Is LinkedIn an Easter party?

At a time when the acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft has been endorsed by the European Commission, it seems interesting to look at whether this social network fulfills its promises. Indeed if everyone seems to agree that it should be there, it was not given me to read testimonies of professionals attesting that they had found a new job or business thanks to this site.

Linkedin's edit profile page says "be discovered for your next career step" which sounds a bit like a Chinese cookie prophecy. That means also making yourself visible in the multitude of 7 billion people for a recruiter or employer to find you, as a child who would find an Easter egg in March. Yes, of course, except not really.

Already the employer or the recruiter, in good homo economicus, has a rationality of their own and are not limited to competences but also integrate criteria pertaining to personality, even morality, age, sex, whatever. So when they find your profile on Linkedin they will not just read it, they will also judge it, evaluate it. Somewhat as if this child smiled according to whether the egg is in dark chocolate or milk, and especially according to the way it is packed. Knowing that the purpose of the egg is a priori to be eaten, but not necessarily, it could also be suitable to put on show.

We can not really change the composition of the chocolate (jobs held throughout the workplace) but we can look after the packaging to give joy to the child finding this egg. Unfortunately there are not many consultants for advising on Linkedin profiles, and they are very expensive.

Finally, there are eggs that are kept hidden, while being able to be eaten as such Easter bunnies, they manage to make themselves known to the child they have chosen to be their gourmet. That is, instead of staying in the middle of the crowd until they are found, they sneak up to the front of the employer who sees them then.

I think there's a cultural factor in how employers go about hiring their staff, and depending on the position, company, and country it's not necessarily appropriate to have a profile Linkedin who throws. If one is in a culture that values modesty, it is better to have a humble profile, or even no profile at all. This is also true for subcultures linked to certain jobs.

I followed the recommendations of Linkedin and I made an impressive profile, but it is, I think, an "American" profile, where there seems to be pride in accomplishment. Is not totally desired anywhere in France nor consistent with my personality. The problem is that Linkedin does not give targeted recommendations by culture. And I do not know where to find such instructions for this country.

There then arises the problem of being and of habit. And to succeed in presuming what the future employer (or client) will look for. When you go to the hairdresser it is expected that the staff in the lounge will be clean, well dressed, and pleasant to look at. When you call on an experienced consultant, you do not expect them to arrive in worn jeans and on a motorcycle. The dress code of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg has not become fashionable, especially in France, except in crafts comparable to theirs. Not to mention disguising, there is need to resemble what one claims to be.

And so just as there are different formats of resumes in France according to the situation and the professional objective, it would be nice that Linkedin, rather than standardizing the format of resumes, allows creativity to be expressed in layout, and gives examples by occupation, instead of providing a uniform pattern applied to all.

As a result, the vocation of the tool has been diverted and partly serves as a large "old boys network" and for the other to provide indications of a marketing type on a person prior to a professional meeting.