Here’s a quick question for you, Pandas: how many of you have an account on LinkedIn? With 830 million members in over 200 countries, LI is an utterly massive online professional network. Though ‘professional’ might be a bit of a misnomer. As anyone who has spent time on the network knows, things can get pretty darn ridiculous sometimes.
Posts about completely made-up situations. Posts so full to the brim with bragging that they make you gag. Posts that exaggerate the positive qualities of the author, as well as those of their company. And posts about how CEOs acted like total jerks but tried to pretend they were super deep and professional (and totally don’t have control and/or greed issues). The cringe is real. And it all ends up on the ‘The Best of LinkedIn’ Twitter page.
Run by JR Hickey, from California, the account shows the side of LinkedIn that many would prefer would remain hidden. He gently makes fun of all the “heroes and influencers brave enough to share their stories in an effort to inspire others.” Scroll down for his best featured posts, upvote your fave ones, and tell us all about the most bizarre things you’ve stumbled upon on LI yourselves, dear Pandas.
Bored Panda got in touch with JR, the founder of the entire project on Twitter, and he was kind enough to answer our questions. He told us about the history of 'The Best of LinkedIn' and shared his thoughts about the culture of the platform and its problems. He didn't beat around the bush and was brutally honest about just how ridiculous 'LinkedInfluencers' are and how they react to his content. You'll find his thoughts below.
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JR shared the history of 'The Best of LinkedIn' account on Twitter with us. "Back in 2018, I was an Account Executive for a SaaS company in San Francisco. I had a boss who was a dinosaur—his idea of a good follow-up to a meeting was mailing laminated copies of the deck we presented to the prospect after the fact. The phrase, 'Stop by Kinko's' was uttered a few times in my short tenure there (Kinko's was dropped by FedEx in 2008, ten years prior)."
A large part of JR's job at the time was cold calling on LinkedIn. "I was already dissatisfied with my role, my career, and the company, so spending a few hours a day on LinkedIn just about pushed me over the edge," he was very candid. "I began seeing the first inklings of these so-called 'LinkedInfluencers' and started screenshotting their posts and sharing them on my personal Twitter account. Once those gained traction, I decided to create a dedicated Twitter account for it, and thus, @BestOfLinkedin was born."
Bored Panda was curious how JR would describe the professional network's culture. He told us that 'toxic' gets thrown around too often lately. "I would say the best way to describe LinkedIn's culture is 'downright demented.' It's just a giant back-patting circle/echo chamber where people aren't even telling a version of the truth anymore," he stressed that the amount of fiction on LI is utterly absurd these days.
"It's unoriginal sellouts who regurgitate corporate buzzwords and stories of incredible business acumen in an effort to game the LinkedIn algorithm and try to hide the fact that there isn't a single thing that's interesting about them. And nobody will call them out, for fear of losing their job or it blowing back on them professionally. The entire platform lacks accountability, which is insane because its intention initially was to be just that," JR pointed out that very few people are willing to put their careers on the line for the sake of calling out downright lies.
That's not to say that LinkedIn doesn't have its upsides. The founder of 'The Best of LinkedIn' said that the professional network is a "terrific place to read business news, as well as to find jobs, recruit talent, and network with people in your industry.
"It's a valuable business development tool but sadly it's been watered down by these self-proclaimed 'Linkedinfluencers' and their BS success stories. LinkedIn could improve the user experience drastically by focusing on moderating these posts and suppressing them when they don't offer anything valuable," he suggested how the platform could change for the better.
I wonder if they also have the lipstick requirement for the men they interview...
"If the only reason you're posting on LinkedIn is to show off a picture of yourself with a story about how you were called 'too pretty' to be in business then your post will be taken down. If you aren't sharing anything educational or valuable, and instead are attributing incredible management advice from your FIVE YEAR OLD, your account will be banned. Sadly, I wish this was an easy fix, but LinkedIn has replicated every other social media platform and become another runaway train of trash," he said that he's not holding on to much hope that LI will improve in the future.
"LinkedInfluencers, for how much 'expertise' they have, have some of the thinnest skins on the Internet. Because they 'create' their content strictly for LinkedIn, where nobody criticizes or calls them out, they lose their minds when an account like @BestOfLinkedin does. Personally, I've created content for over a decade now in the forms of comedy, podcasting videos, and articles," JR told Bored Panda.
