Is Your LinkedIn Cringe? How to Tell (And Ace Your Job Search)
March 29, 2023
Is Your LinkedIn Cringe?
Ah, LinkedIn. A professional’s paradise for showcasing skills, networking with like-minded individuals, and staying informed on industry news. But we can’t ignore the elephant in the room.
For every post from one of your connections looking for a new role, you’ll find dozens of self-appointed visionaries and “thought leaders” repackaging their mundane life events into disruptive acts of self-actualization. Imagine turning a marriage announcement into an internship acceptance humblebrag!
Cringe posts and LinkedIn have become so synonymous that there are entire subreddits dedicated to documenting the most atrocious examples—and yes, they’re real. Your personal reputation is your most valuable professional asset. Which begs the question: why do so many LinkedIn users seem to be actively working to destroy their credibility on the site by posting absolute nonsense?
Virality is one explanation. Unfortunately, broetry-style posts simply work on LinkedIn. Channel your inner William Carlos Williams, and you might just amass a cool 3 million followers and a Top Voice badge.
As Facebook-ified as LinkedIn has become, it still works for finding a job. In fact, 8 people are hired every second on the site. So, if you want to successfully land a new opportunity using LinkedIn while also avoiding the LinkedInfluencers, keep reading.
Optimize Your Profile—Authentically
As inauthentic as the influencers have made LinkedIn feel, businesses today are truly using the site to fill their open roles. Data shows over 58.4 million companies are on the site, and 44% of hiring managers explicitly use skills data to fill their roles. In today’s competitive job market, it’s almost impossible to avoid creating a profile entirely—we recommend just doing your best to block the cringe creators.
To create a profile that attracts recruiters and also feels genuinely you, start by crafting a clear and concise headline that speaks to your skills, experience, and personality— no need to LinkedIn-ify it. Give readers a snapshot of who you are but leave them wanting more!
Your summary section is the best place to dive a bit deeper into your story. Make sure to emphasize your unique value proposition and professional mission—what do you do, how do you do it better than everyone else, and why do you keep doing it?
In your experience section, highlight your achievements and quantify your impact—how have you sparked meaningful change throughout your career and helped previous companies grow? Your LinkedIn experience section doesn’t need to be as detailed as your resume either. Instead, it should be a high-level summary of your top achievements. Here’s a side-by-side example:
And keep the amount of experiences you list short and sweet—no one needs to know where you scooped ice cream when you were 16. Showcase the positions most significant to the career you’re going after.
Don’t forget to include relevant education history, certifications, and volunteer involvement. If you’ve graduated college, for example, there’s no need for you to include your high school information.
Throughout your profile, use keywords relevant to your industry and job function to make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to find you. If possible, enable LinkedIn’s #OpenToWork feature to let your network know you’re searching for new opportunities.
Strategically Utilize LinkedIn’s Job Search Features
Staying updated on the latest open jobs in your industry is a breeze on LinkedIn. You can search by job title, skills, location, company, and more and save all your favorites for reviewing later.
Actually applying for new roles is a different story. LinkedIn’s Easy Apply feature makes it incredibly simple to apply for new positions—almost too simple. For the most part, you just confirm your contact information, upload your resume (which is saved for later applications), answer a few custom questions from the company, and boom! Resume submitted.
Their streamlined approach to the application process is great, but it makes it easy to mass apply to jobs. Why is that a bad thing? Think of the Easy Apply function as this decade’s emailing your resume to hundreds of hiring managers and hoping someone opens the message (or that it doesn’t go to spam). If you’re doing it, it’s likely other candidates are, too. Your information may quickly get lost among hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants who are also spamming job postings.
Does this mean you should never use Easy Apply? Never is a strong word—just be cautious. If you intend to submit your resume via Easy Apply, know that hiring managers will see your profile first—your documents are simply hyperlinked on your application. So, make sure to follow our directions above to optimize your profile. That way, every bit of information you want the recruiting team to find is right at their fingertips.
While more time consuming, if you’re serious about a certain position, it’s wise to apply directly through the company’s website in addition to applying on LinkedIn (if available). With so many jobseekers relying on LinkedIn to find work, applying through a company’s website or app immediately makes you stand out from the competition. This simple action shows you’re serious about the position, and you’re willing to take the extra steps to move further in the hiring process.
Build a Network of Genuine Connections
While having a massive amount of connections might look impressive to some, a stockpile of complete strangers is often counterintuitive when you’re job searching. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll land your dream job by cold DMing a random person you’ve never spoken to before, even if they share an industry with you.
If you’re going to connect with strangers, make sure they’re no longer strangers to you once the invitation is confirmed. Actively engage with your connections’ content, regularly reach out to individuals you want to sincerely build a relationship with, and don’t add people to your network that have no reason to be there.
You don’t have to be a Gretchen Wieners about it, but LinkedIn is a career-focused site at its core.
Ask people you’ve actually worked with in real life to publicly endorse your skills and leave you a review. Not only does this validate the skills you’re claiming to have, but it also makes connecting with your references even easier for recruiters and hiring managers.
Focus on creating real relationships with other professionals who share your goals and interests, and you just might find yourself a referral in the future.
Partner With a Staffing Firm
Job searching, no matter what platform you’re using, is exhausting. It often feels like an endless cycle of applying and waiting, making no real progress. Tired of playing the game? Tag in the CRB team and we’ll take your place in the job-search ring.
Our incredible team of recruiters has access to a vast network of companies and job openings that may not be publicly advertised on LinkedIn—because those organizations trust us to find the best talent for the role. And that talent could be you!
We have the expertise necessary to match your skills and experience with the right job opportunities, saving you time and lowering your stress levels. Not to mention, we’ll coach you through the entire process, helping you perfect your resume and prepare for interviews. Best of all, you won’t need to write any broems.