The power of LinkedIn and some important lessons learned

I had opened my LinkedIn account way back in 2010/11, when most people my age had not even heard about this social network for professionals. Back then, I used to be associated with international webzines and little magazines, and my friends from the writing community had introduced me to this amazing platform.?

When I joined TRUSTKLUB Consulting Private Limited as an HR Recruiter in 2015, many of my seniors had been surprised because not only did I have a LinkedIn account, I was steadily growing it. My LinkedIn presence has helped me immensely from the get-go - when I was in my first job, to getting freelance assignments, numerous job interviews, and valuable connections. Opening LinkedIn first thing in the morning charges me up in the best way. I get all the news and information I need without having to consume any junk, I get to learn anecdotes, lessons, and inspiring stories from the community, and I can start my day with a mindset full of creativity, which helps me be productive as well.?

The company I work with now, Wishtree Technologies, to my great delight, takes LinkedIn very seriously (in fact, they had indeed approached me on LinkedIn!) What's even better is, they make it a point to try and inculcate the power of leveraging LinkedIn in all the team members. Freshers and experienced people alike, there are many people all over the world who are yet to understand and use LinkedIn to its full capacity. It feels good to have been on LinkedIn since it was but a few years old, and to see it grow to new heights every day. I have a huge emotional connect with this social networking site, which is in my opinion, is one of the best gifts to humanity in this day and age.

Ending this with a true story. Back in 2018, I had joined a company which was suffocating me every minute. I was looking for a job and one of the co-founders of a company had approached me for an interview. Before the interview, I found out that I had forgotten to confirm the office address with her. She was not online, so I messaged the other co-founder asking for the address. Not only did he not give me the address, he got back by saying that no one calls him by name, and I should have addressed him as "Sir". This did not sit well with me at all, and in the heat of the moment, without removing his name, I shared the screenshot on my LinkedIn feed. If I remember correctly, it had reached more than 20000 people in a day!

The co-founder who had approached me for the job had written one line to me, asking for an explanation for this "fiasco" I had created. Though most of the people were against the way I was spoken to, some of them asked me to take the post down, because he could have me reported since I had not removed his identity from the screenshot. I took the post down (had I not, the post would have surely reached many more people, by the way it was going), never again heard from or approached that company, and went on with my life. A few months ago, I finally replied to the co-founder who had asked me the fiasco question, though she is not associated with the said company anymore. Though she still did not see my point, I needed to send the honest reply about my feelings, irrespective of whether she approved of any of my actions or not.?

If I am being honest, I would say this, though not in the line of any kind of defence. Maybe I should not have made the post at all, maybe I should have hidden his name even if I made the post - but the whole thing ultimately taught me some important lessons.?

1. Many of the people in leadership positions have such an inflated sense of ego, that it takes only a little to get them going. In this case, it was clear to me that he was an immature person with no business being in any kind of leadership, however much his net worth or experience might have been. But unfortunately, we have many high-ranking officials and executives in workforces all over the world, who are the reason behind an utter waste of talent and resources. It is very much possible for these people to break other people even before they have started forming themselves. Not everyone is equipped to stand up to such bullies, and not being equipped is not their fault. It is the duty of those who can stand up for themselves to show these bullies their places.

2. Being approached for a job by any company should not be enough for a candidate to apply there, or be open for an interview. They must research the company as much as possible, learning as much as they can about the business, the people, the processes, and the culture. A candidate must be able to ask questions. It is an absolute no-no when the attitude of the leadership or any member of the management is like this. I can only imagine the toxic tyrannical atmosphere in the office space controlled by these power-hungry individuals, where subordinates can choose between being a doormat or being a bully - in either case, to keep their jobs.

3. I tried to place myself in the lady's shoes who had felt the whole thing to be a fiasco created by me. Even after all these years, the response she made to my reply a few months ago, made me feel that she did not find much fault with her colleague's behaviour. If my behaviour was unjustified, I get it. What concerns me is her silence with regard to the other person's behaviour. Is it only silence? Is it not a silent support, which could have been vocal as well? This is what saddens me the most, because there must have been lots of potential employees in my place, and one of them must have gotten the job. There must have been an office full of such culture which people have to put up with or become a part of. There must be so many of these companies everywhere still.

4. Lastly, and most importantly, I had learned the power of LinkedIn. This incident keeps telling me that LinkedIn, if used astutely, has an incredible potential to make changes inside out of a person, a space, a work culture, and a world. It is our job as part of the LinkedIn community to make voices heard - our own, and those of others.