Lost in Linkedin Land
A cautionary tale
There are a lot of things I wish I had known in the 90’s, bread makes you fat for example, Sydney property values would quadruple, and one simple truth that would have made the last couple of weeks easier — the importance of networking.
There is no question that the building and maintaining of professional networks has become increasingly important for securing employment opportunities. Gone are the days of handing out business cards — connections are now made digitally using social networking sites such as Linkedin.
Not just a source of persistent ‘Someone wants to connect with you’ emails, Linkedin is used by those seeking career advancement, to showcase their skills and reach out to peers and mentors. It has also become common practice for recruiters and HR departments to research potential hires via this platform.
So I tried to create a LinkedIn profile. Tried, and I will add, unsuccessfully. I uploaded an appropriate image of myself, one that conveyed the right balance between trustworthy professional and work drinks Karaoke legend, but after that, dear reader, Linkedin and my relationship crumbled.
I HAVE NO NETWORK! Well, not an appropriate one.
As a young woman working admin right out of high school in the 90’s, networking was not something that was encouraged, not that it was discouraged, it just wasn’t discussed at all.
Networking was a buzzword used in executive training programs and seemed targeted at corporate ladder climbers, sales professionals and men — and there is growing evidence that the benefits of online networking is still largely enjoyed by men more than women. LinkedIn’s own data indicates ‘women are less likely to have strong networks’ and this leads to fewer job opportunities.
But this is not about men vs women, I am more interested in which women, and if it is women like me.
A report from the Australian Parliamentary Budget Office in 2020 indicated that women in their 40’s and above are more likely to be receiving welfare than other groups. This is a terrible statistic but one that isn’t surprising to me.
Named the “Sandwich Generation” women in this particular age bracket are more likely to have had their participation in the workforce impacted by obligations to care for both dependent children and ageing parents.
Older women pay a high price for society’s reliance on them to maintain these caring roles, and a loss of social capital is one of the highest.
When attempting to return to the labour force, the advice from career coaches is to draw on existing professional networks. What this advice fails to address is the cumulative disadvantages to network building experienced by women with this particular life experience.
Women obligated to undertake caring roles tend to suffer ‘network closure’. Their connections consist of those they have met in that role and provide little of the social capital required to assist in labour force re-entry.
Caregiving women who have managed to keep a toehold in the workforce have often had to forego promotions, and work jobs with fewer hours, with less managerial responsibility — networks they do form have lower status, with minimal suitable connections to draw on when seeking new or better opportunities.
What then for these women, when HR and recruitment practices are moving away from traditional resumes and replacing that process with direct targeting of potential candidates through their networked, endorsed, connected LinkedIn profiles? How do they put together a LinkedIn profile with value for their current and future employability?
I don’t know, evidently.
Instead, I will offer some wisdom for those younger than myself, words I wish someone had said to me.
Network now, and never stop. Create that professional profile whether you work in a stock room or for the Stock Exchange. Nurture those professional connections, no matter what life throws your way — you just never know what you will want in the future and who may be able to help you get there.