"When you create anything for the Internet, there's going to be 50% or more people who hate it. So you have to know that criticism comes with the territory. But when a LinkedInfluencer sees me poke fun at them for @BestofLinkedin? Oftentimes they don't know what to do with themselves. Usually, they'll try to doxx me or get me fired. Good luck, I'm a freelance Creative Director and don't have a boss. I get paid to write things for social media and more. So yeah, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to. If you don't like what's being said about you on the Internet, the proper response isn't to take your ball and run home. Or worse, take your ball and run and tell your parents."
The body language does not reflect someone 'searching and longing for a solution'. And why the heck would your dad be taking pictures of you while his other daughter is in intensive care?
Yep, your almost two year old had such an enlightened learning experience AND built that sandcastle?? You really expect someone to believe that??
JR’s ‘The Best of LinkedIn’ social media project is a great archive showing how even the most seasoned professionals can feel insecure about themselves. It’s a slippery slope when you start making up stories for clicks.
Don’t even get us started on how ridiculous it is to try and motivate people while humble-bragging in between the lines. Look, nobody says that LinkedIn has to be super serious all the time (we actually rather enjoy some of the fun, quirky, and artistic posts that fly across our feeds from time to time), however, it’s downright embarrassing when industry veterans go all out and think they’re the next big ‘self-help’ guru.
Now, that’s not to say that motivation and finding joy within and beyond the rat race aren’t important (they are!), but it all really comes down to how you try and motivate people. Copying someone else’s post, borrowing someone else’s ideas with a few small tweaks, downright faking entire experiences just so you have something to feed your followers doesn’t reflect well on you.
you learned how to abuse people and try to make the same s**t now they did to you. wow.
It speaks less about you as a ‘leader’ and more about your insecurities and desire for attention. If you’re feeling creatively bankrupt, it’s perfectly fine to take some time off: get off social media. Take a break. Fight that burnout! It’s way better than flooding LinkedIn with trite stories and ‘inspirational’ stories that make people’s eyes roll. And yes, we might be low-key judging anyone who writes, “So true!!!” in the comments.
If you genuinely enjoy a post, good for you. But like it or not, there’s just way too much pretense online. Especially on LinkedIn where you pretty much are what you say you are.
LinkedIn does have its upsides, though. When you make an account and polish up your profile, you’re putting yourself out there for recruiters to see. You become far more visible. You can find jobs that you like way more easily. And (probably best of all) you can actually connect with professionals from all around the world.
Need some advice on publishing a book, learning to program, or how to raise your EQ stats? Well, there are tons of people who’d be happy to help you, as long as you’re polite and genuine. Of course, there are some pros who would ignore or even look down on someone asking for advice, but hey, those are the rules of social networks, right
You’re bound to get some jerks in every community. In our experience, the vast majority of people using LinkedIn have been phenomenal and super friendly. Then again, we haven’t chatted with many folks who thrive on bragging.
All this BS has caused me to throw up in my mouth. Also, "Keillor" isn't a name, it sounds like a hipster low fat liquor. But hey, at least he didn't pretend the scan was real lol
Career coach Jermaine Murray, from JupiterHR, previously told Bored Panda that ‘turbo-charging’ your LinkedIn profile can lead to greater visibility and success. In his opinion, first impressions matter. However, they might not be overly long-lasting. That means that if you make a mistake on your LI profile, it’s not the end of the world: you can recover from this.
Confirm for us school teachers - that does not look like a kid's handwriting or vocabulary...
“You can always improve your profile and show up in a Recruiter’s future search based on the SEO algorithms on LinkedIn. Also, if someone is a good Recruiter, they wouldn’t discount someone’s profile in the future because good people make bad resumes on LinkedIn all the time,” Jermaine told us during an earlier interview.
You'll get more value out saying the word Harvard than connecting with Jonathan. Think about that for a second.
My handwriting looks like a chicken with a seizure disorder wrote it. I'm better off sending an email
From the career coach’s perspective, LinkedIn is a “super powerful and useful tool for surfacing and connecting” with other people. LI can handle most of your professional needs. However, interactions elsewhere, on the net and in real-life, can also be useful for your career.
“I’ve found LinkedIn to be more effective after I’ve built rapport with people on a different platform (like Twitter) or at a networking event (pre-Covid), as it’s a great way to stay in touch,” the career expert said.
