LinkedIn, LinkedOut

“Hmm, could you not read my LinkedIn profile in front of me?” After the first handshake, my flatmate and me exchanged our LinkedIn profiles.

“Well, LinkedIn is really for people to look at you.” He continued reading my LinkedIn profile, and made comments. “Wow, you were a semiconductor engineer.”

“Semiconductor engineer” in Taiwan, means……you earn a lot at the cost of your health and every other things. But for a guy who wanted money so badly, that is gold.

I hated that moment. He was my flatmate, working in Apple.

Salary, title, position, promotion, publications…….

But aside from that, I am a HUMAN BEING.

Rarely did I post on LinkedIn, because I felt naked. Naked about how to present myself, naked about my social status — — YES, I AM LOOKING FOR A JOB NOW. OH I GOT THIS CERTIFICATE. WOW CONGRADULATIONS.

Professional for me is a confusing term, because I saw professionals conducting unprofessional comportments. So I always wonder, should I post what I did? Does that make myself look professional?

But in the end, all I care is how my friends know I am doing. The posts on LinkedIn, an open secret, is that you cannot tell the truth, but just barely scratch the surface of your life. And most of the people that you “linked” with, you don’t know them.

So how is that different from Facebook?

That’s why I cleaned up my network. For those I never conversed with, or simpy a glance with 2 seconds and I still couldn’t recall where we met, I removed the connection.

That’s maybe not a smart move. But I’ve never done a smart move in my life. So I guess it’s fine.