New Delhi: A man took to Reddit to reveal how he secured a job via a fake LinkedIn post after getting laid off. The individual stated that he was abruptly laid off one day. However, he was not ready to admit it to his dear ones. So he pretended to work and even showed up on LinkedIn with posts. On the side, he relentlessly continued to look for a new job.
The Reddit user by the name @VelvetViiibes wrote, “I got laid off and pretended I was still employed for months, ended up getting a better job because of it.” He went on to state that he got laid off in August. “No warning, no severance, just a ‘hey, we’re restructuring’ and a Zoom call that lasted 3 minutes,” said the man. The user kept the news to himself while enthusiastically searching for a new job.
Man pretends to be working after getting laid off, gets a job offer through his fake LinkedIn post
I got laid off and pretended I was still employed for months ended up getting a better job because of it
byu/VelvetViiibes instories
“I just… pretended I was still working,” said the Reddit user. The man claimed that he did mock calls and wrote on LinkedIn about his exciting new projects. It was then that, out of nowhere, a recruiter reached out to him. The recruiter who had noticed him through one of his LinkedIn posts asked him if he was interested in an opportunity.
“Crushed the interviews. Got an offer—higher salary, better title, remote, actual work-life balance,” wrote the man on the social platform. He added, “I used to feel guilty for faking it, but now I just feel… relieved. The system’s built on BS anyway. I just played along until it worked.”
Redditors were quick to respond to the post. They encouraged him and asked him not to be ashamed of anything. He stated, “You played the game. You won. No shame in that.” Another stated, “People fake success all the time on LinkedIn. You just did it better.”