Dear Men on LinkedIn,
You don’t know me. Perhaps you think you do, from my upbeat, bubbly bio that talks about how excited I am to be living in a big city coming from a small town. Perhaps my smiling face in my profile photo seems particularly approachable, maybe even naive. Does the blonde hair make you think that? Perhaps you think, for some God forsaken reason, that my efforts to succeed in my career are “cute,” or even, “adorable.”
Perhaps you don’t think I notice you viewing my profile several times a week. Perhaps you think you’re doing me a favor by endorsing me for skills I know you have no idea whether or not I’m competent in.
Perhaps you think I need your endorsement, and that I’m so hopelessly lost in the corporate world that I need a man three times my age in a completely different industry to give me kudos for an article I wrote.
Perhaps you think it’s okay to sign me up for your subscribed email list, after giving you a polite “thank you” after you commented on my latest career update. Perhaps you think you have some kind of power over me, so you ignore my request to unsubscribe from your poorly-written, and utterly useless newsletters and continue to spam my inbox with them until I finally send a rude email demanding to be removed from the list.
Perhaps you think I’m “flattered” that my inbox is filled with messages from men like you, congratulating me on my latest accomplishments, even soliciting drinks to discuss how we could “work together.” Would you ask a 21-year-old man out to drinks to discuss business matters?
I am not flattered. I am not desperate for your approval, and I am not on LinkedIn to find a husband. I am on LinkedIn to make connections and market myself because believe it or not, my career is important to me.
There is possibly nothing in this world more frustrating than seeing that the “people who have viewed your profile” are mainly men, who will most likely have no use to me in the professional world whatsoever. Do you really think I don’t see that?
The most frustrating part of this is that I know this is only a mirror into the corporate world. It scares me. Will I be respected in the professional world, or mocked and talked down to because I have blonde hair and breasts?
I am capable. I am educated. I am driven. I am independent.
No woman uses LinkedIn to find a potential date. If we wanted to, we’d use Tinder, OKCupid, Bumble, or virtually anything else.
The fact is, LinkedIn is a social media platform meant for professionals. So start acting like one.
The fact is, LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. So start acting like one.