A brand new wave of self-proclaimed “mentors” is taking on LinkedIn – promising job seekers golden alternatives in FAANG (Fb, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) corporations, branding to deceive job seekers, and providing pretend mentorship packages that in the end exploit their desperation. As detailed in a viral Reddit submit, these so-called mentors usually submit photographs of themselves carrying ‘FAANG-branded merchandise or posing at firm places of work’, accompanied by imprecise motivational messages. Their final objective, critics say, is to not assist however to revenue.
After monitoring a number of of those influencers, a transparent sample emerged. Their playbook follows 5 predictable steps:
The Hook: They provide “free” resume evaluations or referrals—simply guide a 15-minute session.
The Flattery: In the course of the name, they bathe candidates with compliments however present little to no actionable suggestions.
The Ask: They beg for a 5-star ranking and glowing testimonial.
The Pivot: After stacking up 50+ glowing evaluations from free classes, they start charging $1,000+ for 30-minute consultations, advertising and marketing themselves as “5-star rated by 50+ customers.” The catch? These evaluations got here from free classes.
The Revenue: They monetize desperation, preying on job seekers who consider they’re getting insider steering. In actuality, they’re being scammed by somebody whose personal profession may not be as stable as they declare.
To make issues worse, these influencers function in packs, liking, reposting, and hyping up one another’s content material to inflate credibility and broaden their attain.
Referrals must be natural—an endorsement of somebody’s potential, not a commodity on the market. But, this rising pattern on LinkedIn is popping real job-seeking efforts right into a market of deception.
The submit quickly went viral, evoking a spread of reactions from social media customers.
One person wrote, “Yeah, this shit is getting out of hand. I do know a dude who spams like 5 posts per day about random shit. Additionally, there are individuals charging 4000 for one hour lol. I do not suppose they make 4000 for an hour at their actual job.”
One other mentioned: “There’s this man on LinkedIn who retains on posting for referrals and tells individuals to DM him their resume in the event that they’re . However on the finish of each submit, he mentions that his DMs are full, and if somebody is sensible sufficient, they might know tips on how to contact him—after which he places the hyperlink to his Topmate account. He does this in each submit.
The resemblance to pressured bribing is uncanny.”
One other mentioned: “I’ve stopped utilizing LinkedIn. It is full of those spam posts solely. Nothing of worth. Individuals have transformed it right into a mini Instagram the place they submit the identical bullshit that’s trending however with a motivational quote.
Indian children, then again, have created idols of those influencers and are busy selling them as a substitute of constructing their very own careers. Most of those are college students with no data of how issues work in company, and the remaining are sloggers in WITCH corporations who create an everyday submit about how some influencer’s sheet is one of the best and possibly get 500 rs for that.”
