Once upon a time there was a social network created to help people in building a professional network.
Imagine a big hall where tons of people introduce themselves and exchange business cards. A place where everybody have the opportunity to create synergies talking about their skills, education and job experiences. This web service was called LinkedIn.
Let it be clear that this far far away kingdom still exists, but as in each fable, it is threatened by something (or someone) and waits for a brave knight that can make it great again. Maybe the LinkedIn’s mission is not so easy! In fact, during the years, a social network mainly dedicated to the job market took a turn for the worst and became a hybrid platform that many people consider like Facebook or, even worse, like an online dating website.
It’s embarrassing, come on. Before the problem was being harassed at work by the boss or colleagues, now it seems completely legitimized in a sort of 2.0 edition.
Therefore, if in the past the advances arose only from known people, thanks to LinkedIn it’s possible to get unpleasant attentions also from random people ready to contact you without any professional aim. You can recognize them: they don’t do any job barely related to your profession, their profile is half-done and they generally start the conversation saying “Where r u from?”. No comment about the battered orthography and grammar. The rule number 1 is to not accept this kind of requests. Unless you are investor in Meetic, the online approaching is a skill that you don’t need on your CV!
LinkedIn goes beyond, also the escorts use it. Silence. Confusion. Perplexity. Someone could say that in the end also the escorts are professionals. Depression. Some of them write to be “models”. Unfortunately the services offered are not only photographic!
This digital jungle reflects the mentality of our times. I go around, meet people and who knows, perhaps I’m gonna find a girl who will put out. I won’t go in depth using Latin quotes about the decadence of manners as “O tempora, o mores” or about the shaky ethics that every day comes from the indiscriminate use of internet. I will regret no more than the era in which the resume was used to appear convincing in front of a potential employer. When it wasn’t used to approach a girl but in the worst case was a shield against little lies as the famous fluent English.
Probably any fearless knight will save the kingdom of LinkedIn but each of us could do something to make it a better place. Three little rules prêt-à-porter:
- Choose a serious picture. It doesn’t mean a passport photo or a sad one. A nice smile is always the best presentation. Avoid pics taken on the beach, duck face selfies and happy after party shots.
- Don’t lie. If it is not true that you speak Chinese and that you have been a volunteer in India, don’t put it on your CV. It’s better to talk about your internship in which you developed a great ability in doing photocopies than boast about your experiences.
- Don’t share personal contents. Shots taken on holiday, pics of your cat or good morning greetings can be posted on Facebook or Instagram. Thanks!