Shortly after the restaurant "went silent" they all burst into applause. The restaurant owner then shouted, "drinks on the house!" and loaded them all up in a fleet of limousines to drive everyone to his palatial estate where they all lived happily ever after.
According to Jermaine, people usually don’t give themselves enough credit for their skills. They need to be less modest about themselves and the value that they bring.
“When I have sessions with clients, the first exercise we do is a Success/Failure log where they can beat their chest a bit but also dissect and really understand that ‘failure’ because, more often than not, that Failure can actually lead to a win/success further down the line,” he shared.
"I tried multiple communication channels" ... "Procurement was being difficult" ...You mean you hassled her until you wore her down...
I eat mine slathered in so much butter it dribbles all over my chin. I attack the cob like a feral dog, getting little flecks of yellow all over my face. By the time I'm done I look like a demented person. Actual phot of me after eating corn on the cob attached: Me-eating-...d749f1.jpg 
And then all the pumpkins from the loaf came back to life and clapped
did he smile while he wrote this? im sure he had really positive intentions this day
"We shared a small laugh and a smile..." meanwhile, the barista behind her was spitting in my iced whatever drink and licking that on-the-house pumpkin loaf.
how does he type, and masturbate to pictures of himself at the same time?????
How does he know he shared a smile with the lady BEFORE he made it to the window? Are there two windows at a Starbucks drive-through that are manned by the same person?
considering how condescending jokes like that feel, and how tiring they are when a million customers before you have repeated them, i would definitely say so. very obvious justin has never worked retail a day in his life if he thinks niceties aren't purely bc we aren't allowed to batter customers over the head for taking up valuable time during rush hours like he was in, trying out his stand up comedy. he's also clearly never interacted w a woman before, if he thinks tired, boring one liners from men make us drop our panties and throw out pumpkin loaves. like we don't deliberately avoid giving any positive reception in case it's misread and we now have a stalking harasser screaming that the pumpkin loaf was an invitation into our bed and we're playing games
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The Starbucks server didn't smile or laugh. She's heard that lame a*s joke and the other 150 just like it, and probably considered murder/suicide before sighing and going into work mode.
There is no way an overworked Starbucks barista laughed at THAT joke during morning rush. Even if I kept a positive outlook during the shift, the most you would get out of me would be a polite chuckle. I'm skeptical about the free stuff, too. Is that really enough to warrant freebies? I wouldn't think so. I'm sorry, but that's what I think. And I'm NOT the type of person who would spit in a drink/plate, no matter how bad the customer was... But it's darkly fun to think about.
Little did Justin know that the barista spit in that Grande Ice Coffee and surprisingly moist pumpkin loaf.
i can see justin took his nightly masturbation fantasy about making women drop their panties w his over-used, run of the mill one liners retail workers heard a trillion times before he rehashed it, and feeling like the corporate michael jordan, and decided to share it w the world on this day. we all wish he'd kept it in the recesses of his mind and masturbated in private
That pumpkin bread was probably on-the-floor before it was on-the-house... appropriate payment for condescending attitude and idiotic joke.
Anyone else notice every one of these guys have that same creepy smile in their photo? I mean yeah, everyone smiles, but all these wack-tards share the same creepy "Confident, yet completely out of touch with reality" smile.
And then his fairy Maserati changed back into a dumpster dive rescued pumpkin loaf; the tall tea turned back into a bottle of pee, and he changed back into a shoeless addict hunting for cigarette butts in the Starbucks parking lot.
To be fair, this could happen. I was in the drive thru at McDonalds and I could hear the driver in the car in front of me yelling at the workers about something (can't remember what, just remember they were borderline screaming). When I pulled up, I said I was sorry they had to deal with that. They upgraded my small soda to a large for being "polite". Was very confused due to lack of sleep and tried said I only ordered a small, but they insisted that I take it.
Good for him that he could even hear what the drive through lady said, with the noise of literally everyone else around clapping around them.
Justin looks like someone who thinks he’s too good for a dating site.
I'm sure she was overwhelmed at your clever and timely statement (that didn't actually happen). She'd probably ask to date you if you went back. -eye roll-
I bet he got a "23" face tattoo after posting this just to remind everyone how he's linked to Jordan.
Why is having a home less important to him? Also, best thing about working at home should be using your own bathroom. Let's be real.
