Ragged Riches

“I know how you can find a job! LinkedIn!”

That was the advice my mother gave me when I continued to whine about the way my career has been ailing. It’s not for lack of trying. I’ve been putting my applications everywhere. I’m not sure what’s going on with the lack of hiring.

I tried LinkedIn, and damn it, did I try.

I’ve been asking people (with the limited communication I’m allowed on that site) to help me figure out what’s going on with my job search. Or at the very least, to help shout me out.

Even when I would interact and boost other creators, I’d get no answer from them. None. Any answers I did get were simple puffball things like, “Oh, it’s hard…” when I’d ask what I’m doing wrong.

As I’ve said before, I just want to know what’s so awful about me that I can’t get a W-2. I just want to know. If I know, I might be able to improve on it. If not, well, I just get stuck even deeper in this cycle of suck.

I kept being told that I could network my way to a job.

So I started to reach out to people.

No answer, some declines from recruiters.

I started to ask for shout-outs.

No answer.

I started to publicly post (albeit desperately) asking what I can do or say to make me worth hiring.

No answer, some mild tautologies about how it’s “hard.”

I posted a post asking what I should do to get a job, because clearly applying doesn’t do shit.

No answer.

After a while, it became clear that no one was going to bother trying to connect with me on LinkedIn.

Have you ever felt like you were talking, screaming at a group of people who just were never going to help you no matter what you did? When I would reach out to recruiters or even other HR people asking for advice, that’s what I got. Nothing.

After a while of flailing about, I realized something: it’s a big ol’ club and I was not only uninvited, but I was flat-out unwanted. When even recruiters want nothing to do with you or people just won’t work with you, it’s hard not to hurt.

My feed is filled with people talking about the opportunities they have, the great connects, plus a heavy smattering of that airy, hoity-toity motivational posturing that doesn’t offer any actionable advice. It feels more like an ego bumping parade than actually trying to find mentors or helpers.

The more I scrambled, the less I felt helped. More importantly, the less I felt like I was doing anything social on this “social media” platform. It didn’t feel social. It felt awful, self-fellating, and hollow.

LinkedIn is turning into a particularly rotten type of Facebook.

Right now, I’ll be honest: 99 percent of my problems are because of other people not being willing to work with me. I can’t do everything myself, on no budget, alone, with no guidance. No man is an island. I need a community. I need help, and not just cheerleaders who send platitudes online.

I’m far from alone in this respect. There are a lot of people who are also just in the same situation as I am. We go on LinkedIn, in hopes of actually meeting people who want to connect and lift one another up. What we get are sales pitches and vultures, plus a ton of self-serving posturing sprinkled on top.

It’s a lot like Facebook these days: noisy, no connection, just mindless, bloated content being spoonfed to the masses. It’s a place where, instead of connections and helping one another get better, you can watch the grotesque kabuki dance of career posturing.

As far as actually getting somewhere?

Fat chance, unless you have enough followers, bots, and of course, a paid subscription.

LinkedIn’s toxicity isn’t just something I’ve noticed.

Major thought leaders like Justin Welsh have started to abandon (or at least, hop off) the platform for places that are more community-oriented like Substack. And frankly? I’m for this.

In a video with Kristina God, Justin mentioned that he felt like LinkedIn stopped being about thought leadership. He saw the same thing I did: a constant, low buzz of noise that does little to actually improve a person’s outlook or ideas on work.

I even ranted about LinkedIn’s weird, phony way of “boosting” one another on the platform on Medium a while back. At that time in 2022, I had to take a break from LinkedIn because of the boost in hate speech, sexual behavior, and overall stupidity I saw in my feed.

Back then I got quite a few commenters agreeing wholeheartedly about LinkedIn’s nightmarish behavior issue.

Much like a milk, it only got worse with age. Now that the corporate overlords are swinging their axes at almost every grunt that doesn’t fit the perfect corporate image, the “personal branding” posts are getting to be absolutely out of control.

If you want real, you ain’t gonna find it on LinkedIn. I got more sales DMs than I did genuine connections or even comments on my questions. It’s truly the platform for people who like to hear themselves talk.

I recently decided to put my LinkedIn to rest.

I’ve heard quite a few people say they networked their way into their next job on that site, but that’s not me. Clearly, I’m not the type of person that works with that site. I know my value. I know what I bring to the table. I am neither ready nor willing to create a whole marketing campaign just to get a 9 to 5.

I don’t think I will ever use that site again. This is actually the last post I’m going to be sharing on my LinkedIn. If you want to reach out to me, use my Instagram, Qwoted, or Substack. At least those have real professionals on them.