I wrote a piece about the tension between “be yourself” and “be professional” on LinkedIn, especially for people who feel they have to code-switch or hide parts of who they are to be seen as “a good fit.”

I’m curious how others here think about this: – How much of your real self do you show on LinkedIn? – Have you ever seen authenticity help or hurt someone’s opportunities?

I’d really appreciate feedback on the argument and your own experiences.

#LinkedInPoll #CareerTalk #AuthenticSelf #ProfessionalBrand #PersonalBrand #Recruiters #HiringManagers #WorkCulture #Inclusion #Belonging #CodeSwitching #DiversityEquityInclusion

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To answer your question, not having read what you've written, yes, I compartmentalize, just as I would on a food blog, or a sports forum. What belongs on LinkedIn is work or vocational related stuff. I consider this being authentic, as this is a compartmentalized part of my authentic self. This will vary between people, as some people have political jobs and their work stuff should be political, for example.

People should be embarrassed to use LinkedIn, there’s nothing valuable or authentic in the content or interactions. It’s perhaps only a useful tool for browsing job applications, but levels.fyi is better.