Looking desperate is no longer a red flag — at least on LinkedIn.
Unemployed people who are open to work are now being transparent about their urgent need for a new role, adorning their profiles with a new LinkedIn banner that reads “#Desperate.”
“LinkedIn is a platform that’s made for networking and connecting with people, and we do that because it’s going to help us out in some way,” Courtney Summer Myers, who created the emblem, told Fortune.
“So if you’re in need, why would you not ask for help?”
Myers, 28, was laid off from her graphic design job in November and has since applied to about 30 jobs per day to no avail, inspiring her to create the bold banner that has since been adopted by a number of other “desperate” workers.
“I’m jumping on the desperate bandwagon,” Hanna McFadyn, 22, wrote on LinkedIn with a photo of her updated profile picture adorned with the banner.
The illustrator and designer told Fortune that she’s applied for 20 jobs per day after leaving her remote job in April. Employers often don’t respond to her applications, and when they do, she is complimented but never offered a role, she said, adding that she’s just looking for employment where she can learn from her colleagues and earn a salary to pay her living expenses.
“A lot of companies don’t even state the salary on the job applications,” the Glasgow, Scotland, applicant told Fortune. “I live at home with my parents, but I could very well have a flat and rent to pay. I’ve got cell bills to cover, so I could be in a situation where I really need to know the salary — the fact that they don’t state it leaves you in the dark.”
And while she’s #Desperate for work, she also “wouldn’t want to go under” her previous salary.
“We’re still confident enough to tell recruiters: ‘Listen, we know we’re desperate, but we’re not going to be played around with because of that label,'” she added.
Myers’ original post launching her LinkedIn banner has amassed more than 400,000 reactions on the platform and elicited mixed reviews. While some users say they “feel” for her, others warn that employers may be wary “about hiring candidates who seem too eager,” a cautionary tale that has been echoed by recruiters in the past.
It’s a head-scratcher for unemployed users who want to show potential employers that they’re looking for a job.
“LinkedIn was created for people to … find work. But it doesn’t make sense that recruiters and headhunters don’t talk to you if you put an [#OpenToWork] banner up,” 29-year-old Elena Carballo, who recently lost her job and was inspired by Myers’ post online, told Fortune. “It’s paradoxical.”
Myers is trying to fight that stigma around looking for work, arguing that the banner is an upfront way of informing companies that you’re willing to take on a new job, freelance gigs or other work.
“If I sit there and pretend that everything is fine, how is anyone going to know that I need a job or some freelance work? How would they know I need help in general, even just a chat? People aren’t psychic,” Myers explained.
“Why be ashamed of a situation that you’ve been forced into?”
