Let's comment some of our favorite cringeworthy LinkedIn posts. Here are some of mine:
- "Humbled and honored to announce that I have accepted an offer at company x..."
- "Had a transformative experience attending company x's two-day leadership program..."
- "Honored to receive a full time offer from..."
P.S. I'm not a salty guy or anything. I just find some of these LinkedIn posts to be extremely cringeworthy. I've attended multiple diversity programs with different firms this year and I find it laughable that after spending 2 or 3 days doing some BS stuff, a lot of people will go on LinkedIn to post about how the experience was extremely transformative and life changing. Like come on. All we did was receive presentations about the company and some "professional development" sessions. But whatever. Each to his own.
Expected Incoming investment banking summer Analyst at firm XYZ
Saw a girl put "Incoming 2020 Summer Analyst at William Blair" in her profile. Guess the title will be there for a year.
I saw a guy do this in May, before his 2019 internship on his timeline.
Expected means the person hasn't even received an offer yet tho...
Next year: Outgoing 2021 Summer Analyst at William Blair.
Even better than expected-
DESTINED IB Analyst
To be honest, I'm not as against the "Incoming" analyst thing as most people. It was helpful senior year to see where people were going.
I'm with you man! The worst is the long, obviously untrue stories that end with "Agree?"
I thought I was the only one!!! They drive me nuts!
I Agree with you
We gotta start replying with “disagree”
These dudes are fucking cancerous
Thanks I think got cancer from reading that.
After this short break, we have more on shit that did not happen!
Unless your name is vincenzo or graduated from rutgers there is no one who wears a obnoxious gucci belt with a suit
omg!
Wow. If I see this on my feed I'm deleting my account.
“LOVE this!”
I'll take "Shit that never happened for 500," Bryan
What lesson am I supposed to learn just pull out my Dubai First Royale "gold" credit card first and don't pay for anyone else.
Well yeah.... it's literally mandatory to have one in order to get the job
It’s even worse when you try to play out the whole scenario in your head,
With the guy apparently SMILING and pulling out his GOLD credit card for everyone to see
You hate to see it
Those people who put every single 2 day diversity program they did as a job on LinkedIn so they keep showing up in searches. I was looking for alums in various banks and this one kid who's a rising junior kept appearing as having worked at GS, MS, JPM, BAML, and others. Clicked his profile and he did a bunch of BS leadership seminars but put every single one as a job on LinkedIn with a multi-paragraph description of each.
I hate that so much! Like honestly. These guys will put up these bs 2 day programs as jobs and will come up as employees at the company.
I think know exactly who you're talking about...TB?
He's one of the most notorious.
OP I legit unfollow any one that either posts something like this or siphons shit like this into my feed by liking it.
Something else that drives me crazy is ppl that just like a news story or article because it popped up in their feed. I've seen a few articles running for two years now. Especially this one about "GM having a female CEO and female CFO" with this stupid picture of their CFO. It is two years old and it pops up in my feed all the time still.
That story about not needing an excuse to work from home shows up pretty much every week in my feed. Feels like everyone just keeps on sharing it or plagiarizing it for themselves.
Hahah that shit also keep showing up on mine!! Like. Almost. Every. God damn. Day.
I would be mortified if I became CEO or CFO and it was even mentioned that I was a woman, let alone celebrated. Its weak, it's a weak move. That law in California mandated that a female be on the board? I promise you, women do not look out for other women. All of the sudden they think they're Navy Seals. I would never want to work for a company like that
that legit pops up in mine once a week
I've been reading about Iceland having made it illegal to pay women less than men now for about 3 years I think.
Same! With some annoying picture of a woman with the flag painted on her cheeks
Content Creator/Finance Blogger at WallStreetOasis.com
Love WSO, but how the fuck do kids not realize how stupid and embarrassing it is to put this on LinkedIn?
As a head title or part of the profile ?
Either.
I admit it would be a weird flex but ok moment for a headline but I don’t see why it’s wrong to put on the profile. I’m assuming you are a target kid who is a member of >4 prestigious on campus clubs, stellar GPA, and have had PE/HF/IBD internships since freshman year. Let the people who haven’t been as privileged as you put at least something on their profile.
Are you kidding? I really hope you don't have this on your LinkedIn - it has nothing to do with your background; it has to do with the fact that any finance professional who sees this on your LinkedIn will know immediately that you aren't a "content creator", and you are in fact just a college kid who posts on an anonymous online forum that is mostly used for humor. It doesn't add any value to your experience and is just embarrassing to try to spin it as such.
And no - I went to a complete non-target state school where career services thinks investment bankers are bank tellers, and networked my own way into banking. I was raised by immigrant parents who worked their asses off to make a life for our family, and had absolutely zero exposure to finance growing up. Next time, start a dialogue before throwing MS and calling someone "privileged".
