Why we should be avoiding LinkedIn for Product Career Advice
The unfollow button is about to get popular...
Note: This post is not specifically calling out any professional - so bad luck if you are hoping for anything like that - and no inference should be made.
LinkedIn has an interesting problem right now when it comes to the product community (and perhaps other jobs too).
If you are a product professional, you will undoubtedly see post after post after post of:
The top 25 books you must read to be a great PM
The top 50 people to follow for the best PM content
If you don’t have these 20 skills then you cannot be a top PM
Consider a different career if you are not an extreme PM - my course will tell you how
Written content, podcasts, interviews - all talking the same high level, utopian (in a perfect world) crap by the same few people over and over again.
A big promise I always make to myself and anyone reading my content is to be practical (hence the name of this newsletter) and be achievable by most, if not all professionals doing ‘normal’ jobs in ‘normal’ companies - that is companies that are not FAANG with near-unlimited money, resources and time, but those who just have to make the best of what and who they have to work with. The 99.999% of us. Content in most of the posts we see on LinkedIn that follow this pattern above, tend to be completely unusable by the average PM, except possibly as inspiration and aspiration. However, for every aspiration such content instills, it also inflicts considerable harm to others.
As many readers will know, I founded and run the Product Mind Community - a safe space online community for product professionals to talk about their mental health and wellbeing with like-minded individuals. Across this, and other communities, are a slew of private and group conversations all on the topic of their careers, their anxiety of their role in the height of redundancy season across 2023 and 2024, the confidence of their own abilities and imposter syndrome, to pick out a few.
Much of this points to the perceived fear that to be a product manager, you have to be the world’s best on all manor of specialisms, both inside and outside of the traditional product manager role (marketing, finance, data, delivery, design, some engineering to name a few), working longer hours, also have side hustles to diversify your income, and generally sacrifice a lot in other parts of your life. This directly links to many public posts on LinkedIn I am sure we have all seen, with increasing frequency, promoting working harder, faster, longer hours, learning more and learning deep.
Further, with many professionals out of work and looking to get their next job, and the difficulties this is proving with a saturated market and fewer roles available (as of Feb 2024), the consistent rejections compounds the questioning of ones own abilities and self-worth. And yes, I will admit I am feeling this too.
The results: An increasingly jaded job type already run down from years of pandemic, austerity, an ever increasing angry world, layoffs looming. A community constantly questioning themselves, and being questioned by social media if they are good enough for the role, if they should sacrifice their home life in favour of their career. A role that is being questioned from well known industry names, adjacent roles and business leadership.
This consistent low-level stress is leading quickly to a serious mental health crisis in our profession - anxiety, depression, desperation and despair.
Another facet to this problem is the sheer number of voices all vying for your attention, in part exasperated by the changing job market in product. A number have now ventured out to become consultants, coaches, content creators full time, or at least until the market picks up again. Again, this is in no way suggesting anyone who has taken this path is part of the problem - partly because at the time of writing this I am one of those individuals, and there are many others creating brilliant, useful content.
But overall, there is a huge volume of content & opinion now available on all manner of topics covering product management as an overall umbrella. And so at best, there is a lot to take in, to read or listen to, and process. Everyone has something different to share which is amazing and lovely, and the more diverse the community the better. And yet through no authors’ fault, that processing and sifting takes its toll on readers.
However, the problem then lies in getting ones voice heard amongst the many voices, particularly on professional networking, advertising sites such as LinkedIn. And when your livelihood relies on that advertising and your voice needs to be ‘louder’ on the LinkedIn feed; some choose to shout, scream or otherwise grab attention with extreme PM views. Some as clickbait, some for the likes/comments that polarise audiences, some to instigate argument, and always to just promote their services as opposed to generally moving conversation forward. Great for them, but just more logs for the ever growing fire that is self-doubt for the average PM.
Some will say we need to learn better critical thinking, that the problem lies with the audience - and on that I agree. We all need to learn more about who is saying what and question what agenda they may have by, for example, telling the world that most PMs are not up to the task. Do these individuals have, what is fast becoming known as the ‘Product Guru Complex’1, where they over-embrace their popularity, spout off whatever they want and expect their followers to blindly rally behind them, standing for no questioning or criticism of their views, regardless of how researched, or not (often not), their argument is?
This is fine for those of us experienced enough to recognise these people or posts for what they are. We can filter it out quickly, even if it does get our blood pumping. The bigger problem lies with those that find it difficult within themselves not to take such information personally and instantly feel like they are failing, as well as those new to the world of product management who likely look up to the popular faces. The don’t know any better and are far more impressionable, far more naïve, and far less confident to question.
So if you are reading this and recognise both authors on social media falling into such categories, and perhaps in yourself the self-doubt that their words hold on you, here is my advice:
Remember you can only do what you can do, within the bounds of your company, your responsibilities, your budget. Of course you can do more and better, but will your situation allow you to?
Remember that most businesses are not a Google, a Microsoft - so do not expect to work with the same budgets, people, skills and resources as them.
Listen to the advice and suggestions, absolutely, and view them as aspirational. But mix this with the practical tips YOU can action.
Question the motives of the author where something seems confrontational, extreme, wildly unobtainable. Are they promoting a new book, course, consultancy or event ‘you absolutely most attend’?
And if this still gets to down: Unfollow them.
I am sure this last suggestion will get a flurry of furrow-browed individuals saying ‘oh don’t bury your head in the sand you will never improve… rah rah rah’.
You will, because you will surround yourself with peers and expertise that choose to help you through discussion, shared learning, empathy, thoughtfulness. You will be putting more focus on your wellbeing as much as learning; be stronger, more aware of the challenges this role offers, and grow at the pace that suits you, not dictated by others. All being well, come back and follow them again later…
Product Guru Complex as a term was first coined by my friend Beks Yelland