Get ready for the first official cup of tea that I’ll be spilling in this newsletter… ☕️
So I started writing on LinkedIn during senior year of college right?
Which means that I had been doing this LinkedIn thing for a bit by the time I graduated.
Fortunately, most of my bosses have been supportive of my activities on LinkedIn.
But one of them had a different view.
A pretty twisted one, actually.
For context, I had a temporary role on the team but whether I would stay on was still up in the air.
The decision to stay or leave was in my hands.
But then my teammate told me that my boss said to her:
“Sarena’s not going to quit…she needs this job for her LinkedIn posts.”
🤯 🤯 🤯
“Are you kidding me??” was my first thought.
Clearly, they didn’t understand how my personal brand worked.
I had a personal brand despite my job, not necessarily because of my job.
In fact, all the LinkedIn posts that I made related to that company underperformed compared to my normal posts.
No sir, I did not need that job for my brand on LinkedIn.
Jokes on them, I landed my next job within 6 weeks of looking and got a 60% raise.
So what did I take away from that experience?
Any boss that thinks you are locked into staying on their team is delusional and entitled.
Bosses have to EARN the privilege of your loyalty. It’s not their right.
Just as companies can lay you off at will, you can quit at will.
So it’s up to managers to cultivate a healthy and supportive work environment that you want to stay in.
The saying that “People quit bosses, not companies” holds a lot of truth.
I didn’t need that job for my LinkedIn content.
Sure, a lot of my content revolved around recruiting advice, but it wasn’t exclusive to that job.
I could’ve been a recruiter elsewhere and still gotten inspiration for my posts. And I did.
Actually, my LinkedIn presence helped me land my next job too. Take that.
Your company might not understand or support what you do on LinkedIn.
A lot of content creators on LinkedIn still work 9-5 jobs and have struggled with their employers having issues with their brand on LinkedIn.
For me, the pro’s have outweighed the con’s (which is a whole other conversation), so it’s a risk that I still choose to take.
It’s one thing for a company to not say anything, but it’s another thing for your company to control your activities on the platform (or even weaponize it against you, which was what happened behind my back).
Fortunately, I currently fall into the pool of creators whose employers do support them.
Employees at my company already knew me as a “LinkedIn influencer” before I had even met them.
And whether or not I identify with the term, there’s no doubt that it helps my reputation.
Health & Wealth ☕️
Are you a tea or coffee person?
I’m not particularly a tea or coffee person for that matter.
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Thanks for reading! 😊
Hope you enjoyed this article of 9 to Thrive!
Hit the reply button if you want to write me an email, and I’ll respond back!
Until next time, stay healthy, wealthy, and wise!
Sincerely,
Sarena