How To Leverage Posting Content on LinkedIn To Unlock Career Growth, Job Security & Promotions - w/ Shifra

I'm Naman Pande. This is the ready set to podcast and in this episode feature not expert is Shiffra Isac. Shiffra is a developer relations advocate at sn.io and this is part two of my two-part conversation with her. The topic of this discussion is how professionals from any industry can and should be leveraging LinkedIn to grow their careers and networks, pivot to better roles, unlock higher salaries, and build their personal brands. The majority of people are going on LinkedIn twice a year to be like, "Congratulations to myself. if I got promoted, which is fine, like not a big deal. But some days I wake up feeling like LinkedIn is just the most soul crushing roy fake platform in the world.

crushing roy fake platform in the world. And then other times I will come across some people such as yourself who are not pretending to be corporate slop machines. The reason that I started posting is because I feel like it is the closest thing I have to job security where it's like, hey, someone could discover me and recruit me at any time. How can I start thinking about posting more in a way that's authentic and that actually adds value? If I worried about what every single person would think, then I would never post anything. Sorry, I didn't mean this to become like a solve my problem, Shivra, please session, but I guess here we are. Now, in line with that theme of learning from somebody that's just two steps ahead of us instead of an expert, my goal with this episode is to help you figure out

this episode is to help you figure out the path to leveraging the cringefest yet cold mind that is LinkedIn for leveling up your career. If you're going to stand out just by like being consistent and being positive, it's going to be on LinkedIn because subscribe on YouTube and follow on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast for weekly episodes featuring not experts from every walk of life ever and daily clips from those episodes. And now without any further ado, here's Shiffra.

Welcome to the Ready Set Do podcast where we learn from journeys of not experts who are just two steps ahead of us. You've been sharing such great content on LinkedIn which is how I also found you. But I do want to talk about that just a little bit just purely driven by I don't even know how I would explain it. But some days I wake up to feeling like LinkedIn is just the most soul crushing roy fake platform in the world. And other other times I will come across some people such as yourself who are not pretending to be corporate slop uh machines that are actually putting forward their thoughts and are real actual humans. So have you first of all have you sensed that? Is that or is that

have you sensed that? Is that or is that just me? I don't know. I think you're 100% right. And at the end of the day it's it's a platform that was never really meant to be what it is now, right? like it was really just supposed to be for job searching and so of course it's going to be a corporate slop by default and it's really just finding the diamonds in the rough but like yes I totally agree with everything you said for sure. Okay. So, I'm glad. Yeah, because I was just like this could be really weird really quickly. But, so from there, um I guess because you've been doing this so well for a while and I'm just genuinely, you know, trying to also post more often despite my thoughts on it, which is kind of a weird paradox, but I get it. Um but

of a weird paradox, but I get it. Um but yeah, how should one be thinking about being authentic on LinkedIn where especially at a time where it sounds like no one else is and that maybe your boss might be reading your post and yeah like I guess could you just help first of all just put into perspective what it means to you personally to post on LinkedIn like why do you do it? What are maybe some benefits that you get out of it? and just you know anything that somebody should know that might be worth their while. Totally. So first thing I want to say is at time of recording this is like April 2025 and a couple weeks ago there has been a slight revolution on the platform uh led by this guy

on the platform uh led by this guy called Nick Power who's an excellent marketer at a company called Noun Project and he basically started talking in this like oneline lowercase format that's very reminiscent of like mid210s Twitter for people that like that uh back in the day you know and so he kind of started this revolution that has become known as weird LinkedIn. It's a hashtag and it's like a couple creators that are like trying to just be silly and fun on the platform. Oh, so I I think things are taking a turn for the better. They're doing great. Nick has blown up. It's just me and these people on LinkedIn named Nick. I'm just I'm with the Nicks. What can I say? Gotcha.

