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Original poster

to never again believe a word written on "linked-in"

41 replies

thebluebeyond · 11/07/2024 23:53

I always thought it was a fairly straight forward platform, people just jotted down there main features of their CV and made it public...

But the lie I have seen recently are shocking! literally, the lowliest employees pretending to be working in partnership with the CEO (who they could not even name) etc.

We dealt with a difficult and incompetent employee for a while, but had to let them go. I was a bit concerned about their wellbeing, and looked them up to see if they had found another job.

Well! Apparently they are mentoring me! No! it was the other way around! Apparently they are the lead in my department. NO! Apparently they are planning and managing projects and writing policies! No! No! No! and No! I

'm shocked and gobsmacked and the cheek of it, and in a way, it is funny, but in another way, it really isn't, because how is someone who is being honest going to ever get any recognition on linked-in, if compared to down right liars! And I don't even think it is against any rules, I think you can just say what you like

OP posts:
Original poster
thebluebeyond · 12/07/2024 09:49

It has certainly made me think again about anything I read in job applications

OP posts:
Doggymummar · 12/07/2024 09:54

LinkedIn isn't about CVs anymore, it's about personal brand and marketing, so people are going to highlight good points and massage the truth. They will be caught out at reference time if things are untrue. If they still work at your company any you are the boss have the conversation but at the end of the day the company don't own their LI profile, they do.

DancingPhantomsOnTheTerrace · 12/07/2024 09:56

You're not wrong - but people lying on the internet is hardly new or surprising.

ExecutiveDirector · 12/07/2024 09:58

And this is how people are recruited.

Brefugee · 12/07/2024 10:04

well if you are recruiting solely on what they write in LinkedIn or on their CVs without talking to them and checking up on their claims, more fool you.

Frannyhy · 12/07/2024 10:10

I did a BTEC and went on to do a BSc. One of my classmates left after completing the BTEC but on LinkedIn claimed she stayed on to do a degree.

One of my lecturers from those days has become a good friend and I mentioned it to him. He was furious, and emailed her last employers who dismissed her. As she’s not in the UK I guess she thought she’d get away with it.

PortiasBiscuit · 12/07/2024 10:12

I have always found Linked in to be full of sexy young HR Managers offering my DH high-paying jobs, if he contacts them..

Brefugee · 12/07/2024 10:21

Frannyhy · 12/07/2024 10:10

I did a BTEC and went on to do a BSc. One of my classmates left after completing the BTEC but on LinkedIn claimed she stayed on to do a degree.

One of my lecturers from those days has become a good friend and I mentioned it to him. He was furious, and emailed her last employers who dismissed her. As she’s not in the UK I guess she thought she’d get away with it.

didn't they check? it's on the employer to get the documentation checked, references checked etc etc.

Lying is not on, but people lie. That is why we check their qualifications and references.

Has the world gone mad?

Brefugee · 12/07/2024 10:22

ExecutiveDirector · 12/07/2024 09:58

And this is how people are recruited.

i got my last 2 jobs, tangentially for one, via LinkedIn. They asked me to back up my claims of qualifications by providing the certificates. Which i did because i don't lie, and i didn't mind because other people do lie and they have to check.

I really really don't get the issues being described here (except the sexy young HR managers, some of my friends have had that)

Aaron95 · 12/07/2024 10:23

Posts on Linked In are just utter tosh. 95% are either people reposting whatever nonsense the marketing department has decided to make up that day/week, people posting "thoughtful" stories or phrases or recruiters posting vacancies which may or may not exist.

As for people embilishing their profiles, they probably do the same on their CV so it's nothing new.

SerendipityJane · 12/07/2024 10:24

When LinkedIn started, I had a look as part of my job in future-scanning (which is why I have been on MN so long ... Gordon Brown and biscuits anyone ?).

Anyway, I setup a profile with a monitored burner email.

13 years on it is still getting breathless emails about what my "contacts" are up to , and recommendations based on my (non) activity. Never have they queried if the account is linked to a real person.

(same for Facebook and Twitter until it became X)

if your marketing spend is based on believing you are reaching x-million eyeballs as stated by the platform, then you, my futuristic friend, are being taken for "a ride".

To be fair dumb as he may seem, Musk spotted this miles off. It was why he really squeezed the price down at Twitter.

Currently LinkedIn is a bit too much like Facebook for people who can pretend it's work and an every decreasing value to anyone. Another Microsoft purchase that is dying on the vine.