I’m actually really sorry for what I said. No I do not have content creator on my profile and can see where you are coming from on how it is a spin on things. As for calling you privileged that was clearly ad hominem and my mistake as well . Basically I mistook you for one of those kids who sees internships below FO as low quality. You are absolutely right that I could have easily asked you rather then going on a rant.
I know people that have mentioned blogging for Seeking Alpha/WSO during interviews. Ofc employers know it's nothing super intellectual. But it does express an additional activity within your field of interest, i.e communicating passion.
Had to check this out for myself to see if it was widespread and WOW. My favorites so far that I've seen are Senior Contributing Author and another that mentions that they conduct financial research to write daily articles that get between 2,000 and 5,000 views. If I were to ever see this on a resume it would be a DING!
-.
would that be an auto-ding if you're screening resumes
Doesn't Andy run a so called 'summer blogging internship' program? I did this last summer because I had nothing better to do in my summer after first year of university. Putting the title as header is sad as fuck but as a one liner on a CV can't hurt
Anyone who posts about passing CFA level 1 and includes a screenshot of the email
Coming from a recent Level I passer - agreed.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
I posted the badge, that is all.
Im interviewing at a bunch of places and its my most relevant experience tbh
So I’m not gonna defend this cringe posts, as I agree LinkedIn is painfully commoditized for a professional social network. However, just playing advocate a lot of times in this age of diversity - and ranges of schools that are sending people to Wall Street, you’re getting kids whose diversity days, full time offers, and internships are a first for them in their family, or maybe a big stride relative to their peers, or a rebrand for themselves perhaps. I see where it’s cringe, and I don’t do it myself, but if someone’s prideful of an achievement well I guess it’s not all that bad. We’ve all seen infinitely worse on social media. Some of the “motivational” posts like the one about the guy in sweats paying and lots of recruitment posts about candidates and stuff are completely nonsense though I agree.
I get you. That makes total sense. I just wanted to add that I myself am a minority, first gen, parents are unemployed but I still don't do that. I guess it's just personal preference.
"Defund my cringe posts.." I swear to god if I see any of my juniors making these posts, they will definitely be laid off ASAP.
What kind of self-gratification are looking for? Jesus Christ, kid nobody cares! If This is the biggest accomplishment you have had in your career then you have a wake up call coming!
Kid from undergrad who is now at a Big 4 is notorious for these. Had a good one this week. I get a notification on Friday:
"Congratulate (Name) for being promoted to New England Managing Partner Advisory Committee: Representative for the Boston Tax Function of (Company Name)."
This Director came back with:
"Way to use fancy words to announce you joined the group that decides on snacks for busy season."
Murdered. Looks like he took it down.
Damn that man just beheaded that fucking kid
It was a girl - Director at Big 4
Great wholesome Sunday post. Linkedin Flex on Instagram is a great spot for a laugh if needed
The classic "end of internship" post. The vast majority of these posts that clog my feed every August come from the internship programs that you know for a fact are bogus, yet the posters claim that their experience was "transformative" and "enlightening." They also talk about the "unique company culture." Ugh
-
These are especially hilarious considering that nobody will remember the interns' names within a few weeks.
Bogus or not they are extra annoying. I don’t understand the thought process behind these posts. You got the internship and frankly that’s the only thing anyone cares about. Put it on your resume, list it on your LinkedIn and move tf on.
@IBplz78 what are some examples of 'bogus' internships? I'm super curious—I'm a current student and want to know what to avoid
Anything with northwestern mutual, for one.
The motivational stories/posts drive me nuts. Especially given most are reposts full of blatent lies...
When is a LinkedIn post not cringeworthy?
Nailed it. Just update your job title and move on with your life!
Yeah some people are so cringe on Link that I barely use it now. Like one guy was bragging how his profile has been viewed over 30x in one week. Like OK, do you want a cookie or something?
lmao
I just had dinner at Dorsia with my boss Patrick Bateman. He has made my summer internship in the M&A department at Pierce and Pierce so much fun. From discussing Huey Lewis and the News or Whitney Houston, Patrick has been more than just a mentor in the world of finance but has introduced to an eclectic variety of new music. I am so lucky to have a boss like Patrick! #shareyourstory
Many do not understand that not every story is worth sharing
SB - Those with the best stories tell them selectively and to small groups of people. Good advice for LinkedIn and life in general.
This one time I ate a cracker, and it fell to the ground; I picked it up and looked at it. It looked funny, but I didn't know why. Then someone came over, looked at it, and then back at me. He said goddamn I didn't know you were twins! And to think that my dad said that at the Superbowl in front of all of those people and Tom Brady watching... I'm not even white; I'm like kind of peach-colored if I'm being realistic. I hope that you all take the lesson from this story, which is that you shouldn't lie to your grandparents.