with the Nicks. What can I say? Gotcha. That's so cool. I love cultural backdrops or contexts like that. I had no idea. Genuinely, I had no idea. That's so cool. But sorry, please continue. No, you're so fine. I think it's also like you have to spend a certain amount of time on the platform to notice these things and like the majority of people are going on LinkedIn twice a year to be like congratulations to myself I got promoted or whatever which is fine like not a big deal but # open to work right that's obviously unfortunate but that's yeah just the reality of it yeah very true yeah thank you for bringing that up it's a it's a very dark time in the job market definitely good to acknowledge that so I will say that um I'm on LinkedIn for the

will say that um I'm on LinkedIn for the same reason as other people to further my career. I think that young people especially have little to no job security in this market especially in the United States where we don't have great worker protections and like even in places like India right you have 60 days notice or something before you can let go and before you even traditionally leave a company. Uhhuh. I mean yeah there in practice the execution isn't always there but yeah to your coin it is something that is a little bit better or you get a little bit more protection than here where it's just like so yeah totally and this is not to say that like everyone in the corporate world is evil like the corporate world is just people

like the corporate world is just people but it's just it's a really harsh reality for people right now so the reason that I started posting is because I feel like it is the closest thing I have to job security where it's like hey someone could discuss discover me and recruit me at any time and I'm going to be the top of the list for a lot of things because I am big enough on the platform where you're going to see my content, but I'm small enough on the platform where I'm not a solopreneur.

platform where I'm not a solopreneur. I'm not like like I'm available, you know, to work in the corporate world. So, Gotcha. It was kind of just about that in the beginning and then it was about what it's always been for me, which is just sharing what I know with people who are like one or two steps behind, which again is what your podcast is all about. And um I started getting really serious about it I would say the last month or so because that was when I became a professional Devril. And so community building isn't on LinkedIn. It used to be something I was doing like making posts two to five times a month.

making posts two to five times a month. And now I'm posting like six or seven times per week I think. Gotcha. Yeah. Because it's it's part of my job now. Makes sense. And but it's it does feel like and I just think you do this so well but it truly feels like it's not for your job though. I mean I don't know if that's intentional but it like going through your post and I can put some of these up as when the listeners or viewers watch this but how do you balance that aspect or maybe if you could also actually pretend that say I am somebody that you know my job doesn't need me to post about uh it on my LinkedIn but I'm still trying to be more regular. I'm still trying to as you said

regular. I'm still trying to as you said and you put it so well where it is my best shot at any sort of visibility in the market or security. So, how can people like me start thinking about, you know, how to post, but not just for the sake of being like, oh, here's some job or resources that hopefully will help you or or, you know, keep going. The the darkest night is before hour before dawn, whatever. Like, I don't know. I just feel find that to not be helpful and I just think it there's no need in the world for that. So, how can I start thinking about just posting more in a way that's authentic and that actually

way that's authentic and that actually adds value? It's a really good question. It's something I've also been wrestling with myself because at the end of the day, it is easier to be authentic if you're not required to post. And this is the first time where like posting is part of my job description. So, I'm trying to say like how can I balance, you know, really evangelizing this product in an organic way while also still being authentic with my community.

still being authentic with my community. So, that's something that I've been thinking about a lot. Gotcha. Um I think for someone who it's not part of their job, it's really just about what do you want to share organically? Why do you work in the field that you do? Tap into the reasons for that and talk about how that could benefit people. So like in business analytics you can say like hey uh people people were thinking about potentially you know cutting a department and that would have resulted in like three people being laid off but because of my business case people are still working or because of my business case this outcome happened they were like I am actually influencing something that I feel is meaningful or even just like little things like hey I learned

like little things like hey I learned this skill and I really enjoyed it right or I found a resource that others should also be looking at. Yeah. Okay. I got you. So, I guess like finding the bits of you that are authentic and like I think that's what people mean when they say bring your bring yourself to work or whatever. I don't think we can bring our full self to work. And I don't think we should pretend that we can. Like you can't even wear a crop top at work, right? Like they're just things that are not realistic. But those bits of you that do come out and the things that actually do make you smile and like say, "Hey, I do want to get promoted here and like I do care about my team and like

like I do care about my team and like this is important to me or I want to help other people do this so they can achieve financial freedom or whatever it is." Um, then find that thing that is authentic and commit to like making one post a week about that. And then when it comes to your podcast, when you have a side project, that's also a really cool thing to post on LinkedIn. learning is a great thing to post on LinkedIn because it's authentic and motivational. Wow, that's those are such great points. Um, the thing about Yeah, actually I'm so glad you brought up the podcast. So, I do have a LinkedIn page and sorry, I didn't mean this to become like a, you know, solve my problem Shiffra please session. But I guess here we are now and

