I'll say this first: LinkedIn is the first social media on which I had any type of success. My content, in-depth and thought-provoking, was often penalized by algorithms on other platforms. That said, I think LinkedIn understands that they are the dominant service of the business-networking world, so there is really no reason to change the platform. However, this undermines the user base in two major ways: first, users effectively have to learn and adapt to the algorithm, which has certain quirks that influence general platform engagement. For instance, my feed has posts from minutes ago as well as from weeks ago. Second, it is challenging to edit and draft within LinkedIn itself, and I often find myself relying on other mediums to do so. Polishing the LinkedIn editor, and adding flavor (italics, bold, underlining) to text within the UI would go a long way.That said, I have received more thoughtful, engaging, and insightful content from LinkedIn than on any other platform I've used (save Substack, with which it may be on par). So while the algorithm does a good job selecting relevant content, its timeline and preferences (for instance, the odd rule of thumb that authors ought to comment on their own posts) are somewhat confusing.Still, using LinkedIn has been, overall, a very positive experience.

LinkedIn overall is a great app. I have found great people on there and connected with them to build my network. Also, the learning courses on the site are on par with sites like Coursera, Udemy, etc. I will say that it’s very noticeable sometimes when they change up the algorithm and show me things I’m not interested in, or topics that are meant to spark a negative reaction, but that’s social media for you. One of my biggest complaints is their job section. I’ve applied at over 1000+ jobs through there site, and the furthest I have ever made was “so and so viewed your resume/profile”, or recruiters that ghost me, so I continue to stick with Indeed on that matter. While LinkedIn is great for networking, I do feel putting a face with a name on LinkedIn can work against POC as I have been ghosted many times by recruiters or companies once they view my profile. For example, I talked via email with Company A, Company A LOVED my resume…..then I see someone who works from Company A view my profile…..I get a rejection email a few hours later. Not saying this to trash the app, only telling my experience, but overall, I still would recommend folks to get a LinkedIn page.

Upon creating an account I tried to verify it but the third party service they used to scan my documents read both my name and birthday incorrectly. After I contacted customer service to address this I soon got locked out of my account and had to contact customer service to get back in. They had me scan and upload documents again several times with a different third party, and eventually unfroze my account after accusing me of breaking the community policy and terms of service by sharing my account and/or accessing other accounts, which absolutely never happened. I tried to follow up with the customer service rep by asking them to let me know if using their service while protecting my internet traffic with a VPN was not allowed or viable, since I assume it was my VPN that they mistook for suspicious activity. The customer service representative did not answer my question but did immediately restrict my account again and accuse me of breaking their terms of service and community guidelines again. When I asked for clarification I was ignored and informed that the case was considered resolved, that I would not be given access to my account again nor may I create a new one, and now I have no recourse for recovering my account. And the kicker? VPNs aren’t even disallowed by their terms of service or community policy. Absolutely abhorrent service. What a nightmare: a complete waste of time, energy, and mental health.

LinkedIn is the main app I use to search and filter for jobs, and before the update, I found it pretty user-friendly and easy to filter by multiple features. However, upon opening the app a few days ago, I noticed an update that seems rather regressive than progressive. I can no longer see my search history like I used to, making it arduous to re-type and re-search every field each time I open the app. This was a pretty basic feature that now makes using the job feature on the app a pain. I’m not sure whether this is a tactic to “create the problem then charge for the solution”, but this was one of the key reasons I loved LinkedIn and would recommend it to others. I hope whoever is in charge sees this and brings the features (multiple filters, search history) back.On a separate note, one thing I do not like is how the suggested jobs seem to not be “smart” at all. The algorithm does not learn from your searches and as such, will continue suggesting jobs you have absolutely no interest in. So that tab is pretty useless to me. I would suggest future updates actually include user-conscious job suggestions, bring back the user-friendliness that gave LinkedIn its edge, and prove to users that they actually care about the user experience beyond making profits.