A Reddit user says they were permanently banned from LinkedIn for no clear reason, cutting them off from a major platform used by recruiters and professionals across industries.
“Where the hell do you find jobs?” the user asked in r/overemployed, a subreddit dedicated to people juggling multiple jobs.
“I got permabanned from LinkedIn for literally no reason, and they won’t explain why, so I’m effectively locked out of the job market.”
They claim they’ve tried workarounds, creating a new account using a different email, signing in from a different IP address, and even slightly changing the spelling of their name.
Still, they say they were immediately banned again after applying to a few jobs. “It’s insane. I’ve reported them to [the] FTC but of course the power is in the hands of private corporations,” they wrote.
Workarounds and Doubts
Many commenters suggested simply making a new LinkedIn account.
“Accounts aren’t linked to real people. They’re only linked to email addresses,” one person pointed out. Others suggested using a paid VPN, a new laptop, or even avoiding profile verification to prevent future bans.
But the original poster pushed back. “Not really,” they replied.
“I signed in with a new email, from my dad’s IP address, with a differently spelled first name, and I still got banned right after I applied to a handful of jobs.”
Some Redditors were skeptical.
One said, “This ‘banned for no reason’ reminds me of the latest season of The Rehearsal… Who gets banned from LinkedIn??? There’s gotta be more to this.”
Is LinkedIn Even Worth It?
Plenty of users said they’ve had little to no success using LinkedIn to find work.
“LinkedIn never had yielded anything for me… it’s always jam packed with 500+ applicants by the time I see it,” one person shared.
Another said, “LinkedIn isn’t even a job search engine anymore, it’s basically 2010-2015 Facebook.”
Some pointed to alternatives like ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, BuiltIn, Hiring Cafe, and radar.jobs.
“I’ve been hired for 4 jobs in the past 6 years and never used LinkedIn. ZipRecruiter is a good one to try,” one commenter said.
The Job Market Isn’t Helping
Beyond platform issues, commenters agreed that the overall job market is brutal right now.
One person wrote, “Nothing is going on out here. It’s [the] worst I’ve seen. Even worse than the Dot Com bubble, which I was around for.”
Another added, “True jobless rate is 25%.”
Some blamed return-to-office mandates for making overemployment harder to maintain. Others said the market crashed quietly in 2022 and only started being reported on a year later.
A Networking Gap
When told they should have referrals after three years of working multiple jobs, the poster replied, “No, it was OE hard mode. I’m also probably autistic and never really liked getting friendly with coworkers.”
That lack of personal connections might be part of the issue. But others in the thread still saw hope in trying multiple platforms, creating new LinkedIn profiles cautiously, and staying persistent.
“Just try every avenue and don’t give up is my recommendation,” one person wrote.
In today’s job market, that might be the only real option left.