Why Isn't LinkedIn Easier to Use?

The Founder is Worth $3 Billion - He Should Use Some of That Money to Improve the Platform

Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash

Recently I have been traveling and while I normally keep logged in to LinkedIn all the time, I somehow logged out. When I returned to the United States I tried to log in. The system said that it needed to send me a verification code to my phone number ending in “37” however my phone number does not end in “37,” it ends in “67” therefore I never received the code.

Fortunately, LinkedIn has a solution. Instead of getting a code on my phone, I can use a service that uses facial recognition to verify my ID. I scanned the QR code provided by LinkedIn, went through the facial recognition process as required, including allowing the system to take my picture and uploading my driver’s license. At the end, the system indicated that I was verified, and that the system would share that information with LinkedIn. A screen then appeared that showed the Log in page.

Assuming that my identity had been verified, I then entered my email address and password and tried to sign in again. The LinkedIn system then went right back to wanting to send a verification code to the incorrect phone number. So, I went through the facial recognition process again. Exactly the same thing happened.

Meanwhile each time I tried to log in to LinkedIn, I received an email saying if I am having trouble signing in, I should visit the LinkedIn help center and the email provided a link to the help center. I clicked on the link and was taken to the LinkedIn help center. On the help center page is the following statement “Please sign in so we can provide the best possible support service.” Great advice. Except I can’t sign in because the LinkedIn facial recognition verification system is not working and doing nothing more than taking me around in circles.

I searched the help page for something that could help me sign in and I couldn’t find anything but down at the bottom of the page was a button that said, “Contact Us.” Great. Maybe there is a phone number or email address I can use to ask for help. I clicked on the button.

Where does clicking on “Contact Us” take you? It takes you to the sign-in page. So, I tried signing in again and of course it wanted to send a verification code to the wrong phone number but offered the option of using facial recognition to sign in. Having already tried the facial recognition process three times, and each time it said my identity was verified and being shared with LinkedIn, I didn’t bother trying to do it again.

I went back to the LinkedIn help page and there was an option to reset my password, so I thought I would give that a try. Then a screen came up asking me for my email or phone number. This time I thought I would try entering my phone number. When I entered my phone number the system said it would send me a verification code to my phone number, and I received the verification code. I entered it and it worked—except not quit. The system then took me back to the page where is wanted to send me a verification code to a phone number ending in “37” which is not my phone number.

At this point I thought I would do a search on LinkedIn help for my problem. I search “Can’t sign in.” The system came back with more than one hundred links to various instructions, however not one of the links addressed my problem, and many of the suggested links had nothing to do with passwords. As an example, one of the suggested links was titled “Free job reporting limitations” and one was titled “Delete an article or draft.” What type of software engineer would design a help center that gives back these suggestions to the question I asked?

Meanwhile, in trying all of these different approaches, I received two more emails telling me to follow the instructions that were sent to an incorrect phone number, and urging me to visit the help center that recommends you sign in to get help, and when you don’t sign in and you ask for help on not being able to sign in you are provide with dozens of links to things that have absolutely nothing to do with signing in, like the two examples I gave above.

While I am going through all of this, I am thinking I am paying $59.99 a month for LinkedIn, I have spent an hour trying to log in, and for $59.99 a month LinkedIn does not provide a phone number or an email address on their help center so that problems like mine can be resolved. What the heck are they doing with that money?

Finally, some time later, I did receive an email saying that my identification had been verified and I could access my account. Nowhere in the identification verification process did it say that I should wait for a period of time and look for an email saying my identity was verified.

I must admit I am not surprised. I tried to run some ads on LinkedIn to promote my books. I couldn’t figure it out. It was too complicated. So, I hired someone to run the ads for me. That, but the way, is how I ended up with the wrong phone number in LinkedIn. The person I hired changed the number so he would get notifications while he was working on the project.

As it turns out, he could not run the ads either. He did figure out how to do it, but each ad cost more than the royalty I get from selling one book, so even if I made a book sale from each click on the ad, I would be underwater. Thankfully, my guy was able to run ads on some other social media platforms and my book sales are doing fine. Although I could always use more so if you are in the market for a good read, check them out.

Meanwhile the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, is worth some $3 billion. Maybe Reid should use just a few million to figure out how to give the people paying him $59.99 a month a better user experience.

As a LinkedIn user, there are many other features of the platform that could be significantly improved, but I’ll leave that for another article.

For the budding entrepreneurs out there, please develop a business-to-business social media platform to compete with LinkedIn. You could build it better, provide better customer service and I think a lot of people on LinkedIn, including me, would sign up for your service.

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