and if it really can help you get a job in an increasingly competitive market.

You can think of LinkedIn as a dating app crossed with Twitter. An algorithm is constantly trying to match you with the perfect job while simultaneously working to keep your attention focused on the app so you can’t read any of those pesky email replies to your job application. It seems a little counterintuitive. But that’s not the worst part. Even if you already have a job, with your credentials on LinkedIn and everything, LinkedIn will still try to connect you with employers. I opened the app one day and was greeted with a popup asking, “are you currently searching for a job?” I was not, but LinkedIn had other plans. The only two options to make this popup go away were “Yes,” and “No, but I am open.” Things went downhill fast from there.

The biggest part of LinkedIn are the posts. Posts on LinkedIn are very odd. They cover things nobody needs to know and are either written like a pitch on Shark Tank or a district email. In one post I spotted, an entrepreneur wrote a ten-paragraph essay that was essentially a Shark Tank pitch for his AI-enhanced Ring camera knockoff. Even funnier are the motivational posts on LinkedIn, with captions like: “You don’t need talent, you need discipline,” or “Create a circle of positivity.” Who is this for? Of course, LinkedIn is not immune to the “hustler grindset” culture popular across other social media platforms, and more than once, I found a real post titled: “You want that Lambo? You think it’ll just show up? Nah.” This is a professional work search app. I did not come here to be motivated, I came here to submit a resume. LinkedIn feels more like a professional version of Twitter than an app for me to connect with my coworkers and add my official contact information. 

So, after intensive study and a lot of thorough review, I have determined that LinkedIn is not a good place to spend your time. You will not find a job on LinkedIn, but you will find the “ten secrets to corporate success only expert managers know,” as well as 100 of the same hot takes about AI.  

(Source: LinkedIn)