Unpopular opinion: Personal branding for jobs seems like extra work with little payoff

I've been trying to follow the advice to build a strong personal brand online, especially on LinkedIn. It means I post about my work, share articles, and comment on stuff to look engaged. But after months of this, I haven't gotten any job leads from it. My friends who landed new roles say it was through old coworkers or direct applications. I spend hours each week on this, and it just feels like I'm putting on a show. I'm starting to think it's more about looking busy than actually helping your career. Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't add up for me. How do you all handle this without getting burned out? Is it really worth the effort?

3 comments

3 Comments

richardthompson2d ago

Man, my buddy Kyle went all in on LinkedIn for a year, posting projects and commenting on CEO posts daily. He got like three recruiter DMs that ghosted him after the first reply. Ended up snagging a sweet gig because his former boss put in a word, so all that online hustle was basically for nothing.

jenny_hall2d ago

Wait, only three recruiter DMs after a whole year? That's insane. He put in all that work posting projects and commenting daily for nothing. LinkedIn always seems like a game where the loudest win, but maybe it's all just for show. His story proves that old school referrals still get the job done. All that online hustle really was a waste of time.

sarah8182d ago

My friend Carla did the same thing. She posted case studies every week for months. Went to all those virtual networking events too. Got a few intro calls that went nowhere. Actually landed her current role because a college classmate saw her Facebook update about job hunting. All that polished content did nothing for her.