The kid wasn't be empathetic - he just wanted a donut, knew you wouldn't do it for him but that you would do it for yourself.
Yes, well, it’s clear that self-awareness isn’t something anyone on this page pursues in favour of such deep, deep thoughts.
"understand that banter is JUST banter" translates to: I'm going to sexually harass you and you're not allowed to complain...it's JUST banter.
"Scares the f*ck out of everybody else"? Wow, this guy must devour his pizza even more savagely than I do.
No, they're out crashing their Lambo showing off so they have to buy a new one.
Ehhh, so the moral is "not putting everything for a company might actually save your life" or what?
When I was a horny teenager, I used to call it "people watching" as well. PERVING Sean, it's called perving!
When it takes more time to write the hashtags than the -not so short though- post they are attached to...
TRAGIC REMINDER: I’m using some other family’s pain and suffering to toot my own horn and promote myself!
Just f*****g order the shoes online, a*****e, and quit wasting working people’s time. The salesperson told you flat out that they don’t have the shoes in stock, explaining it’s through no fault of their own, but because NIKE just isn’t sending them to small local retailers. That was all you needed to know.
I’d say this doesn’t belong on LinkedIn, but obviously I’d just be revealing how jealous I am of their content, authenticity and ability to be transparent with their network.
Even his profile picture looks smug. Also: how is driving a Tesla a “flex” these days? They’re not a new brand any more or even really one of those “omg you drive a TESLA?? How COOL!” car brands. Hell, my 46-year-old still-lives-at-home virgin sister has a Tesla. (I have a 20-year-old Volkswagen van. /flex)
#madeupkidthursday --- kid (6y/o) shoves tax-report to me "there's an error! You can save some money here & here!" •°• #realkidthursday --- kid (6y/o) somehow got grubby, little hands on tax-report... scribbles tiny monsters/animals/plants/etc all over it
Stop lying, nobody comes to your parties. You probably don't even have a son.
I'd say this says he's jealous of people who have more hair on their chin than he has on his head.
Hiring manager: Why would I hire you? Me: I don't know, you are the one looking for new employees
You can't teach psychopathy or sociopathy, Matt. Besides, that's not quite how it works. There is ZERO fear, no voice inside saying we can't do it, the voice is saying 'How do I do it without getting caught'. Once it's done the voice changes to 'Do it again, do it again!', only this time it wasn't as thrilling, so we end up chasing that high, often taking higher risks or pushing the boundaries to make it more exciting. In our single mindedness our world starts to crumble until we either gain control and fight the addiction or fail in a dramatic fashion and destroy ourselves, either way, our habit will end.
I would hate to have this guy for a dad. I had a great dad who, you know, answered the questions I had when I was a kid. Even the “why?” ones. Like a normal parent.
How do you "nearly" chip a tooth? It's either chipped or it's not. Words like "nearly", "almost" and "barely" are used to complain about events and consequences that didn't happen. Just like that story.
I wear a hat because I have a receding hairline, and I'm vain. See? One sentence!
This doesn’t seem like an improbable conversation. Five-year-olds know more than people think. Especially if a kid saw their parent working on the same things all the time. Not sure why she felt the need to share such a pointless conversation no one cares about tho
Your kid will loathe you if you do this to him for his 13th birthday. You know those FaceBook posts from parents who are like “my son and I only speak once a year, now that he’s an adult and has moved out”? This is how it starts.
Never take NO for an answer, even if she says she doesn’t want to go out with you! -Brandon
My goodness, some of these are so shallow... "I was sitting at my work desk today, and suddenly I noticed my a*s was itching. But I'm such a pro-active person with a hands-on mentality, so I realized I could do something to change this situation! So let me tell you what I did... I reached out and ... just scratched my a*s! With my own finger nails! So simple! Learn from me and find solutions for your problems. ❤"
#AssChallenge #TakeCharge #TakeAction #Entrepreneur !!
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HA! The first word that popped into my head after, unfortunately, having gone through the entire list was: Jesus Christ.
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Someone needs to tell these people that public masturbation is frowned upon in most polite societies.
This was like reading a large book of self-affirmations, but the book that had all one-star reviews....
