to think this is a stealth post or am I a miserable cow?

[Sternschnuppe]

I'm due to start a new job in June. It's a complete remote position and I'll be training for four weeks at the beginning with other new starters.

I don't know any of the people I'll be training with, but today I saw on LinkedIn that one of the HR people at the company who headhunted me liked a post of one of the new starters at the company.

It went along the lines of "I'm so happy and excited to start my role. During this pandemic, landing this dream role right after getting my university degree hasn't been easy. I'm feeling so blessed and can't wait for this new chapter in my life"

I was rolling my eyes to the back of my head when I read that and just thought how narcissistic and full of self-praise this person is to write this publically on LinkedIn, but am I being unreasonable?

Is this the new normal and I'm just being a miserable, bitter cow that should get with the times?

It's not narcissistic, but people who post this sort of thing are always arse kissers in my experience.

Yea, pretty standard these days. Don't be so cynical and negative about it.

@daisypond

It’s posting it on LinkedIn that makes it cringey. Post it on Instagram or Facebook or wherever, fine. They’re personal accounts. But LinkedIn is more like a professional CV - surely.

Which is why it's a more appropriate place for career announcements or messages about your enthusiasm to upcoming employers.

This is why I can never go back to paid employment and will have to stay self-employed forever, whether I want to or not.

I'd be eye-rolling so hard at this kind of shit, I'd look like an extra in The Exorcist.

@DrSBaitso
"If you're 'shocked' by this, you're clearly marking it as morally wrong"

Again, not sure where you've got that from. Surely I can be surprised that my opinion is very different from others' opinions without making a moral judgement about them.

To me expressing an opinion on an AIBU thread that people have chosen to read and engage with is very different than subjecting countless random contacts to a braggy post on SM (as this is literally the purpose of AIBU) but you are entitled to disagree of course.

A lot of people do this. And like all social media, people say and do things they wouldn’t in real life.

For example, a 40 something year old peer put a gushing post on LinkedIn about her new job and I was you may say it in an interview but not for thousands to see.

LinkedIn is a wank fest but I love to see which jobs people are in, so I keep using it 😂

But I do have other SM accounts and find there are really only a few of my contacts who post outright brags like that. It does make me think less of them in real life!

How humble of you. I'd take the overexcited cringy #soblessed anyday than the morally superior on their high horse.

People really don't see themselves, do they?

[quote Whatshouldicallme]@DrSBaitso
"If you're 'shocked' by this, you're clearly marking it as morally wrong"

Again, not sure where you've got that from. Surely I can be surprised that my opinion is very different from others' opinions without making a moral judgement about them.

To me expressing an opinion on an AIBU thread that people have chosen to read and engage with is very different than subjecting countless random contacts to a braggy post on SM (as this is literally the purpose of AIBU) but you are entitled to disagree of course.[/quote]
Well of course it's different "to you", just like OP telling us she was headhunted is different "to her".

And no, being "shocked" by something because COVID and OTHER JOBLESS GRADUATES etc is absolutely a moral judgement, of course it is. I love how you people try to back pedal once called on it, since there's clearly no moral value involved in this.

But if you are as keen to consider different viewpoints as you appear to think others should be, you might like to ask yourself why your methods of self promotion and self expression are ok and other people's are so objectionable.

Right after getting degree? Thought most results didn’t come out until later? Maybe it’s taken months to land this role after a lot of searching - certainly know it took a few grads I know anywhere between a week or two and months to get their position after uni especially during the pandemic. Maybe this person is just over the moon at landing the role - plus if it is their dream role and it’s their first proper job out of uni then that’s pretty amazing and calls for some trumpet blowing in my book.

Also I think while the wording was perhaps a bit on the cheesy side it’s nothing out of the ordinary, she’s probably just following the same sort of format she’s seen others use. She’s trying to celebrate her achievement and build her profile on Linkedin. As a youngster she wouldn’t have that much experience of this so maybe cut her some slack. To be honest it’s a bit ‘cringe’ (also people using ‘cringe’ like da kidz is ‘cringe’ too ) that you are sat there bothered enough to judge the shit out of her and post it on mumsnet before you’ve even met her.

If I knew this situation being part of the company I know which new starter i’d be making an effort to get to know.

Marking them down" for being excited about a job is, well, a bit daft.

That's why some people don't progress, because someone has taken a dislike to them for innocuous reasons and not because they can't do the job. So glad I'm out of the workforce but then again it never really mattered - I was the one not marking people down for being overexcited.

Oops, stealth boast. You can hate me now. But I won't stop now. 🎵

Again, not sure where you've got that from. Surely I can be surprised that my opinion is very different from others' opinions without making a moral judgement about them.

You don't seem surprised that your opinion is different (lots of people on this thread have the same opinion), you said you're shocked that some people can't see how wrong/inappropriate it is. Now, you seem to be backtracking. Even in your second post...

