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How to Decipher LinkedIn

LinkedIn is like the PBS of social media networks. You know before you even go there that the content is going to be dry, the people buttoned up and serious, and the purpose something “good for you,” such as educating you about an industry or steering you down a career path. But it does have its merits, particularly when it comes to job hunting and networking. LinkedIn can serve as a one-stop-shop for submitting job applications and making connections – that is, if you know how best to leverage it. 

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To that end, here’s our handy guide to navigating LinkedIn, while keeping your sanity and dignity intact. 

How to Best Use LinkedIn

Before we dive into the soul-crushing potential of LinkedIn, let’s at least celebrate the good that it’s done. First and foremost, LinkedIn has all but rendered obsolete the most irritating aspects of job hunting: The resume and cover letter. 

It's so much easier to just fire off a profile URL or, better yet, have most of the “initial contact”/“getting to know you” stuff can happen through LinkedIn Messages. What this means, though, is that you have to ensure your LinkedIn profile page is outstanding. That's what it's important to avoid the following rookie LinkedIn profile mistakes.

Rookie LinkedIn Profile Mistakes

Do not use a selfie/candid photo as your headshot - Imagine this is a virtual job interview. Shower. Dress up. Look presentable. And for the love of God never, ever, use a “joke” avatar photo. No one is going to hire an obscure Naruto character.

Do not use a meme as your banner image - Again, think professional. Use a cityscape if you live/work in a city. Use something that’s like good lobby art – pleasant but not distracting.

Do not give yourself a joke/made-up title - We’re not saying you should avoid showing your personality, but calling yourself “Lord of Words” or “People-Smiler” can seem cute but may turn off potential employers. 

Perks of LinkedIn

‘1. Easy Apply’ is Easy as Pie

Speaking of applying for jobs, let’s give it up for “Easy Apply.” If LinkedIn is remembered for anything, it should be this modern marvel. Filling out a job application is often so tedious and infuriating that you should get some kind of signing bonus for even making it through to the end. Manually entering all of the information you just submitted via an attached resume ranks right up there with a DMV trip in terms of efficiency and user experience. But “Easy Apply” makes job-hunting almost … fun? Ish? OK, that may be a stretch, but at least it’s not as soul-devouring.

2. Build Your Reputation

LinkedIn serves as a great platform for building your reputation and expanding your circle of influence, by allowing you to not only post content but to write articles or essays directly in the platform. This is a great way to establish yourself as an influencer in a field, and put out “samples” of your work that potential employers can access without having to request it. They see your viewpoints, see people reacting to it and it all works in your favor. Just be careful about the type of content you’re producing - always focus on work/career/vocation-related topics. 

“Educational content and content that supports the needs and interests of that person's network work best,” explains author, keynote speaker and digital marketing/personal branding consultant Jasmine Sandler. “Video and image-driven content will gain more attention, but overall a content strategy based on the needs and wants of a specific audience profile is what works. A smart mix of short-form and long-form content.”

3. Networks Working Together

Without the pressure of too much “social” on this particular social network (at least in theory), LinkedIn is a great way to keep a digital Rolodex of friends, colleagues and associates you can call on and also support as they navigate their careers. Sandler, for one, feels as though this is the most overlooked aspect of LinkedIn. When asked what word she’d abolish forever from the site, the word “No” was her immediate answer. “LinkedIn is meant to be a supportive network,” explains Sandler. “I try to support and help people in my LinkedIn network as much as I can. If you are a member of LinkedIn you should make it your duty to help your networks.” 

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LinkedIn Flaws

OK, enough with the Kumbaya stuff – let’s cut to the cons. LinkedIn’s stated objective is to be a professional network. But like the people who ruin “casual Friday” for everyone by showing up in booty shorts or nut-huggers, some people just can’t see a “Like” or “Comment” option without being wildly inappropriate and creepy. 

1. Crazy Commenters

Guess what? That woman in your network celebrating her promotion didn’t get it because of how she looks, so maybe keep those comments to yourself, Cyrano. LinkedIn doesn’t need you to weigh in on every post or topic, and actually it isn’t the place for jokes (which is merciful seeing as what passes for comedy on other platforms). Sandler suggests avoiding the following: “Anything negative, abusive or overly personal. No begging for money, or anything that detracts or dilutes a member’s personal brand promise.” 

2. Not So Great News

Before we get to the absolute worst thing about LinkedIn – so bad it deserves its own sub-head – we’ll leave you with this: Do not, under any circumstances, pay any attention to the “Today’s news and views” sidebar in the top right corner of the site. Unless, of course, you want to be bombarded with clickbait headlines shouting at you about how Millennials are causing tornados with their bad attitudes, Gen Z has already replaced the word “business” with “money go times!,” and how Amazon is using drones to take your blood at night and is now selling clones of you and you have no recourse because you didn’t read the fine print on your Echo user agreement. 

