Congrats! I’m happy to share I have a LinkedIn personality I can't escape from.

WorkAuthenticitySelf-WorthPersonal Development

Jun 23

We all have a LinkedIn personality in us.

Now don’t get defensive.

I’m not saying you’re an insufferable LinkedIn Lunatic (but at this point you really wouldn’t know… right? I’m kidding).

If you have an alter work meeting voice that unconsciously switches on, congratulations!

You are a miniscule baby step in.

A prerequisite to embody this online persona doesn’t come in the form of an active account or a premium badge with a cost of $29.99.

Because having a LinkedIn personality just seeps in…naturally.

With the platform designed for work and career, right from the get-go there ought to be intention. We enter for our own reasons, regardless of depth —

to find a new job, to make new connections,

to learn about industries,

or maybe just lurk around and see what everything’s all about.

For some, it serves as the bare minimum. Updated once or twice with a display photo that looks far from reality, LinkedIn is viewed as a reference platform used as a simple link-out for headhunters and companies as a lazy man’s CV.

For most, LinkedIn is both a strategic tool and a means for survival.

A necessity to highlight strengths and accomplishments.

A megaphone to amplify attention to a personal cause.

An opportunity to learn from others and hope our name lands on the right people.

But where do we draw the line between sharing insight and humble bragging? Moreover, how do we impart knowledge without having an ulterior motive?

Perhaps one thing we need to admit as humans is that we all crave validation and affirmation.

We yearn for people to get us, understand us, and gain that assertion that what we are doing is somewhat situated on the right path. We want to be surrounded by people who will listen to us and hear us out.

In a stricter sense, it translates to attention.

And the easiest, quickest way for some to get that attention is by leveraging on something tangible — in this case, work.

Flexing career progress and accomplishments is a way to gain immediate attention without having the need to engage in unnecessary small talk. The work speaks for itself: showcase numbers, throw around industry speak, and allow the necessary titles to do the talking.

Once the seed is planted, there is a certain sense of acceptance with the thought that people actually give a fraction of their time in the form of a follow request, a message, a like; moreso a comment, even if it’s just a templated reply.

Gaining online approval makes you feel as if you are wanted. It’s as if these people know you.

If it only takes a few minutes to create something that provides the perfect dopamine kick, the idea of creating a well-crafted persona tied with an attention-grabbing narrative can be so addictive.

Most especially if the formula gives the right amount of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation.

A confidence booster to make us feel seen and heard.

A source of affirmation, even if praise comes from the cumulative unknown.

Not everyone will admit to it but sometimes it doesn’t matter who or how we get validation from. Even if it is in the face of people we may have never met in real life, companies we have no idea are real or not, or roles we never knew existed.

And if luck gets tied in with the work you put in, it will be rewarded for what you sow.

It is only natural to share knowledge and learnings with the intention for people to stop and stare. But we also have to know if what we’ve chosen to share still holds a fragment of our true selves or is a magnified falsification of what we want to be viewed as.

If we do want to be viewed in a certain image and utilize the art of compartmentalization, we must have a good grasp of the self to be fully aware of what we are doing, eventually followed by the reason for our actions.

After all, the question is not if our online persona and our real-life persona are still the same because the answer is no, these two will never be identical.

At the end of the day, we can only create a well-written narrative of our own identity if we have a firm grasp and understanding of who we are through time.