You are really the GOAT Spike, every post i've seen you comment on either makes me hate my life for being dumb or make me laugh.
I think it was Oscar Wilde who said "Everyone has a novel in them, and for most people, that's exactly where it should stay." Same logic with LinkedIn posts.
Has anyone else been seeing a lot of these: "I am truly honored to have been selected as a scholar of the Forbes under 30 summit in Detroit. This summit aims to bring together brilliant young leaders, founders and creators for a life-changing four days of connecting, learning, teaching and building. I can’t wait to network with other scholars and the great young minds that are transforming our society. "
The worst part about this is that it isn't selective at all. All that being a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar means is that you get a discounted rate to the event. Kind of sad that such an achievement is blown so drastically out of proportion.
lmao. I had no idea that was the case.
Lol is this actually what is mean? So they are essentially bragging about getting the equivalent of early bird pricing on a conference in Detroit. That's amazing.
Where are you getting this information? Forbes Under 30 receives thousands of applications with resumes/cover letters etc and only accepts 1000 scholars nationally. Once selected, you THEN get a discounted rate. Not that the process is crazy selective but definitely not comparable to an early bird ticket lmao.
Oh! You wish you were in India. Every few months, your feed would get flooded with absolute morons going:
"With God's grace and my parents' blessings, I have cleared CFA Level 1/2/3/4/5/6/88/ CA/CPA/MBA/WTF. Invariably followed by - I am now looking for jobs in investment banking, equity research, transaction advisory, private equity - in short anything under the moon that says 'finance'. If you have any recommendations, please pass them on to me. If not, please like and share this post, so it reaches out to the right people."
These blithering idiots beg with such ignorance that it boils my blood to the last drop. I have even received private messages stating - My brother has cleared enter your favorite certification's name that states you can slog for anywhere between 300-1000 hours and is looking for a job. Please hlp. Thnx in advance.
Honestly, if I had the time and resources, I would personally blacklist each of these individuals and make sure I never get involved with any of 'em in my entire life. Except, obviously, if they have reached the C-level of a publicly listed company; in which case, it would be my honor to short their stock.
I saw one of those type of posts on my feed once because an exchange student from India at my school liked it. I nearly short circuited. Absolutely horrendous.
All the indians love this bullscrap
When people that are part of the "XYZ Case Society" put "Professional Case Solver at XYZ Case Society" on their profile.
Please kill yourself.
Update on feed "John Smith started education at Harvard"
clicks profile
Harvard Extension School
There should be law against that. I am so tired of people honey dicking with their online courses and executive programs from Harvard.
Saw this kid with Student at Harvard University in her headline once, turned out she was at the extension school, except for she wasn't even yet, because school hadn't even started (saw this in June, I guess harvard starts in Aug/Sep)
Ditto on all the kids who put HBS peek weekend in their education as Harvard Business School
@Secyh62, I was told HES graduates there will get the same harvard degree. I guess this is why this John listed on his file. BTW, anything related to Harvard immediately gets a premium in China...
Isnt it an actual title though if you get it?
What I have noticed is that the people who put "John Doe, MBA" almost exclusively went to unrecognizable MBA programs. Have yet to come across a H/S/W grad with MBA in their title.
Very true.
Legit just saw someone's linkedin, and it has his title and "Passed Level III CFA Exam"
90%+ of the stuff posted on Linkedin makes me cringe.
I have mixed feelings about LinkedIn flexes because my hunch is that recruiters/headhunters processes those flexes differently than us. From what I've seen, the more you show off the more likely these recruiters will reach out to you for relevant positions vs a profile with only a job title and picture, especially for those in non-brand names or ambiguous titles.
My viewpoint on "incoming X BB position" also completely shifted when I saw a kid get poached for a PE analyst job because of it so...
Also another sour truth in the consumer space: Instagram influencers actually DO dominate consumer decision making today. It's one of the few avenues if used correctly that brands can cost effectively acquire customers. In other words, flexing and clout has transitioned from an insecure joke to material impact.
You bring up a good point about Instagram, but if anything, I think the idea of LinkedIn bragging actually works in reverse. In many name brand firms across industries, the top poaching companies don't have recruiters look on LinkedIn, they have them contact the companies for lists of their analyst classes and then email them directly. This allows both parties to guarantee the quality of the other side.
In consulting at least, many of the post-undergrad analysts/associates are poached by the clients they've interacted with, not by some rando on LinkedIn contacting them
Recruiters use keywords for searches. If you do not male the first 3 pages that come up your LInkedIn profile will never be looked at.
