Last week, I received my least favorite type of LinkedIn message - worse even than my second-least favorite, the cold sales pitch for financial planning services.
This message was a long detailing of all the ways the sender had been wronged in his job search. Multiple paragraphs of bitterness and negativity about how he is both overqualified and under-experienced for every job he wants, and how unfair hiring managers are, etc.
He ended it saying he's looking to get a job at a McDonald's because "it's obvious no one will ever hire him in his degree field." All this from someone who had JUST connected with me, and who doesn't know me at all.
Now, I'm sympathetic to how difficult it can be to find a job, and there are certainly times when the process can feel overwhelming, unfair and demeaning. But that doesn't mean you vent out all that frustration, anger and angst on some random stranger on LinkedIn. Save those conversations for your close friends and loved ones, who have the emotional relationship with you necessary to help you deal with what you are going through.
I read the message, felt vaguely embarrassed and uncomfortable for the sender, and then immediately deleted it without responding. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life, and I certainly don't need it in my LinkedIn inbox.