session. But I guess here we are now and I appreciate you cuz I'm just hoping there's others like me that would also probably, you know, struggle with this. But yeah, but anyway, so my question was um so yeah, I have a podcast page. The thing I struggle with to exactly to the point that you were making is that when I share something that is actually generally a learning like say when about after this conversation if I go and write a post about the latte thing cuz that's something I would love to do cuz as we saw that I I just learned that it is as real as it gets. However, I can't help shake the feeling that somebody watching that is just like, "Oh, Griffin is just trying to market his podcast,

is just trying to market his podcast, just trying to get me to click on his dumb YouTube link." And that's just maybe that doesn't even exist. I realize how I'm inventing that problem. But yeah, and you know, do you ever get that or and if you do, how does one deal with that or is that not even worth thinking about? though I think it's about being true to yourself where like you can take anything in the worst way but that's just getting that's just stopping you from contributing to your community at that right like if you if you posted one time and you're like your link is to a Rick roll or something then yes you're a

Rick roll or something then yes you're a grifter and you're messing with people but if you post consistently like hey here's something I learned that's new check out my podcast if you want to learn more things it's very clear that like you have good motivations with your podcast, you have good motivations with your content, and maybe it's just consistency, but like if I worried about what every single person would think, then I would never post anything. And I think it's like it's again getting in your own way where like respectfully you have things to give and you're giving them, so why shouldn't you also talk about what you're contributing? Mhm. So people can find it. Yeah. Um it it kind of reminds me of um kind of getting through some spotlight effect dilemmas

through some spotlight effect dilemmas when I first started the podcast. It it's kind of the same thing just in a different way. And I think the fact that you know it's a professional corporate platform where as I said my boss might read my stuff that just maybe made me, you know, take my eyes away from the prize. But those are such such helpful call outs. And I love what you said about that this is not just a one-time thing that I'm posting and then just disappearing. Anybody that sees will know that it's a regular thing that I post. It's clearly something I care about. And I do think that already in my head makes it easier for me to justify why I would do that such as, you know, posting something about like the le

posting something about like the le thing. So yeah. Can I add one more thing real quick? Of course. So, I think your content is great and you're so clearly like an earnest person who wants to learn and share knowledge and that's what your podcast is all about. And this is not to insult the platform, but the the standard of content on LinkedIn is so cringe and so bad. I mean, it's true. felt what you just said in like my entire body miscarri like it's just just like I said the most soul crushing stop just I'm like okay I'm done totally totally and that makes it easier for someone like you to stand out by just being a good earnest person like it's not that hard to it's not that like it's not that hard to seem great because everything

hard to seem great because everything else is so bad that's very well put it's just a low standard. So like if you're going to stand out just by like being consistent and being positive, it's going to be on LinkedIn because it's it's just already you're already rising to the top. Wow. Yeah. You have truly such a way with words. I don't think I've ever felt more motivated to and I guess if you could like if I opened it up I you would be able to see like one post every 3 weeks or whatever days that I hate myself enough to go on there to post. But yeah, I do feel like from what from the fresh perspective that you've given me here, yeah, I just have to not worry about the rest and

have to not worry about the rest and just focus on sharing my learnings, which honestly I know it sounds tright, but yeah, that's such a helpful feedback and definitely what I needed to hear. Um, really appreciate you sharing that. Final thing before I let you go here. Um, given you are somebody that spent most of your professional career in some way or form around the, you know, technical writing or even talking to or communicating with people that aren't necessarily from tech but sometimes are tech adjacent. I I do want to pick your brain about what the upcoming future to you looks like in your perspective with you know AI becoming a thing where you could just go now um on charge GBT and be like explain SQL to me like I'm a

