Is LinkedIn just one big cringefest?

I’m seriously fed up with LinkedIn. I feel like it’s nothing but people jerking themselves off for something that can barely be considered achievements. It’s seriously nothing but “this was a huge obstacle - but I OVERCAME IT - Never stop believing in yourself!” This stuff isn’t even motivating because it’s just people seeking acknowledgement and applause. And spending like 1,000 words when you graduate or leave a job - seriously? Just update your page and get on with it. I hate this crap! Does anyone actually see any LinkedIn posts they enjoy? Sorry for the rant.

 
Funniest

Yes. The most annoying posts are formatted like this, it’s almost as if algos write them:

“At the age of 1, I was birthed from my father’s vagina. We grew up in Liberia. Every day we trekked through the slums boiling the water in order to drink it.

At the age of 10, I failed middle school.

At the age of 25, I passed middle school, magna cum laude.

Today, I managed to secure a position as the managing director for Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Everyone has their own path. Follow yours for success”

 

Don't even get me started on those sniveling piece of shit who say ” I'm humbled to announce that after an extremely competitive process, I was accepted to PNC’s prestigious virtual insight day” No one gives a fucking fuck and it cringes me to my core

 

I meant it as if even tho it’s not that impressive, people still put it on LinkedIn and call it prestigious.

sorry no offense to PNC

 

the "I'm pleased to announce" posts have been overused to the max. a short few sentences when you graduate or finally get a FT job is ok, but I've seen them for things as absurd as software certifications, 2-day conferences, and even birthdays. will we ever draw the line between Facebook and Linkedin because it really blurs everyday (or finally decide that not everything has to be "announced")

 

If you want to see LinkedIn at its worst, just read the comments on any post that mentions China. Boomers have no idea that what they say online can lose them clients or even their job.

 
AdmiralAnonymous:
In UK we have these cringe

Listing under work experience:

  • Virtual Insight Days and Events

  • InsideSherpa Virtual Internship (6 hour program max)

  • Bright Network Investment Banking Intern (BN is not an investment bank?!)

Listing under Education: Harvard/Oxford when completing online courses

These things have become infinitely worse during the last few months, a lot of students have extra spare time due to COVID-19. Best to have a minimal profile and stay off linkedin

I second this. If I were a FT I'd instantly reject these hardos.

 

ffs this is so true. And then the cringey comments like “congrats! well deserved” for something like bright network which is open to all and not selective at all.

 

I think this post makes you look like you are jealous of those people who have accomplished more than you could ever accomplish in your entire lifetime. When I hear stories about amazing accomplishments, I feel inspired. It’s a shame that you can’t hear someone else’s success without feeling envy and disdain.

 

Not at all. First of all, what I am listing are not real accomplishments. People are mostly trying to seek validation for some crap. They are also trying to make themselves look and sound much more important / smarter / holier-than-thou than they really are.

As for myself, I went from a small country to a Top 3 university in the States to a Top 3 BB and am now going to PE at a very reputable firm. I have NEVER made a self-jerking post on LinkedIn for any of these. Because I don’t need everyone to tell me how awesome I am

 

What are the top 3 universities? I feel like it really varies depending on field/goals. Curious tho

 

I think everyone agrees a few sentences is fine. Being excited and wanting to share that excitement is great; but starting a three page essay beginning from your grandfather’s time in middle school is just excessive. A few sentences and at most a paragraph is all you need.

 

For me using LinkedIn has been an incredably rewarding experience, where I have gained enriching insights from global thought leaders in the field of finance. Being able to directly interact with senior investment bankers has fueled my love of banking and inspired me to follow their example and change the world for the better. Yes there have been obstacles to overcome, uploading my picture and profile banner wasn't easy, but in doing so I learned a lot about myself as well as today's cutting edge technology.

 
Most Helpful

My question to you is: why do you care so much?

You’re constantly going to come across people who are seeking external validation, regardless of how impressive their “accomplishments” are. It typically stems from an inferiority complex, they are looking for a way to elevate themselves because internally they view themselves as “losing” or falling behind their competition. This has always been a part of society, LinkedIn just makes it more obvious and puts it in writing.