Octonaut4Life · 12/07/2024 10:32

I once many years ago saw a BBC news segment about how hard it was for young people to find jobs. It focused on this poor young woman, couldn't afford a roof over her head, had been let go from her last job for no fault of her own, etc. Well I had actually worked with her at her last job and my goodness I couldn't believe they hadn't fired her sooner. She was incredibly rude to customers and other staff, got all the orders wrong, turned up late, spent half the time hanging around the back instead of out front working etc etc... It certainly opened my eyes to not trust what you see on tv 😂

35965a · 12/07/2024 10:34

99% of LinkedIn is lies. Posts upon posts of lies, half the jobs advertised on there don’t even exist.

GanninHyem · 12/07/2024 10:35

Doggymummar · 12/07/2024 09:54

LinkedIn isn't about CVs anymore, it's about personal brand and marketing, so people are going to highlight good points and massage the truth. They will be caught out at reference time if things are untrue. If they still work at your company any you are the boss have the conversation but at the end of the day the company don't own their LI profile, they do.

The thing is, a lot of organisations now are only providing bare minimum HR references (dates worked, job title etc). Obviously if the job title and level of waffle doesn't correlate it would raise questions but I think a lot of the time people do get away with these huge exaggerations, which is why so many people are shit at their jobs!

Clma · 12/07/2024 10:39

You aren't wrong at all. Someone I know who is now in a successful career, which they are more than capable of, claimed to be an office manager when they worked in the organisation as a cleaner. They are a very capable and intelligent individual, but I was flabbergasted when I saw this.

I wonder how often this sort of thing happens. LinkedIn is a crock of shit!

WindsurfingDreams · 12/07/2024 10:42

It's gone on since way before linked in.

My friend claimed to have been "PA to the chief exec of an IT company" on her early CVs. She posted some leaflets for her brother who ran a a computer repaired shop. She showed me her CV and I was lost for words!

Calphurnia6 · 12/07/2024 10:42

I find LinkedIn to be incredibly cringe-inducing. I am on it but deleted the app a long time ago and limit my use considerably (less than 10 minutes a month).

Hasn't done me any harm in my career so far.

WindsurfingDreams · 12/07/2024 10:45

I dont use linked in at all. And I have still risen really rapidly in my career by building meaningful real life networks

Frannyhy · 12/07/2024 10:46

@Brefugee

”didn't they check? it's on the employer to get the documentation checked, references checked etc etc.

Lying is not on, but people lie. That is why we check their qualifications and references.

Has the world gone mad?”

The woman is in Australia. I worked there for nine months without a permit in a government department. I said my passport was with my landlady because I was behind with my rent!

Nothing would surprise me there! 😂

Reugny · 12/07/2024 10:51

Brefugee · 12/07/2024 10:22

i got my last 2 jobs, tangentially for one, via LinkedIn. They asked me to back up my claims of qualifications by providing the certificates. Which i did because i don't lie, and i didn't mind because other people do lie and they have to check.

I really really don't get the issues being described here (except the sexy young HR managers, some of my friends have had that)

Show quote history

Certificates can be faked. Lots of employers now contact the institution directly for anything that is degree level.

Remember that poo Dr who was always on TV? Journalists found out her qualifications including her doctorate were all fakes.

AsparagusGirl · 12/07/2024 10:51

Yeah it's mad, someone I worked with years ago at one of the big 5 consulting firms and left after less than 2 years to a job they lied their way into and were dismissed from during probation has a linkedin history claiming to have been at the firm we worked at for like 10 years and to have been quite senior, then another job that I am pretty sure is a lie moved to the states and has recently had some pretty big head of sales type roles for short periods.
I think it's good when they make you verify your jobs with a work email but 1. Not all firms enforce this. 2. Doesn't stop you claiming to have been a Director when you were an Analyst!

ImWearingPantaloons · 12/07/2024 10:56

I joined years ago, saw some of the utter bullshit some people I worked with had written, then deleted my account.

If that's the way people get jobs either now or in the future, then I guess I'll just be unemployed.

TeenLifeMum · 12/07/2024 11:01

my old manager left and put herself down as “deputy director”… nope, band 7 manager (nhs). I got her job after she left so I joked to the director should I change my job title on be email. He asked why and I showed him -he was livid with her (usually super chilled) and messaged her to change it immediately. Said a lot about her personality to be honest.

HelpMeGetThrough · 12/07/2024 11:05

LinkedIn is what I call "Facebook for Suits".

Nothing at all should be believed on there.

Inlaw · 12/07/2024 11:12

If you saw my profile you would probably think I’m making it up 🤣

I am in a lowliest position part time (similar to a cleaner). I do also consult for the executive leadership and build strategy and programmes for the overall group. I often get phone calls from the owners in an organisation of thousands. I keep the lowly job because I love it, and also it allows me to keep in touch with the realities of the work on the ground and the day to day struggles teams are facing. Some of the team know about my other role but most don’t (not that I’m hiding it but I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging so I don’t mention it unless someone finds out and asks).