AUTHOR'S NOTE
Someone posted a thread that LinkedIn is a scam because it posts ghost jobs. Naturally, it sparked a lot of comments. Many of the comments berated LinkedIn. Other comments suggested his comment would ruin his chances of finding employment in the future.
I was going to post my comment, but my gut told me otherwise, because of my experience with LinkedIn. My personal instinct about LinkedIn is that it has an unwritten culture.
LinkedIn rewards polish, achievement, and inspiration. The "I got the job!" or "Pronounce…" posts. Vulnerability is welcome only when it has a tidy resolution at the end. Raw, in-progress frustration — like the thread I am responding to — tends to receive awkward silence, unsolicited advice, and some genuine engagement.
And, yes, my gut feeling — my comment would get lost there. So, here I am.
That person's frustration inspired me to write an open response to his concerns and maybe address an audience who needs this piece — someone quietly struggling with unemployment and feeling like the system is broken, or someone who knows anyone experiencing unemployment.🌺
©2025 Myrna Urmanita. All Rights Reserved.
It’s a brave thing to openly express your frustrations about the job search process, especially since it could easily be misunderstood or judged by others. I respect your honesty.
I come from a different generation. Back then, looking for a job meant hitting the streets, knocking on doors, cold calling, reading the newspaper want ads, and relying on the US mail to deliver your resume—the one you worked so hard to type, trying not to make a mistake because the white-out would lessen the look of a perfect candidate for the job.
When I looked for a job, and that happened many times—I filled out the application, handed it in person, turned around, went home, and waited. The waiting hasn’t changed. The frustration hasn’t changed. Neither has the stress and energy you put in, and the fear that comes in as you watch savings slowly disappear while trying to find work.
The means to the result is still the same. LinkedIn is simply just another vehicle, a tool, like the newspaper want ads were in my day. And the amount of sweat you put into it never guarantees or promises a job. Sometimes in the want ads, the jobs were already gone… It’s the luck of the draw. Today, people worry about ghost jobs online. Different times, but still the same frustrations.
It's frustrating, I know. But I don't think frustration means weakness. Job searching can wear down even the strongest people. I've learned—persistence matters; if one approach isn't working, then direct that energy towards one that will. It's the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.
LinkedIn is a showplace; like all social media, it can be many things all at once— a place for positivity, self-promotion, vulnerability, networking, information, and a human connection. In my day, we had an encyclopedia for information, advice columns in newspapers for human connection, and society columns for networking, celebrations, and self-promotion. So, times haven't changed, just the vehicles.
No matter how you look at it, LinkedIn—the want ads—what happens there is not the reason you are still looking for a job, and can’t find one. Hard times happen. They always have.
Unemployment is emotionally exhausting. I can't tell you how many times I have lived through it. So I truly empathize with anyone going through it.
But sometimes the greatest strength isn't in finding fault in the system—it's in continuing forward despite it.
That's when you will really speak the truth about how qualified you are for any job.
That's when your resume will shine.🌺
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Unemployment is a quiet and deceitful demon that breeds isolation—loneliness—Real. Valid. But you, too, are Real. Have worth. Break your isolation—Give yourself permission to rest, to share your feelings, to laugh.🌺