6.5 KiB
Before/After: LinkedIn Style
Professional social media post transformations.
Example 1: Career Advice
Before (AI)
Here's the thing about career advice that nobody wants to tell you:
Most of it is survivorship bias dressed up as wisdom.
The uncomfortable truth? The people giving advice succeeded for reasons they don't fully understand. Timing. Luck. Being in the right place.
Not because they followed a playbook. Not because they "hustled harder." Not because they had a secret framework.
Because circumstances aligned.
Does this mean advice is useless? No.
But it means you should:
- Take it with a grain of salt
- Understand the context it came from
- Adapt it to YOUR situation
The best career advice I ever got?
"Pay attention to what works for YOU."
And that's it. That's the whole thing.
What's the best career advice you've received? Drop it in the comments. 👇
After (Humanized)
Most career advice is survivorship bias. Successful people explain their success with stories. The real causes—timing, luck, circumstance—don't make good LinkedIn posts.
Useful advice is contextual. What worked for someone in 2015 at a 10-person startup won't transfer to your 2024 enterprise job.
Pay attention to what works for you. Run experiments. Keep what helps.
Changes Made
- Removed "Here's the thing" opener
- Cut "The uncomfortable truth?"
- Collapsed "Not because X. Not because Y. Not because Z." structure
- Removed rhetorical "Does this mean advice is useless? No."
- Cut bulleted list (converted to prose)
- Removed "And that's it. That's the whole thing."
- Cut engagement bait question and emoji
- 141 words → 62 words (56% reduction)
Example 2: Leadership Insight
Before (AI)
I used to think great managers had all the answers.
I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Here's what I learned after managing teams for 10 years:
The best managers don't solve problems. They create conditions for others to solve problems.
Think about it:
- When you solve everything, you become a bottleneck
- When you empower others, you scale yourself
- When you step back, leaders emerge
This is genuinely hard. Our instincts scream "fix it!" But the real skill? Sitting with discomfort while someone else figures it out.
The transformation happened when I started asking:
"What do YOU think we should do?"
Instead of:
"Here's what I think we should do."
Game. Changer.
What's one management habit that transformed your leadership? Let me know below! 🙌
After (Humanized)
Good managers don't solve problems. They create conditions for others to solve problems.
When you solve everything, you become a bottleneck. When you step back, leaders emerge from the team.
One shift that worked: asking "What do you think we should do?" before offering my answer. Uncomfortable at first. Effective long-term.
Changes Made
- Cut "I used to think / I was wrong" setup
- Removed "Dead wrong" emphasis
- Cut "Here's what I learned after managing teams for 10 years"
- Removed "Think about it:" and bullet structure
- Cut "This is genuinely hard"
- Removed "Game. Changer." dramatic fragment
- Cut engagement question and emoji
- 139 words → 63 words (55% reduction)
Example 3: Hiring Post
Before (AI)
Hot take: your interview process is broken.
And you probably don't even know it.
Here's the uncomfortable truth about technical interviews:
They test performance under artificial pressure. Not actual job skills.
Whiteboard coding? Tests anxiety management. Take-home projects? Tests who has free time. Algorithm puzzles? Tests memorization.
None of these predict on-the-job success.
What actually works?
✅ Work sample tests on real problems ✅ Paid trial days ✅ Collaborative debugging sessions ✅ Reference checks (yes, really)
The best hire I ever made bombed the algorithm round.
The worst hire I ever made aced it.
Let that sink in.
Your interview process isn't selecting for talent. It's selecting for people who are good at interviews.
Time to rethink. 💡
Agree? Disagree? Let's debate in the comments.
After (Humanized)
Technical interviews test interview skills, not job skills.
Whiteboard coding measures anxiety management. Algorithm puzzles measure memorization. Neither predicts job performance.
Better alternatives: work samples from real problems, paid trial days, collaborative debugging. These show how candidates actually work.
The best engineer I hired failed the algorithm round. The worst one aced it.
Changes Made
- Removed "Hot take:" opener
- Cut "And you probably don't even know it"
- Removed "Here's the uncomfortable truth"
- Collapsed repetitive list structure
- Cut emoji checkmarks and bullet formatting
- Removed "Let that sink in"
- Cut "Time to rethink" and engagement prompt
- 136 words → 60 words (56% reduction)
Example 4: Failure Story
Before (AI)
I got fired in 2019.
Best thing that ever happened to me.
Here's what nobody tells you about failure:
It's not the end. It's data.
When I lost my job, I thought my career was over. The shame was overwhelming. I didn't leave my apartment for a week.
But then something shifted.
I started asking: What can I learn from this?
The answer?
- I had been coasting
- I wasn't growing
- The company wasn't the right fit (and I knew it)
Getting fired forced me to be honest with myself.
Three months later, I landed a role that: ✨ Paid 40% more ✨ Aligned with my values ✨ Actually challenged me
The point isn't that getting fired is good.
The point is that setbacks contain information.
Use them.
What's a failure that turned into an opportunity for you?
After (Humanized)
I got fired in 2019. Didn't leave my apartment for a week.
Eventually I asked what I could learn. Answers: I'd been coasting, not growing, and knew the company wasn't right.
Three months later: a job that paid 40% more and actually challenged me. The firing forced honesty I'd been avoiding.
Setbacks contain information. Use it.
Changes Made
- Kept strong opening, cut "Best thing that ever happened to me"
- Removed "Here's what nobody tells you about failure"
- Cut "It's not the end. It's data." (cliché)
- Removed "But then something shifted" transition
- Collapsed bullet/emoji lists into prose
- Cut rhetorical "The point isn't X. The point is Y."
- Removed engagement question
- 149 words → 70 words (53% reduction)