3. LinkedIn-preneurs and Their “Wisdom” 

“LinkedIn, since 2013 specifically, has become much more of a visual and inspirational social network, rather than its original roots as a pure B2B networking tool,” says Sandler. “When delivered in support of a brand and related audience, this type of content can be very useful.” An excellent point, and one a lot of “LinkedIn-preneurs” would do well to read and absorb, especially the “useful” part. 

Because you know what isn’t useful? An independently wealthy person encouraging you to quit your job and “find your happiness.” OK! Will your dad fund your lifestyle, too, then?  Also be wary of the tireless “hustler” who wants so badly to convince you that he or she got everything they have because they out-thought, out-worked and out-innovated everyone else around them. Let’s just ignore the nice little million-dollar cushion they got when their parents sold the liquor store or whatever they toiled away in for the better part of their lives. 

People aren’t coming to LinkedIn to live their bliss or engage their chakras or dream big. Leave those mantras to Instagram. People are here because they just got laid off by a billionaire who needs to cut overhead – but, hey, here’s DJ Khalid to sing you all out the door! What rhymes with “benefits end as of today?” 

Learn to spot some of the telltale signs of BS. “In many ways, LinkedIn members do abuse some of the functionalities. For example, if someone creates a block of experience for anything that they do instead of using the ‘Experience’ section for real job experience, that’s a sign of someone making their work larger than it really is,” says Sandler. “Another thing to watch out for is someone with a huge LinkedIn profile and thousands of connections that has zero recommendations and no interaction. They may be using LinkedIn as a numbers game."

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The LinkedIn Glossary

In order to overcome your opponent, you must first speak your opponent’s language. Here is what people really mean when they spout off on Linkedin, and what kind of red flags are hidden in that job description. 

“Energetic Self-Starter” – You’d better be able to work well with little direction, but there could be an opportunity at this company to use some of the chaos to your advantage.  “Fast-paced Environment” – This usually means a start-up, which usually means insane hours and workloads, but also less hierarchy and more mobility.   “Family” - If any company describes itself as a “family,” beware. Not because that isn’t accurate, but because it is. They may think it means that they are supportive, close-knit and loving, but it actually means they are withholding, emotionally manipulative and expect you to push everything aside to be at their beck and call no matter what else is happening in your life.   “Passionate” – Expect the CEO to be eccentric, but the workforce will generally be scrappy and open to someone with new (maybe crazy) ideas.   “Creative Environment” – They probably have very cool offices and perks, and will likely not silo the “creatives” into their own special area. If you have an idea that works, they’ll probably let you run with it.   “Focused” – No frills, and probably intense working conditions.   “Guru” – Don’t trust anyone who gives themselves this nickname. It’s like someone calling themselves “funny.” Truly funny people are given that title by others. Look for those who lead by example, not pet names.  

Closing Thoughts

LinkedIn, when utilized properly and with a clear understanding of what it’s intended to do, can be incredibly helpful and useful. Just know that it’s ultimately a social network, and should be navigated as such.

There is a lot of disingenuous nonsense on there, but it doesn’t mean people are totally incapable of being genuine. “I am!” says Sandler. “And as someone that does Social Branding for executives and entrepreneurs, I focus on creating and delivering their LinkedIn brands and content in a way that really helps their audience to see and hear the authentic person that they are.” Just don’t use the word “guru.” Like, ever. 

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Are IPAs Giving You Man Boobs? An Investigation

If you only took into consideration ads for light beers, you’d believe that the threat of developing a gut alone would be enough for men to monitor their beer intake. But we live in the real world, where some men are so proud of their extended bellies that there is a whole novelty t-shirt empire devoted just to servicing their needs. Clearly, the message isn’t taking.

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But what if the threat were the beer gut’s cousin-in-estrogen: man boobs?

Suddenly it’s a different story, right? Something about the idea of man boobs strikes a much deeper chord. Maybe it’s a sense of emasculation. Maybe it’s because there was an entire “Seinfeld” episode dedicated to milking laughs out of the ludicrous notion of a male bra. Maybe it’s because historically no jolly fat guy has even been described as having “breasts that shook like bowls full of jelly” when he laughed?

There has been a persistent rumor that IPAs cause man boobs – aka gynecomastia. But as with anything that gains traction in the social media age, you have to question where it started, why it took off and whether or not there is any truth behind any of it.

Where the IPA = Man Boobs Rumor Started

The idea of “Brewer’s Droop” has been around nearly as long as alcohol has existed. Even though it refers to the erectile dysfunction associated with excessive drinking, it does have ties to the whole “IPAs cause manboobs” phenomenon. Specifically, it all comes down to hops.

