There’s a meme I love that nails this topic perfectly. I don't know who came up with it, but it is surely funny as it gets:
On the left: a black-and-white photo of Darth Vader with the caption:
Reality
Anakin Skywalker
Assistant to the Emperor
On the right: the same photo, this time under the LinkedIn logo:
LinkedIn
Darth Vader, LORD
CEO, Death Star 1 & 2 | Chief of Staff to the Supreme Chancellor | Dark Lord of the Sith | Chosen One, Jedi Order | Jedi Ghost | Ex-General, Grand Army of the Republic | …
You get the idea.
It’s funny because it’s true. On social media, especially on LinkedIn, reality and performance are often miles apart. Titles inflate, stories are polished into legend, and everyone looks like they’re running at Death Star scale 24/7.
And in the middle of that circus, there’s you: doing real work, trying to build a real career, trying to attract real opportunities without pretending to be “Darth Vader, LORD of 17 buzzwords.”
That’s what this article is about.
How do we use social media, LinkedIn included, in a way that actually helps our careers, brings in contracts, and increases our visibility, without becoming prisoners of the algorithm or actors in someone else’s game?