Why I keep opening LinkedIn even though it feels like a performative office

Getting back into the platform after a long break

I really didn’t want to log back into LinkedIn. It felt like walking into a party where everyone is wearing a suit and trying too hard to seem like they’re having the most productive day of their lives. But since I’ve been looking at the job market again, it felt like an unavoidable chore. I remember scrolling through my feed a few years ago and just feeling exhausted by how everyone was posting about their ‘milestone’ achievements. It feels weirdly curated. Still, I went ahead and updated my profile because everyone keeps saying that’s where the recruiters for the foreign companies hang out. It took me about three hours just to tweak the description of my previous job. Why is it so hard to write about yourself without sounding like a robot?

The strange obsession with corporate awards

I saw some news the other day about LG Uplus winning some ‘Social i-Award’ for their LinkedIn presence. They apparently put a ton of effort into AX and tech leadership content, and their interaction rates shot up by like 331 percent. It’s funny because, as an individual user, I don’t really care about a company’s social media awards. I’m just looking for a decent place to work where I don’t have to worry about my next contract renewal. It’s a bit jarring to see the disconnect between what corporations are doing to look ‘engaging’ on the platform and what I’m actually looking for, which is just a simple job listing that isn’t a ghost posting.

Scrolling through the noise of professional updates

When I do go on there, I mostly just end up reading about people getting promotions or moving to new companies. It’s definitely a bit of a mental drain. I’ve started setting a timer for myself—usually, I don’t let myself scroll for more than 15 minutes. If I go longer than that, I start feeling like I’m falling behind, which I know is irrational. I’ve looked into other ways to find work, checking local job boards that have better filters for contract or internship roles, just in case I don’t land something full-time immediately. Some people have told me that even a short-term contract role at a place like a telco or a tech startup can help close a gap in my resume, but honestly, the prospect of starting over in a new environment is still pretty intimidating.

The reality of trying to stand out

I’m still not convinced that my profile looks ‘professional’ enough, even after fixing it. Everyone says to keep it ‘neat,’ but that’s such a vague piece of advice. Does it mean bullet points? Does it mean using those corporate buzzwords that everyone else uses? I find myself hesitating to hit ‘save’ because I’m worried I’m over-polishing it to the point where it doesn’t even sound like me anymore. I recently saw a posting for a role I was actually qualified for, and the salary range was listed as somewhere between 50 and 70 million won, which is fine, but then I spent the whole afternoon stressing about whether my LinkedIn message to the recruiter would come off as too desperate or too stiff.

Still uncertain about the effort required

I’m at a point where I’m logging in every single morning, mostly out of a sense of obligation rather than actual hope. It feels like a necessary evil, especially when you compare it to the more casual, faster-paced platforms like Instagram or even TikTok where some of these companies are also winning awards. Those feel slightly more human, even if they’re also marketing tools. With LinkedIn, it’s all just very heavy. I’m not sure if this is actually going to lead to an interview or if I’m just participating in a digital theater of productivity. I guess I’ll keep checking the notifications for another week, but if nothing clicks, I might just focus on reaching out to people I actually know instead of cold-messaging strangers.