I had a work anniversary this week. Or so it seems - LinkedIn is telling everyone about it and telling them to congratulate me.
Some, well many, have taken the initiative. However what I got in almost universally was their templated 'congrats on your work anniversary'.
Why is this a problem for me? What do you think I'm thinking?
First - OMG LinkedIn!!!! You've got to be kidding me with the awful and completely informal word 'congrats'. Does LinkedIn think we are all under 25? If LinkedIn is for business; shouldn't they use the proper congratulations at the very least?
Second, the other problem I have is that we know the message requires no thought or effort.
Simply click a button to send the congrats on your work anniversary.
If you're going to congratulate someone - make it stand out by customising it - don't you think? With 106 (and counting) congrats in my Outlook inbox as well as my LinkedIn inbox - is anyone going to stand out?
To be honest I must add that some people did add onto their congrats - 'hope you're going well.' So what did I really think of all those congrats that came in? Pleased? Thinking better of them? Nope. I just thought you lazy bugger.