The Business of Being Impressive: How LinkedIn Culture Shapes Student Identity and the Mental Cost of Success

Illustration by Jasmin Rezkalla

"I'm thrilled to announce that I have been struggling with imposter syndrome, burnout, and the overwhelming pressure to appear successful online." Not a typical LinkedIn update one would see scrolling through their feed, but to contrast the perfectly polished posts, it is the harsh reality for many students. As LinkedIn becomes more prominent in university circuits, students are strongly encouraged to build their brand through posting their achievements, self-promotion, and connecting with others. Although beneficial for their professional career, the pressure has fueled a culture of comparison and performative success. It is crucial to shed light on the consequences of online career development and social comparison, while encouraging authentic use of LinkedIn to foster healthy professional networking. LinkedIn is fueling toxic comparisons between students, turning career development into a source of anxiety that often affects well-being.

The Launch of LinkedIn

Since its launch in May 2003, LinkedIn has become a powerhouse beacon for social networking. From reaching one million users just one year after officially launching, to over one billion members from 200 countries across the globe in 2025, LinkedIn has become a crucial asset for students and working professionals alike.  

Source: LinkedIn Pressroom

The benefits of social networking sites like LinkedIn seem endless—it is a more accessible and effective alternative to traditional face-to-face networking. Online networking breaks down limitations that traditional networking faces, allowing people to connect across industries and geographic regions. LinkedIn's informational benefits have been supported by scientific studies, which have shown positive correlations between LinkedIn usage, the number of LinkedIn connections, and career outcomes. However, a study conducted by Davis et. al (2020) discovered that being an active LinkedIn user was not completely necessary to lead to positive networking ability. They found that the frequency of LinkedIn use, not network size, significantly increased the chances of career benefits. Even engaging passively, like scrolling on the main feed, was enough for students to reap the benefits of this social networking site. 

With the state of the current job market, it is unsurprising that students are seeing a shift in priority within their post-secondary education from academia to career-focused education and personal branding. The unemployment rate in Canada rose to seven per cent in the month of May, marking the highest rate in the past nine years, excluding the pandemic—a 13.8 per cent increase in the number of unemployed people in Canada compared to the same period last year.

Source: CBC News

These numbers make one thing clear: post-graduation employment opportunities are limited, meaning students must exert extra effort into branding themselves in the hopes of receiving a job offer. However, if students are being pressured into using LinkedIn for professional gain, is this truly authentic networking, and will it affect students negatively? 

Where Career Meets Comparison

The answer is yes: LinkedIn's design seems to create an environment that fuels inauthentic connections, more so than traditional, face-to-face networking. On social platforms, individuals are able to meticulously craft and edit their personal image to highlight their most desirable characteristics—a feat that is more difficult to accomplish in physical interactions. This results in a performative achievement—individuals posting for the sake of bragging and curating a post. 

Performative achievement has led to a more pressing concern amongst students, which is social comparison. Like any other social media platform, individuals present only the best versions of themselves online, making it easier for others to compare themselves. 

Paul Bowman, a career coach from the Career Advancement Centre at Queen's University, spoke about the ways students are using LinkedIn. "If [students] are looking around and comparing, they're seeing what other people are doing," he added, "And so you're feeling tremendous pressure to copy that and join in on that."

Aside from the social comparison aspect, Bowman discusses a career coach's job in helping students identify their target audience on LinkedIn to help reduce peer-to-peer comparisons. He shares, "Naturally, most students essentially manage their LinkedIn profiles towards a peer audience, which is why you see so many headlines that feature Queen's acronyms." Students must keep in mind that their LinkedIn target audience isn't their classmates—their posts and engagement should be catered towards professionals in fields of interest. When building networks and gaining connections in the goals of achieving the "500+ Connections" status, students often build their network around other students, prompting their feeds to be filled with other students' success stories, rather than professional advice and industry insights. It's no wonder LinkedIn is a large stressor when students' LinkedIn networks are only being used to connect with other students, making it impossible not to create comparisons.

Burnout Behind the Branding

All those feelings of self-doubt, not being good enough, and unworthiness when it comes to professional accomplishments are all symptoms of one culprit: imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome isn't a rare occurrence—over eighty-two per cent of individuals experience it in their careers. 

It's no surprise that LinkedIn is a beacon for imposter syndrome—after all, one quick scroll through the feed shows numerous internship offers, awards, and accomplishments. This takes a toll on students, who feel as if they are falling behind their peers. These feelings are especially prominent in students entering university, as there is a large social capital gap. Students come from diverse backgrounds, and while some may come into university with a robust LinkedIn presence and large network, others do not have the same head start. "Early adoption of LinkedIn reinforces the headstart that people go into university with, magnifying that social capital gap," Bowman explains, "Because some people they come into the program, they've already got 500 plus connections and if they were to post something on LinkedIn, their parents, their parents friends and their teachers and whoever else would be liking and commenting. And so their posts get a lot of attention and attraction, whereas someone who doesn't have that robust network and visibility and presence." It's easy to feel imposter syndrome when not everyone starts on equal footing—and watching others succeed due to these advantages on LinkedIn is not a helpful reminder.

Toward a More Authentic Career Culture

Now, the true question is how to transition LinkedIn usage to a more authentic form of engagement, where networking is rooted in growth and curiosity, rather than signalling status and comparisons with others. "Rather than cultivating a persona on LinkedIn," Bowman noted, "cultivate an authentic presence on LinkedIn that's more related to your genuine interests, your values and passions." Using LinkedIn as a tool to contribute to conversations and engagements in those areas of interest, whether that be sharing a thoughtful comment on a topic of passion, or connecting with individuals external to campus. Think broader than posting a typical "success" or announcement post. 

Honest conversations around career development, within student and early-career spaces, are imperative, as personal branding must be driven by interest, passion, and curiosity, as opposed to positioning. Although a professional platform, LinkedIn isn't meant to be simply a digital version of a resume—it's an opportunity to allow personality to shine through. Think of it as the story behind a resume. Students should all critically reflect on the way they interact with LinkedIn, and ask themselves: What story are you really trying to tell?