If you are proud of your own personal accomplishments and self-confident - then you really shouldn’t care about those posts at all. The only reason it would cause a feeling of anger is if it makes you feel like they’re elevating themselves above you in a public way - and you believe your accomplishments are “better”. It seems like you are very emotionally triggered by these posts, it’s worth trying to think about why they cause such a negative reaction internally. Ironically, a lot of times that reaction would be caused by the same mechanism that caused the other person to post about their “accomplishments” - an inferiority complex and the need for external validation.

Lastly, I definitely understand being frustrated simply because those posts cloud the platform and take away from genuinely helpful content. If I misunderstood your message and that is the case, then I agree with the point you are making - they are low quality posts. However, and I see this a lot, if those posts actually cause you to be upset/angry at the person - then there is most likely a deeper personal issue.

 

That’s a fair point. I guess it mostly annoys me because I would love to see more quality content. You are also right that this shouldn’t annoy me this much. But it has nothing with them appearing more successful than myself or outshadowing me. I just think it’s dumb, pretentious and desperate. And I know it shouldn’t bother me this much - but it does. Because a lot of LinkedIn is great but now it’s getting swallowed with this crap.

 

doesn’t it have to do with who you’re connected with or who you follow? one thing I did, for example, is unfollow my random ass connections from old internships and stuff.

I def recommend following Dalio and El-Erian for better feeds.

 

LinkedIn and ALL social media is one big cringe fest. I used to have social media accounts on all the platforms. I had to delete all of them because it started to really affect my mood. I, like many other normal people who use social media, would post once every few months, or even once a month sometimes. Nowadays people are posting almost once a day and it's always either a subtle flex like "look how great my life is" or someone who wants to be pitied. It's pathetic. I just finished my second year of college and it almost seems like there is a huge difference between people my age and people who just graduated high school. These kids are on social media for at least 5-7 hours a day and sometimes more. I have no idea what kind of long term issues this will cause but I'm sure most of these kids will have some serious problems once they get into the real world. I mean these kids can't even sit through a class in school without checking their phones. How the hell are they going to sit through an entire work day without constantly checking?

When you get down to it, isn't the entire purpose of social media to allow people to seek external validation?

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this and whether or not y'all are on social media.

 

Recently got off social media and have noticed that effects of it. I used to check fin meme accounts and do other stupid shit to pass time which increased my inability to sit still for hours and made me constantly seeking validation. I really disliked how bad I viewed myself and began to question my own self worth because everyone one else is doing such great things with their lives. I am glad to be off and hopefully on a recovery path that makes me happier and can engage in a deeper focus.

 

I seriously don’t understand the need for posts with internships and full-time work. Most of your connections will see that you’ve started a new role once your profile is updated, and you’ve elected to share said update with your connections. Enjoy the likes and validation then.

 
 

Whole heartedly agree. In fact, when students reach out to me for phone calls, I will always check their LinkedIns to see if they’ve ever posted one of these posts. Not the best proxy but I’ve always felt those that make these kinds of posts are insufferable to work alongside. Also, you don’t get points in the day-to-day of working in M&A and the markets for having worked late nights / under serious pressure. That just comes with the territory.

We’re all vain to some extent but being so forward about it makes me feel like the person falls short a level on the self-awareness spectrum and thus just isn’t all that smart despite whatever GPA they’re bragging about having gotten in the face of whatever “challenges” they’d overcome.

 

I enjoy reading it when I'm bored, because of the reasons you listed. It's funny to see people post long posts for really random reasons. It's definitely becoming more like FB.

There's people like this everywhere though. I know a guy who is a bank teller at Chase preaching to people how reading financial news has changed his life even though he only really started months ago after working there...

 

kid who just got a BB IB internship, is it cringey to post abt getting that?

 

It sure is but it’s upto you. I just quietly changed my job title when I started with notifications on just people could see I started but I didn’t made a cringy post

 

If you are on LinkedIn enough to take note of the cringe to the point that it pisses you off, you are flat out on LinkedIn too much.

You use LinkedIn:

  • To have an electronic resume

  • To look for jobs

  • To connect with people you meet professionally

  • To get background on someone you're meeting with or having a call with

If your connections are posting shitty things, you have bad connections, and you are spending way too much time reading the feed in the first place.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

LinkedIn is good for social selling. If you connect with people who could buy your product or use your services and post interesting stuff on LinkedIn then you will be top of mind when the people that you had connected with are looking to buy the type of product that you sell or use the type of services that you provide, these people may not have even had any interest in your type of product/services before connecting with you but later may become interested based on what you post.