Er, no, I didn't accuse anyone of being "morally wrong" for not minding it (I'm not sure where you've even got that from), I'm just genuinely flabbergasted that such a large proportion of people think that post is acceptable

This is you thinking it's somehow wrong and can't believe others don't see it. You're not saying anything different even though you're using different words to describe it.

tbf I would probably have a similar reaction OP and think it a bit cringey, but we never know someones intent when writing things. Maybe they're just actually feeling really happy and excited and grateful to have a job they really wanted, after a shitty year. We're always being told how important it is to practice gratitude for our mental well being, but it's no wonder people struggle with it, when doing so publicly leads to people thinking you're a bit of a knob. Live and let live. It might not be something you would do, but i'd try and take it at face value and think "that's nice, someone is excited and happy about this next stage of their life" as opposed to formulating an idea about them in advance, that they're a self obsessed, smug so and so

Also you can claim you’re not jealous but you made a point of noticing who liked her post and that it was the person who headhunted you. That you’d even look at who liked her post and be annoyed about it enough you needed to post here plus throw in it was the very same person who headhunted you (subtle boast there) - yep think you might be protesting a bit too much. Honestly this just reflects badly on you - calling this other new starter names and looking down your nose at her, especially given your much greater experience and, you would hope, maturity.

@PriestessofPing

Ehm, no, not exactly. When I opened my LinkedIn app, it came up on my screen "Person X likes Person Z's Post" and the post was directly in front of my eyes.

I didn't click on the likes to find out who liked the post.

@PriestessofPing

I also don't recall calling this person "names" anywhere on the thread, I just said that I found the post narcissistic and self - centered and asked for other people's opinions to see if this is normal nowadays (only started using LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago)

@PriestessofPing

Also you can claim you’re not jealous but you made a point of noticing who liked her post and that it was the person who headhunted you. That you’d even look at who liked her post and be annoyed about it enough you needed to post here plus throw in it was the very same person who headhunted you (subtle boast there) - yep think you might be protesting a bit too much. Honestly this just reflects badly on you - calling this other new starter names and looking down your nose at her, especially given your much greater experience and, you would hope, maturity.

What would she be jealous of? Just wondering. I get mildly irritated by gushy posts on SM too but I can reassure you that it’s not due to jealousy. If I was jealous, I could write a fishy post myself.

@OldkermitSippingtea

Marking them down" for being excited about a job is, well, a bit daft.

That's why some people don't progress, because someone has taken a dislike to them for innocuous reasons and not because they can't do the job. So glad I'm out of the workforce but then again it never really mattered - I was the one not marking people down for being overexcited.

Oops, stealth boast. You can hate me now. But I won't stop now. 🎵

Oh do you mean that you’re the boss now when you say out of the workforce? I assumed you meant you were retired or unemployed so was like where’s the stealth boast?

@sternschuppe Gosh you really started something here. What is actually the purpose of LinkedIn? For employers and rec cons it's to help find candidates and gather business intel (eg who works for who) and sales leads - and they pay for this service; for employees and self-employed it's a way look for and apply for a job (eg by studying the job ads) and to promote your career and keep yourself front of mind with your network (whether your network be your current colleagues, your future colleagues, the wider industry you work in - or a future employer). You can also be an influencer or thought leader - at one end of the spectrum, this might be you, sharing an opinion about an industry development, at the other end you may have seen that it's possible (for example) to sign up for blog updates from Bill Gates and other luminaries - useful if they relate directly to your field of interest. So, never minding what young people finding their feet are posting on it - how are YOU going to use LinkedIn to further your professional standing. This is the real question. First of all you need to understand and get as comfortable as you can with the culture of it. That doesn't mean you have to post cringey posts that are not true to you. But it does mean you have to spend a bit of time studying it, seeing whether you think it is actually worth anything and considering what you yourself might want to get out of it. My own personal view is that it requires a bit of thought and a plan to get the best out of it - but not everyone can be bothered with this, or even needs to be very active on it. For example it may just be enough to demonstrate you are onside and alive if you occasionally click 'like' on something your company has shared.

[quote Sternschnuppe]@PriestessofPing

Ehm, no, not exactly. When I opened my LinkedIn app, it came up on my screen "Person X likes Person Z's Post" and the post was directly in front of my eyes.

I didn't click on the likes to find out who liked the post.[/quote]
Yeah but it annoyed you enough to start a thread on here, mention it and slag the person off.

Yes a bit cheesy/ cringe, but I agree not narcissistic.

Also nothing stealthy about it!

“so blessed” 🤢🤮 Anyone who writes this is a twat imo. YANBU OP. Mega-cringe!

Very normal on LinkedIn. A bit cringey and I would never do it, but certainly not narcissistic.

It sounds very American.

You have a degree so I'm guessing you have a graduate job. You thought it was the norm to be headhunted. And yet you've only just seen how LinkedIn works? Sorry if I've misunderstood but that just doesn't sound right to me

@DrSbaitso

Surely you must at least see the irony in USING ALL CAPS to express your opinion of how self-rightous my opinion is!! 😂😂😂

Good luck out there on LinkedIn OP!! 😬