LINKED IN OR LEFT OUT?

The Stodgiest of Social Networks
By Sam Perwin

These days, we performers and artists hear over and over again the importance of having an expertly curated online presence. Without your resume in front of them (and sometimes even when it is), casting directors, directors, producers, and even other actors will always resort to Googling you if they can’t remember who you are. Understanding and controlling what happens when someone types your name into a search engine is a crucial part of the business (that’s called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for the uninitiated), as is maintaining a healthy presence on Social Media. In the arts, however far far behind Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and increasingly, Snapchat is that good old professional networking platform known as Linked In. 

Would you like to be added to my professional network?

I’ve been spending a lot of time on LinkedIn recently - one of the companies I work for uses it as a recruitment tool of sorts. While I’ve certainly run into some profiles of my more artistic friends on there, it seems much more populated with the rest of the world. It’s a fascinating look into how people with “real jobs” market themselves, and it has made me wonder if we artists can learn a bit from this space. I’m not naive enough to think that all actors should jump on Linked In if they want to increase their likelihood of getting called in for a big project by a casting director. Our business simply doesn’t work that way (and your time would be much better spent beefing up/polishing your presence on the sites mentioned above first and foremost). 

For those in other industries, though, Linked In provides an extremely easy, convenient way to search for people by geographic region, industry, company, school, years of expertise, etc. It’s little wonder that recruiters in many industries start their searches on LinkedIn when looking for particular talent. Indeed, the aforementioned company I work for found me by searching my alma mater and experience in social media, and I was as shocked as anyone. I had spent little to no time maintaining my Linked In profile - in fact, I had all but forgotten I had one until they reached out. Linked In offers a tiny snapshot of your professional history - it's basically a resume, but combined with a convenient list of connections which can act like unspoken references. No matter what anyone tells you, it's all about who you know, right?

A few years back, when I first got this job, I mentioned to a friend that I had basically been recruited via Linked In and she was shocked. "Wow," she said, "I'd always thought of Linked In as like the strip mall dentist of Social Media." In other words, that thing you pass and think, "I feel bad for the person who has to resort to that." It stands out from other social media platforms precisely for its straightforwardness. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all such careful, curated versions of ourselves. You can pimp your Linked-In profile somewhat, but really what stands out there are your credentials and your experience - not your ability to take a shirtless selfie. Shouldn't we be rewarding that instead?

I suppose there's another post in the tube in which I rail against our achievement oriented society (New York) that only values people based on how they make money instead of on their character, actions, and what they find important. And, as I said, the point of this post isn't to encourage my fellow artists to upgrade to a premium Linked In profile, merely some musings on how we represent ourselves to others in the vast online universe. It's worth a second thought, and a second look.

SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
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