A marketing officer from Baltimore has captured viral attention after his profile on the social media site LinkedIn was dubbed the "greatest LinkedIn profile of all time."
Another member of the popular career-based social site highlighted Len Markidan's profile on Wednesday when he shared a screenshot of the page in a post that has now received more than 160,000 reactions and thousands of comments.
LinkedIn was founded in 2002, offering a new take on social media that focused on employment, networking, and career development. With more than 830 million members and over 58 million registered companies signed up, analytics say that 40 percent of users access the site on a daily basis.
Clocking up 1 billion interactions every month, a Pew Research Center study in 2021 revealed that over 50 percent of adults who have a bachelor's or advanced degree in the U.S. are also LinkedIn users.
Designed to allow users to build a digital resume, Markidan's take on building up his experience has left many users in stitches. Where users have space to list their employment history, including adding the company, job title, and responsibilities or achievements, Markidan has added some creative extras.
Instead of his usual employment history, Markidan has added positions including being an "Advertising Target" for Facebook, a 14-year stint as a "Prime Member" with Amazon, and an "Account Manager" role at Netflix after 13 years of having his own Netflix account.
When asked why he chose to make the fun additions to his profile, Markidan told Newsweek: "I wish I had a more compelling story here—like it's a social commentary! down with big tech!—but really it was just a creative exercise on a slow afternoon a few years ago."
Of the five made-up job postings, Markidan has even listed notes about his experience with each role. As an "Uncertified Genius" with Apple since 2003, he says that he has: "Led remote tech support for older family members throughout the country," and "once put off a software update for over 8 months."
Similarly, he lists his role as a "Data Source" with Google and explains: "Received #1 ranking in Search for my own name."
Not forgetting his real-life work experience, Markidan also lists his real career history on his profile. Currently chief marketing officer for Podia—a website platform for online creators—he says that his creative work history often comes up when he reaches out to prospective candidates while recruiting for the company.
"Most of the time, they get the joke," said Markidan. "Every now and then, I get a 'wow, really impressive experience at all those companies!', and there's a little awkwardness to get over when I let them in on it."
Since the picture of his profile has captured viral attention, Markidan says he's had lots of correspondence. "I'm glad people are getting a laugh out of it," he said. "I think many have been frustrated by the kind of content LinkedIn has been rewarding lately, and some of them, myself included, are thinking 'hey, I never signed up for this' when looking at our feeds.
"I've gotten a lot from LinkedIn over the years and I do believe there's still tremendous value in that platform, so it makes me happy to see that lots of people are enjoying it."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
