Here is my take: We should all prioritise LinkedIn over every other app on our phones.
First, LinkedIn is simply a better social media app.
Why?
What is the definition of being a good friend? Celebrating when your friends actually win in life. Not celebrating when she soft-launches some “mystery man” on Instagram whom she met at Park End and whose entire personality is “I row.” Not when she announces her move into a London flat-share on Facebook. You know, the one in Zone 4 that costs £900 a month with the malfunctioning heater. And certainly not when she Snapchats a new haircut from that trendy place on TikTok that cost £80 and looks suspiciously identical to what she had before this week’s tutorial.
No. You celebrate when she gets employed. On LinkedIn.
When she lands something she’s genuinely excited about. When her LinkedIn headline changes from “PPE Student | Aspiring Consultant” to “Analyst at [Firm You’ve Actually Heard Of]” or from “History Oxford Graduate” to “Master Student @Somewhere” or “Some Prestigious Scholarship Scholar at @Somewhere That Your Tutor Went To.”
That’s the content that matters.
Second, it is a way better and more efficient dating app.
Hinge wants you to match based on someone’s “two truths and a lie” and whether your picture is “plandid or candid.” Cute. But you know what’s actually interesting? What someone does. What they care about enough to pursue professionally. Whether they can hold a conversation about their work that doesn’t make you want to check your phone.
Your Hinge match says he’s 6’2 and works in tech? Great. His LinkedIn says he’s a “Growth Marketing Strategist” at a startup that launched three months ago and is definitely just a ChatGPT wrapper.
She has 3,000 Instagram followers and an aesthetic that screams, “I summer in Santorini”? Lovely. But her LinkedIn shows she’s been “Seeking Opportunities” for 18 months?
But then there’s the person who studied History, and their LinkedIn profile shows that their dissertation was on something fascinating. They now work for an NGO doing something meaningful that they can actually explain at dinner parties. Or they’re teaching, and their profile is complete with former students saying how they changed their lives. Or they’re pursuing a PhD in something obscure, but clearly love it enough to live on a stipend.
Those are the profiles worth your time.
LinkedIn tells you what someone’s actually about. This person has a line of recommendation, so they are a good person, right? They have held a job for longer than three months, which means they have no commitment issues, right? They have skills beyond “good vibes” and “dog lover,” which, let’s be real, means they’re actually dateable, right? Right?
Sure, LinkedIn has its cringe moments. The guy who posts about his “5 am morning routine” which he starts with his head dug in a bowl of ice. The “Delighted to share that I’ve accepted a position…” humble-brag that could be a single sentence but spans three paragraphs (and he just got an unpaid summer internship). That one person who comments, “So inspiring!” on literally everything, as if they’re running a bot.
But hear me out: what is a better way to catch up on the success of your friend and the success rate of your date?
It’s LinkedIn. Always.
So yes, I’m that friend who’s more excited about your research fellowship than your holiday photos. And I’m more likely to be impressed by your LinkedIn showing you’ve committed to something, anything, than your Hinge profile showing you’ve been to Oktoberfest.
It is time to get a job, pursue a degree, or take up a hobby, and scroll through LinkedIn religiously.