 

SB for sure. Yes sure my feed might not be great, frankly I don’t feel comfortable adding people I meet professionally (sometimes inappropriate, also a huge no-no when you’re working on a live deal and I tend to forget after or again - not find appropriate). The thing is it’s just become a part of my social media scroll. Also a good way to keep track on what’s going on in my home country, who’s doing what etc. But it’s just increasingly becoming less useful, etc.

THE FUCKING CRAZY PART is that the worst posts are not even coming from people I am connected with. It’s something that they liked!! So I end up seeing some fucking bullshit “accomplishment” from a person I don’t even know. It really pisses me off. Sorry for lashing out - it just makes this even dumber / more cringe.

 

I've noticed that more and more of these LI stories seem to follow the basic Hero's journey format.

  1. Departure ("I was always an ordinary kid growing up, with no big dreams or ambitions - but then I noticed how my [poor and/or immigrant] parents / relatives were struggling every day, and I promised myself to make a better future for my family, so I started doing research on career paths to follow - I was quickly enamored with [tech / finance / law]. But I knew it was gonna be a long and difficult road ahead, and often had second thoughts - until I spoke with [mentor] and got guidance. I had now made a promise, and started my journey.")

  2. Initiation ("I started to study hard, and took school seriously. I was never a good student, but I managed to lift my GPA from 2.0 to 4.0 over the summer, even though I had to work 3 jobs to help my family. During my last year I also explored extracurricular activities, which resulted in me almost dropping out. The stress was too much, and I barely got any sleep between school and [clubs / sports / whatever], my grades had even started to slip - and during the darkest hours, [me or some relative] got ill, and I had to drop everything. Everything felt lost, but after counseling [with mentor] I managed to pick up the pieces, and continue to strive toward my goals. That year I finished with a 4.0 GPA, Captain of x, blablabla. And with the help and recommendations of my teachers and mentors, I got accepted to [school / job / whatever]")

  3. Return ("I am now where I wanted to be, when I started this journey - but my journey is not yet over. I still have a long way ahead, but I am thankful and blessed for getting the opportunity to prove myself, and to build a better future for myself and my family. I am not some genius, but my hard work paid off - and so can yours, if you believe in yourself.")

 

Thanks for the template! This will make writing my cringe on Linkedin even faster!

“Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives, living existences of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon their shoulders is really a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become.”
 

Also dumb is when college students who are obviously just in their finance club are writing investment advice along the lines of "how to navigate your portfolio through these turbulent times" as if people actually take investment tips from them.

"Work ethic, work ethic" - Vince Vaughn
 

Gone are the days when we thought "incoming summer analyst" was cringe. Loads of clown requests coming at me with "Xyz university offer holder", what's next? "incoming Phillips Exeter student"?

 

Like mentioned above, I think that people listing random online classes / ExEd at Harvard/MIT/Oxbridge is a growing problem. Considering the (lack of) competence of recruiters, I would not be surprised if people manage to get attention by having a prestigious institution in the headline.

Should not be too difficult to implement some sort of verification mechanism, thus only allowing people with real degrees to list "Harvard Business School" under education.

 

Worst post:

"It's my pleasure to share the good news! I finally reached 500 connections on LinkedIn. Networking is something I have always struggled with and to finally be able to see that I've reached this level of accomplishment is a great milestone!"

I almost deleted LinkedIn after reading this

 

I have recently run into something that is a whole new ballgame for me. A kid will literally tag the people he had a networking call with and post summaries and key takeaways of their conversation. Worst is, he has had some “boutique IB” and “local PE” experience, got intro’ed to me to ask for some advice, so we hopped on a call, but the kid barely knows what IB or PE is, seems to recite all the horror stories and banking jokes from this website and you can just hear his shaking and nervousness through the phone. Glad he didn’t tag me but recently he has been posting along the lines of the following: “Spoke to X and Y about the state of DCM markets in the following 3 months in rural China. Greatful to have X share his expert opinion and I agree with the following key trends and challenges he expects to see. “ “Spoke to X who made a shift from accounting to a VC role. Very inspiring to hear about the challenges he faced as an accountant making the transition and I feel deeply honored to have talked to such a skilled and experienced investor. We talked about technology XYZ, key challenges as an accountant trying to leave the field and whatever random bs crap he comes up with.” Icing on the cake is of course the end of the post with some random #finance #motivation drops.

 

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