If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a “Humbled to announce…” post on LinkedIn, you’re not alone.
But before you write off the platform entirely, let’s dig into a real question: Does LinkedIn actually help you get a job in 2025—or is it just a lot of hype?
In this solo episode of The Bold PhD Podcast, I reflect on that exact question—with evidence from research, personal experience, and years of using LinkedIn as more than just a résumé billboard.
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What the research says
Let’s start with the data. A 2017 study by Ricardo Büchner published in Electronic Markets found that using LinkedIn could increase your chances of getting a job offer from 19% to 80.5%. Yes, it’s an older study—but still the only one I’ve found that gives hard numbers.
Another more recent study out of MIT (2022) showed that “weak ties”—those people you know just a little—are often more effective for landing jobs than your inner circle. That’s a key insight for LinkedIn, where many of our connections are loose, professional acquaintances.
So, if you’re wondering whether you need thousands of followers or a verified badge, the research says: not really. The 2017 study found that even with just 157 connections, users were seeing job search benefits.
What my own experience taught me
When I was laid off from my postdoc in 2018, I struggled for over a year to land a job—even with a PhD in microbiology and immunology. Eventually, I started sharing my freelance writing work on LinkedIn.
I didn’t have a big following. But I showed up consistently, sharing what I was learning, the results I was getting for clients, and insights from my teaching. And slowly, things started happening:
- I got freelance clients who found me through my posts
- I landed an adjunct professor role at a local community college
- I was invited to speak at major universities like Johns Hopkins, Oxford, and Brown
- I signed a book deal with an academic press—through a connection I made on LinkedIn
- I landed my current role as a science writer with CG Life… also because someone saw me on LinkedIn
These weren’t flukes. They were the result of showing up consistently, using LinkedIn as a connection tool, not just an application portal.
So… is LinkedIn worth it?
If you’re expecting LinkedIn to work like a job board where you upload a résumé and the offers start pouring in, you’ll likely be disappointed.
But if you treat it as a professional community—a place to share what you know, cheer others on, and be discoverable—you’ll be amazed at what it can do.
Every opportunity I’ve had in the last five years—from paid writing gigs to speaking engagements to full-time jobs—has come not from applying cold, but from being visible and valuable in a space where decision-makers were already looking.
So is LinkedIn overhyped? Maybe. But it’s also underestimated—especially by academics and PhDs who think it’s just for corporate suits or “influencers.”
It’s not.
It’s for you, too.
🔗 Want to start building your own opportunities?
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