Lenny RachitskyHost of Lenny's Podcast | Author of Lenny's Newsletter

Is your LinkedIn hurting your salary?

17 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker argues that LinkedIn profiles and resumes act as static snapshots of a person's past, which can hinder salary negotiations that focus on future value. He explains that everything shared publicly—textual narrative, headshot, and past roles—forms a perception that others use to evaluate you. He notes that visual cues like the quality of a headshot can even signal a person's current compensation level. When a professional is positioned as a commodity based on past experience, they risk being treated as such in negotiations. Consequently, the speaker advises limiting the amount of information shared publicly so that, during direct conversations, you can reshape the narrative and steer discussions toward your future vision and value rather than being constrained by past “sins.”

Chapters

LinkedIn profile and your resume is a snapshot of what you've been in the past, but it doesn't help you negotiate in the forward. They're not going to know all this work that you're doing in the future moving forward and what your visions are, things like that. So the things you say on LinkedIn serve as a perception. The headshot that you have serves as a perception. I used to joke that I could scan profiles. I would know how much money someone made by the quality of their headshot. What you're putting out into the world, the narrative you share publicly starts to become how you're known. If you are positioned as a commodity, you will be treated like a commodity. So oftentimes the less you share is better because when you're on the phone with somebody, you can correct the narrative and steer the conversation where you want it to go versus have to live by the sins of what you did 10 years ago.