be like explain SQL to me like I'm a 5-year-old and you know and obviously it's just going to get better uh if you know you believe everyone what everyone says. So I'm just curious to hear your take as somebody that's in the field um about the direction that AI education or AI aided tech education is taking us and what your you know thoughts are on that topic. Yeah, it's it's complicated. I think I saw something on Instagram that kind of uh clarifies my viewpoint on this which is that we are taking for granted that we've built up our reasoning and critical thinking skills before AI. Right? So you and I are old enough to have done that. And what's really dangerous is for the people that are not old enough to have done that where every critical thinking question

where every critical thinking question they were presented with in school or in their mind, they can just say, "Tell me what to think." Yeah. And that's the scary part, right? Um because when you're using AI, your job as the creator, as the programmer or whatever, is to check that against your knowledge base. And we had the we have the ability to do that because we built that up before AI took over. Yeah. So, exactly.

before AI took over. Yeah. So, exactly. Yeah. So, AI is a great place to start, especially if you're like a student starting on ChachiBT for free. Again, like if it's going to point you to the right MOO, it's going to point you to where you can get started quickly and you don't have to search for and deliberate on which thing am I going to start with for 3 months the way that some people do. That's the value, right?

some people do. That's the value, right? Is it speeds up that process, but you can't let it replace your critical thinking skills. So I encourage every student who wants to uh you know just like build up their own perspective on things who wants to be able to do something in an interview with no aids. Make sure you understand everything that you're learning and you have an opinion on what it's telling you. You don't just take it at face value. So gota you need to use AI as a tool and not as a replacement for critical thinking and deep understanding. That tracks with kind of what I had in mind as well. You mentioned wipe coding earlier when we were talking about somebody getting in.

were talking about somebody getting in. Would you so am I right in assuming that that kind of goes in parallel to what you just laid out where it's okay to start with that especially when you're trying to educate yourself but down the road you should start thinking about being self- sustaining quote unquote whatever that means anymore but is that kind of right that you don't have to demonize VIP coding or that type of stuff? stuff? Um, I think it's a tool again. So like what's really good to separate out in the AI age and just in general is the difference between delivering and learning. If you're delivering and you need something done by the end of the day for your computer science assignment, yes, get it in. Make sure

assignment, yes, get it in. Make sure that you don't lose your scholarship, you know, but if you're learning, that's not going to teach you anything. M so it's about understanding where where is AI supplementing your greater goals because you can't replace your brain with AI. Yep. Yep. So it sounds like what you're sharing is it's more it has more to do with discipline than really anything else cuz you could probably get those boxes checked and be fine on paper, but you will not have the actual understanding to sustain you once you're not able to use that. And you can only get that by being disciplined and actually caring about what it is that you want to learn, right? I mean, right?

you want to learn, right? I mean, right? Totally. So, think about it as high stakes, right? Like someone's about to do brain surgery on you to fix a problem with your body. Do you want them to ask ChachiBT what the next step is that they should do? No, you don't want that. So, think about like in the high stakes, what is the knowledge you actually need to have? and then motivate yourself, supplement yourself, deliver when you need to with AI, but make sure that like you still have a core skill set. Yeah.

you still have a core skill set. Yeah. And it's just funny to put that into perspective beside the fact that there are some people right now that actually get their, you know, test reports or whatever and instead of going to a doctor, they just fe it into claude like 2.7, I think. And apparently it does a really good job with um telling them what needs to happen. Yeah. So, you know, it's just crazy times that we live in. And yeah. Yeah. Students building, you know, Tati BT therapist for their final project or whatever.

for their final project or whatever. Also that. Yep. I did see that one as well. And also the person that made a tool to cheat on the lead code interviews that got that then got um laid lot. But uh Colombia I believe just like him and such. So yeah, it's just truly truly magical times. But yeah, um Shifra, I really want to take the time to thank you for sitting down and talking with me here today and obviously sharing your journey and also so much um yeah, I just learned so much from just this conversation and um yeah, you know, so to anybody listening, please go and follow Shiffra.

listening, please go and follow Shiffra. Her LinkedIn posts are just so great. They're like a fresh of a breath of fresh air in a place where otherwise you don't get that a lot. And yeah, just really really thanks for taking the time here today. Yeah. No, thank you for taking the time for reaching out to me and making this happen and just inspiring the world with like stories of regular people that are interesting and work hard. Um, I'm looking forward to your latte post, Noman.