Are you someone whose whole identity is tied up in their jobs? Do you notice that the people around you don't notice how great you are? Are you a legend in your own mind? Try LinkedIn! It's the social media for those that struggle with then social part of social media! And if you act now, you will get these great bonuses absolutely free: 1- A pair of your bosses boots just waiting to be licked 2- A life-sized bust of your managers rear complete with a years supply of brown juice 3- A handsomely framed "Certificate of Greatness" beautifully adorned with your name and your choice of achievement (Choose from: Waking Up, Using the Bathroom, or our customizable Social Interaction of your choice ((proving that somebody did talk to you))). And if you are one of our 1st 500 responders, we offer to you, as bonus, 300 bot followers that will hang on your every word! So try LinkedIn, where making banal great is our business!!!
The only good thing about this post's content are comments like this. Hilarious!
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What is this garbage? This is just cringe and weird. Is this why I should avoid Linkedin? Made up stories and egos the size of their heads? Ewww
Linkedin®, Fecesbook©/Instagram™ for Dunning-Kruger creeps.
LinkedIn is useful as a back up for your resume but otherwise it’s a load of wank
Souless, empty, entitled, very very unaware, self-absorbed people. Seriously, who's posting things like this on a business connection site? Well to be fair said site is really janky not counting the aforementioned people. One can only shake their head and pray to whatever your flavor is not to have your life afflicted with any of said people.
It's amazing what grown men and women will write about themselves. But it is very entertaining.
It takes a special kind of person to be in sales. And I absolutely hate those kind of people
Post a normal profile or resume on LinkedIn and no recruiter will contact you. Because you need to be 'a Winner' a '(aspiring) Rockstar' and have a CV with all hot air balloon phrases. Of 70% on the job descriptions I can't be motivated to respond because I can't get past the utter b******t bingo. I often wonder if the posters actually know what the position is about. Or is that office a madhouse like the ad. Yes? Then i would not want to work there.
My goodness, some of these are so shallow... "I was sitting at my work desk today, and suddenly I noticed my a*s was itching. But I'm such a pro-active person with a hands-on mentality, so I realized I could do something to change this situation! So let me tell you what I did... I reached out and ... just scratched my a*s! With my own finger nails! So simple! Learn from me and find solutions for your problems. ❤"
#AssChallenge #TakeCharge #TakeAction #Entrepreneur !!
Load More Replies... HA! The first word that popped into my head after, unfortunately, having gone through the entire list was: Jesus Christ.
Load More Replies... Someone needs to tell these people that public masturbation is frowned upon in most polite societies.
This was like reading a large book of self-affirmations, but the book that had all one-star reviews....
Are you someone whose whole identity is tied up in their jobs? Do you notice that the people around you don't notice how great you are? Are you a legend in your own mind? Try LinkedIn! It's the social media for those that struggle with then social part of social media! And if you act now, you will get these great bonuses absolutely free: 1- A pair of your bosses boots just waiting to be licked 2- A life-sized bust of your managers rear complete with a years supply of brown juice 3- A handsomely framed "Certificate of Greatness" beautifully adorned with your name and your choice of achievement (Choose from: Waking Up, Using the Bathroom, or our customizable Social Interaction of your choice ((proving that somebody did talk to you))). And if you are one of our 1st 500 responders, we offer to you, as bonus, 300 bot followers that will hang on your every word! So try LinkedIn, where making banal great is our business!!!
The only good thing about this post's content are comments like this. Hilarious!
Load More Replies... What is this garbage? This is just cringe and weird. Is this why I should avoid Linkedin? Made up stories and egos the size of their heads? Ewww
Linkedin®, Fecesbook©/Instagram™ for Dunning-Kruger creeps.
LinkedIn is useful as a back up for your resume but otherwise it’s a load of wank
Souless, empty, entitled, very very unaware, self-absorbed people. Seriously, who's posting things like this on a business connection site? Well to be fair said site is really janky not counting the aforementioned people. One can only shake their head and pray to whatever your flavor is not to have your life afflicted with any of said people.
It's amazing what grown men and women will write about themselves. But it is very entertaining.
It takes a special kind of person to be in sales. And I absolutely hate those kind of people
Post a normal profile or resume on LinkedIn and no recruiter will contact you. Because you need to be 'a Winner' a '(aspiring) Rockstar' and have a CV with all hot air balloon phrases. Of 70% on the job descriptions I can't be motivated to respond because I can't get past the utter b******t bingo. I often wonder if the posters actually know what the position is about. Or is that office a madhouse like the ad. Yes? Then i would not want to work there.