Pretty sure we can categorize the content into different groups based on factors like cringe level and overdone language:
The "Meh okay, I get why they're sharing even if I don't agree with it":
The "Okay, you're reaching here buddy, please stop":
The "Oh my god, you're the reason why LinkedIn is starting to turn into Instagram for type A people"
These are all cringe smh, LinkedIn has become the new facebook.
Job title "Philanthropist"
"Founder, President, Chairman, CEO - Crackpot startup idea with 0 employees"
Any title with the word "Ninja" in it
ninja, guru, thought leader, provocateur, "mba",
Don’t forget to throw the heavily overused “entrepreneur” in that bunch
lol, sounds about right
Unless you at a subway as your first job and that was your actual title
I also like: "brand ambassador" .. "Problem Solver" .. "Cultural Consultant"
"Dream un-locker" very common among NWM..
Yo I can not un cringe
Hahahaha .. dream unlocker ... that's pretty boss
I actually saw someone put CED in their title. Chief Executive Dreamer.
John Doe, MBA,CFA,CPA,CA,
I work in a sales role and my LinkedIn feed is out of control. This is the first post I saw after reading this thread.
A rep who was struggling told me they were "Trying their best"
I asked back. "Are you sure it's your best or just hardest?"
They said back "My best"
I asked "Can I challenge you and see?"
Rep: "yes"
So I asked the following questions.
Are you hitting X emails per day? Are you practicing daily? Are you reviewing your calls? Are you hitting your dial metrics daily? Are you loading X leads into your cadence per day? Are you seeking out help from management? Are all leads getting 7-8 touches?
Sadly most came back with ashamed "no's"
KD: Can you do these things at your best?
Rep: Yes I can, and I will.
KD: Nice, make it happen.
--
There is a big difference between your Hardest and your Best
That's why you'll rarely hear me talk about reps 'working harder'
It's almost impossible to truly call someone out for work ethic because it's all a feeling.
Everyone FEELS like they are working hard, but aren't close to their best.
Just telling someone to work harder is lazy leadership.
Making them their best is what a great leader does.
Here is my challenge to you -
Define what you at your BEST would do..
Pick one of those things you're not doing.
And start.
For extra accountability, put what it is in the comments!
PS - This rep has already turned it around!
Ironic.
You had me at "rep"
Leading International Open Networkers (LION), LION Network or 500+ ★Connections Group★ LION (LI Open Networkers), Capped out 30k connections. New account!
This prick I worked for (a total of 5 days before I realised he was a bull shitting scum bag) - posts never ending posts about himself, how his employees work all night long, videos of himself and leadership etc... Also what you need to do to sell etc... Basically an obnoxious moron. Background on him: had left my job and had 5 months to burn before my MBA - he had a well funded startup and was launching in the UK. The guy was a fucking joke, a bull shitter and always trying to get some poor unsuspecting investment banker or consultant to quite their jobs to join him. I took one look at glassdoor and realised they were complete crooks in Asia and just left. I had to threaten to take them to court as they wouldn't pay for my week of work. Scum bags.
I think a simple title update to "Incoming [Position] at Firm" is actually ok, considering headhunters have been really ramping up buy-side recruitment. Anything more very easily becomes cringeworthy
Agreed. I know this is a point of contention on this forum every damn day, but I think there's nothing wrong with having "incoming X at Y" as a position, but I would turn off the "update" option when adding it to your profile. I think it's obnoxious if everyone in your network gets a notification that you're an incoming something, but merely having it on your profile as a position is completely benign and it's ridiculous that people complain about it given how normal it has become in the past 2-3 years.
Literally just read this:
"What a great feeling to have passed probation at a place where you want to be working!"
What next?
College students sharing what their opinions on interest rates are or providing any sort of investment advice.
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO INVEST IN BONDS"
People who have obvious back office roles but find a way to work the word "analyst" into their titles.
maybe their title is actually analyst, lol
Compliance analyst
Assume you're referencing the people who just put "Analyst at Goldman Sachs" on their LinkedIn? I would agree that this is misleading and intentionally vague. I know people who put this and get 100s of likes on their new job update because everyone outside of the IB world believes that it is an IB or more prestigious position. Kind of obnoxious.
aaaand it turned out to be ops true story
Are you talking about 40K back office Analyst in GS's Dallas office?
I have to make a confession.
I can't stand LinkedIn posts that use this format.
Why can't you just write in a paragraph?
It's almost as bad as when I see a lot of vertical bars in job titles, e.g. "Innovation | Digital | Crypto | Influencer." Who thinks this looks good?
@earthwalker7"
Do some research on LinkedIn profile optimization but only after you actually have 10-15 years of experience and have a profile worth looking at.
I'm getting a flood of posts about passing CFA. I'm a CFA charterholder myself and I'd like to tell them to simply fuck off.
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