“Hops contain phytoestrogens, which make beer more estrogenic than other drinks,” says therapeutic nutritionist and author Kelly Dorfman. “All alcohol has the potential to promote estrogen, but the combination of hops and alcohol in beer make it particularly ‘man boob’- enhancing.” Gynecomastia, most commonly arises when a man has high levels of estrogen and his estrogen-to-testosterone ratio is off.

The connection between the estrogen in hops and the development of “man boobs” was initially published in a 1998 book called “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation” by Stephen Harrod Buhner. IPAs become the immediate target because they tend to be more hoppy than other varieties …

Correlation Does Not Equal Causation

In 2017, Vice published an article titled bluntly, “IPAs are Giving You Manboobs.” The author cites Buhner’s book, and the through line he draws from heavy exposure to estrogenic hops and erectile dysfunction. The article also cites an herbalist who discusses the ways in which hops are used as natural painkillers and to help boost milk production in lactating women. However, the article does stop short of actually concluding with the same declarative statement as its title.

“The phrase ‘correlation does not equal causation’ was coined exactly for situations like this,” says Matt Simpson, founder and owner of the craft beer consultancy The Beer Sommelier. “I come from a bodybuilding background, and there is no real causation found between hops and gynecomastia. I don’t think there have been any real studies that have shown a direct correlation, much less causation, between gynecomastia and beer.”

Backing up Simpson’s claim is a 2008 study published in the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Journal titled “Environmental Gynecomastia.” In it, the authors (Glenn Braunstein, Chairman of the Texas A&M University’s Department of Medicine, and James Klinenberg, Chair in Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), write: “A cause and effect relationship between phytoestrogens and gynecomastia has not been conclusively demonstrated for bourbon and beer.”

For Simpson, the hubbub comes down to a click-worthy headline being more readily accepted over the more ambiguous truth. “Once you take a few steps backward, and you take a look at the bigger picture, you realize that your typical beer drinkers may not be the most athletic people in the entire world,” says Simpson. And, he points out, there is a causation between excessive beer drinking and weight gain, and that as weight gain happens all over the body, including the torso and the chest area. “I would say, given Occam’s Razor – that the more likely thing is true: it’s much more likely that anybody who is experiencing more voluminous fat in that region would be from weight gain and not from gynecomastia."

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So, Do IPAs Really Cause Man Boobs?

It seems more and more likely that the truth is (and don’t hate us for this)… complicated.

Even though Dorfman is much more convinced of the direct influence of hops and alcohol on the development of man boobs than Simpson, she, too, admits that there are a lot of mitigating factors at play here.

“There is very basic chemistry involved in this reaction,” she explains. “All estrogen is created from testosterone with the aid of an aromatase enzyme. In men, it’s not very active, but in women, it is – which is why most of the testosterone is converted. Alcohol – from any source – regulates the aromatase enzyme so there is more conversion. Hence, the feminizing ‘beer belly’ and ‘man boobs.’” When asked about Simpson’s assertion that overall weight gain is a factor, Dorfman agrees that “it’s true excess fat tissue is also estrogenic,” but still thinks any effort to absolve beer from its role in the development of man boobs is trying to pass the buck. However, even Dorfman admits that the “IPAs cause manboobs” headline – even if it oversimplifies the gray areas around the idea – is very effective in at least getting young men to think about the consequences of pounding brews.

“Teens are drinking too much and do not want to hear or think about how the health effects apply to them, so to prevent their eyes from clouding over I whip out the man boob picture,” she says. “It always gets their rapt attention, and giggles. But anything to help them be more thoughtful about their decisions.”

What Can You Do to Prevent Getting Man Boobs?

Now you might be wondering 'are IPAs unhealthy'? At the end of the day, both Dorfman and Simpson agree that moderation is the best bet, whether you believe in the direct correlation between hops and gynecomastia or you subscribe to the idea that excessive beer drinking can cause weight gain all over. 

“It is confusing because the issue is multifaceted,” says Dorfman. “How fast you develop man boobs will depend on your metabolism, if you’re overweight to begin with, what kind and how much alcohol you consume, your starting hormone situation, and even your exposure to environmental toxins like BPA.”

Simpson offers some additional, practical advice for getting rid of/prevent man boobs: “Exercise a lot. If you like the flavor of beer but are on a calorie-restricted diet, choose those styles that are full of flavor but lighter on alcohol and residual sugars,” he advises. His pick: Berliner Weisse.“It’s a light, tart German wheat beer that tops out at somewhere between 3-4 percent alcohol that’s also very dry. But it has a lot of flavor!” 

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