I write LinkedIn sites for people and a client recently was head hunted for a position in Adelaide.
To be honest, I don’t know how successful they are. I suggest rarely for school leavers and graduates.
The job market is sluggish and unemployment is rising as recession fears push more people to dust off their resumes and post on LinkedIn.
A generational shift is taking place as a more digitally open, confessional Gen Z gets into the job market. It’s prompting a debate for long time users: How far is too far on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn was founded 22 years ago, before Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even MySpace existed. The platform has been experimenting with content for years, with a fluctuating mix of congratulatory career updates, news, newsletter and influencer “thought leadership.”
These days, members of Gen Z, born roughly from 1997 to 2010, are driving growth in LinkedIn signups as they increasingly join the professional world. They’re also fuelling the content shift on the website.
The younger generation sees LinkedIn more like the original Facebook, which burst onto the scene in 2004 as a place to connect with friends and share photos.
It’s hard to miss Boomer, Millennial and Gen X executives oversharing bicep photos from the gym, former colleagues posting haikus, musings about the Venn diagram of love, loss and leadership and questionably qualified “wellness gurus”.
‘Amanda’, for example, posts one evening that she is so grateful for the wonderful journey she has had with company X. She’s a little nervous about what lies ahead but really excited too. She doesn’t say she has been made redundant, but she doesn’t need to because everyone knows company X has just sacked 10,000 people after its poor results.
“Excited about the journey,” she says, which really means, “Rather nervous about what may happen next.” Amanda then gets 15 likes, plus three comments wishing her “Good Luck” and “All the Best” and “Exciting Times!” She replies that she is really humbled by all the support she is getting and is looking forward to the next stage in her journey.’
Not long after this, Amanda’s tone changes: “I’m not going to lie, it’s been a tough time. I’ve been shortlisted for a few roles but haven’t got them. I’ve been struggling, but I know if I stay positive things will work out. Everything happens for a reason.” Amanda gets 10 likes and another trio of comments: “Stay Strong” and “Love your honesty”.
Soon after, Amanda is both ‘proud’ and ‘humbled’ to announce she has found her dream job with a mid-tier financial services firm as a transformation and change specialist. She is excited because she really admires this firm’s passion for inclusivity and diversity and celebrating everyone’s unique talents.
What makes a lot of LinkedIn posts ineffective is that people come off as aggrandising as they try to sell themselves to customers or potential employers, according to Bob Hutchins, a marketing strategist and AI adviser in America whose 2022 LinkedIn post saying “This is not Facebook” got more than 70,000 likes and 4,500 comments.
To be sure, telling people what they should and should not post to social media is a sure-fire way to attract rebukes, and people have blasted Hutchins for allegedly trying to limit free speech. Still, he thinks people could do a better job marketing themselves.