Hey, Friend,
I still remember the question that came up a couple of months ago, when I was talking to a roomful of students at Transylvania University.
I looked across the room and pointed to him as he said...
“Should I be posting on LinkedIn if I love my job?”
And I thought it was an interesting question. It's the first time someone has asked me this.
Funny enough, I think many professionals who go onto the platform think people are just posting when they have accomplishments or great things to announce....or looking for a job.
You know the posts…
“I'm proud to announce I'm now VP of XYZ company.”
“I'm grateful to be awarded (insert prestigious-sounding name of award).”
And as a result, it can create mixed feelings and even turn people off from visiting the platform.
I was reminded of this when I candidly talked to some 9-to-5ers recently about LinkedIn, and they said…
“Isn't it the place you go online to brag?”
Ok, sure, I can see this. In my corporate days, maybe I would have felt this way, too. (Before giving it a real chance!)
Or this particular text I got from a client….
Ugh…this is maybe half joke/half truth…I really hope it's the former.
But my point is, to a lot of folks, LinkedIn looks like the online platform where others are giving us the major highlight reel…"professional style"…and it feels unrelatable or a major turn-off.
But this brings me to the mistake (or mistakes) I'm seeing happen because of this way of thinking or viewing it as a job search site only.
Mistake #1 - Because of this "cringe" perception, it could be really costing you opportunities.
An opportunity for someone to see your win and think, “Cool, this sounds like exactly the person I need to connect with.”
Or…
“Interesting. They do that? That's exactly the kind of help I need right now.”
Because, friend, that's the reality of what's happening for these folks posting their wins.
They're getting noticed.
And by being noticed, they're creating visibility with the right people.
And on LinkedIn, visibility is what opens the door to opportunities.
Whether you feel cringe...or not.
It's just the truth.
And might I just also add, 9 times out of 10, you're overthinking it WAY more than anyone else. And others aren't viewing you as cringe at all.
Mistake #2 - Posting the highlights and NOT the challenges, too.
So let's get real for a minute.
Can we all agree that the reason we may feel cringe when reading all these wins is that the challenges often aren't being discussed as well?
You know...the hard stuff happening in the background.
The funny thing is, I think 99% of us who read these highlight reels know there are struggles happening behind the scenes, too.
Even if they aren't being said.
And we know it because we're human, and we, too, have our own struggles we're navigating.
So instead of omitting them, I say share them. You don't have to, obviously, give us everything, but admit when times are tough and why.
And in sharing, I promise you, this magical thing will start to happen, and your content will become more relatable.
And being relatable can translate into likability, which is what makes conversations and connections easier.
Mistake #3 - Posting only when you're looking for a job.
If you're a student, founder, or 9-5er, building a personal brand proactively puts you in a better position to attract opportunities. Period.
And to attract those opportunities, posting is part of it...before you need to do it.
That means, not posting just when you're looking for a job, but posting on some kind of consistent schedule as part of a way to learn and connect with others in your industry.
So I guess the short answer to his question was…
“Yes! You should be posting on LinkedIn if you love your job.”
Celebrate it.
Tell your network what you love about it. Give us a glimpse of exactly what you love about the work and who you enjoy doing it with.
I can bet you'll meet some incredible people.
But also…
And maybe more importantly...
Don't be afraid to tell us about what's hard as well. It's in those challenges…those mess-ups…and mistakes that remind us you're human.
And that Reader, is a really…really good thing.
It's the core part of our content that emotionally brings us together.
In Case You Missed This On LinkedInđź‘€
Are you giving yourself permission to recharge?
This is my first full week back after taking two weeks off.
My husband, our two pups, and our two kiddos packed up our Airstream Basecamp and traveled from Ohio to Wisconsin to South Dakota before ending our adventure out West in Wyoming to see Devil's Tower (pictured above behind us).
We also made our way to Mt. Rushmore and a handful of other incredible places along the way.
But what made this trip so special wasn't just where we went.
It was the fact that, for the first time in our lives, we felt like we could take two full weeks away...all at once.
For almost two decades, my husband and I have both worked traditional 9-to-5 jobs until I started my business in 2023.
And somewhere along the way, those years in corporate shaped what I believed vacation was supposed to look like.
You took a few days here. A week there. Because PTO was limited. Or, once you'd been there long enough to earn more time, you felt responsible for too many things to truly unplug and enjoy it.
Even on this trip, with no one to ask permission from anymore, I still found myself battling that old voice...
"Two weeks is too long to be away."
It made me realize how deeply some of those beliefs stick with us.
And maybe that's why we need to give ourselves permission to do things differently.
So if this is something you've wrestled with, Reader, or maybe you're in a season where stepping away feels impossible, I hope this serves as a small reminder.
You deserve time to recharge.
For me...
I'm definitely still working on it.
As always, thanks so much for being here.
​
Talk soon,
Allison Ditmer
Find me mostly on LinkedIn​
Watch my YouTube and motivate me to make more videos:)
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Columbus, OH