LinkedIn as the modern resume
Love it or hate it, LinkedIn has become necessary for job-seekers
Back when I was a manager, I hired several roles for my department. The last was in 2019. I had more than 100 applicants for a fully remote role. The company had no HR department, so it was just me — reviewing applications and deciding which to invite to an initial interview.
Later in the process — as I was narrowing down candidates who had gone through interviews — I looked at their LinkedIn profiles. One had a polished profile, complete with her work history and recommendations from former colleagues. Another had an incomplete profile; he didn't even have a profile picture. When you're hiring remotely, at some point you inevitably ask yourself: is this person who they say they are? The company always did a background check on the candidate who received the offer, but at the pre-offer stage, LinkedIn was an additional "check" against the information I'd received during interviews.
I'm not alone in my approach. According to Corinne Mills, an HR executive, says, "If you send an application or CV, [employers] are still going to look at your LinkedIn profile as verification to make sure there is consistency, or to see if there is any additional information there."
Yet, many, many people feel that LinkedIn is cringe. Or that social media, on the whole, is exhausting. So how can people approach LinkedIn when it's become a necessary part of the professional world — particularly for job-seekers?
What if we don't want to be terminally online?
In 2024, Buzzfeed published a roundup of quotes from people who had deleted their social media accounts or significantly scaled back. Comments ranged from "I hated what it was doing to my mental health" to "It was legit causing anxiety, FOMO... I got rid of Facebook two years ago, and I feel insanely better."
There's no shortage of studies that show how social media is bad for mental health. A study found that social media use impacts sleep, is associated with depression and memory loss, and can affect users' physical health. No wonder people are trying to scale back. In December 2024, Wired published a podcast episode entitled, "Is This the Year Everyone Quits Social Media?" In the episode, reporter Michael Calore says, "I often get the urge to just throw the phone across the room and never look at it again, but then I always end up picking it up and getting back on."
For many people, LinkedIn is not an urge, but a necessary evil. As Mills pointed out, it's an essential part of the job application process in many industries. We can quit Instagram or Facebook, but LinkedIn is more complicated.
In an article for the New York Post, some Gen Z job seekers talked about "LinkedIn envy" or referred to LinkedIn as "the overachievers' Facebook." You log in and see people announcing dream jobs or how they've "crushed their goals." It can have a devastating impact on people who've been laid off or struggled to find a new job — which is a lot of people. Unlike a few years ago during The Great Resignation, many people are staying put in their roles because of the tumultuous job market. Couple that with tight budgets, and companies aren't hiring.
As a result, LinkedIn is like FOMO on steroids. It's not just wishing that you can buy expensive shoes or take a fancy vacation. It's an intense chasm between job security and job instability.
On top of that, LinkedIn has become inundated with AI-generated content. Even though only 1% of LinkedIn users post consistently, AI-generated comments and posts are out of control. For people who want to use the platform to make genuine connections to help their careers, it's hard to cut through the "noise."
Finding a balance with the necessity of LinkedIn
Because LinkedIn has cemented itself as the platform for professionals, it's hard to escape. I've talked to several jobseekers over the past year, several of whom have not applied to a job in a long time, and I always say the same thing: "You have to get on LinkedIn." Applying to a job without a polished LinkedIn profile is like applying with a bad resume. You're not going to stand out, especially when many roles have hundreds of applicants.
But there are ways to set limits so you don't dread opening LinkedIn. My friend Reginald Powell recently told me:
After 1.5 years of not using the site, I've learned that it's not as bad once you control your settings and avoid anyone trying to sell a course.
However, watching all these people pretend to have something interesting to say about the em-dash is mentally exhausting.
Control and avoiding the noise are key. You can set boundaries, so that you only log in to LinkedIn for a short time each day (or once a week, if you really hate it). Thoughtfully engage with a few people and ignore the rest (here's a way to save a few profiles to better tailor your feed). Make sure your profile accurately reflects who you are and what you do — so you're more appealing to potential employers.
And if you want to get into the LinkedIn publishing game, it can help your career immensely. Potential employers will get a better sense of who you are. Clients find me through LinkedIn. Love it or hate it, LinkedIn is a way to bolster your career.
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