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I’ve been on LinkedIn since 2004. I use my Ron Burgundy voice and tell people that I’m kind of a big deal, but when it comes to my personal LinkedIn profile, I am a hot mess.

Hold on, I can explain myself.

I am not looking for a job. I don’t want to see you humblebrag on your career. I am just on LinkedIn to spy on you.

But I am different than you. You work in Human Resources (or whatever) and you need to take your professional career seriously.

I like that LinkedIn offers an effective and efficient spoke-hub distribution paradigm for the corporate professional.

• You create a professional profile in one spot that is validated by crowd-sourced scrutiny.
• From there, you can manage your career (apply for jobs, research companies, read popular articles in your industry) and pay attention to your career in a way that wasn’t possible 10 years ago.
• And you can stay connected to former colleagues and advisors in a way that is neither too personal nor too intrusive.

Does LinkedIn work as a strategy for job seekers? Heck yes. So does networking, looking on corporate websites and seeking out employee referrals. This isn’t a zero-sum game.

Can I find passive candidates on LinkedIn? If you meet someone in life who isn’t looking for a job and isn’t open to a new and better opportunity, keep looking. Passive candidates are so 1997. In a few years, half of the workforce will be contingent. The rise of the portfolio worker is here. Talented people will flock to a system where it’s easy to discern real opportunities (and real recruiters) from fake ones. That talent marketplace is probably LinkedIn. Although it could be something else. Spending time on LinkedIn now will help you prepare for the future.

Is LinkedIn — and social networking — a distraction and a waste of time? Sure, yeah. But life is a distraction if you are Buddhist or a Jesuit.

Very few of us are as strategic as we think we are. You should participate on a site like LinkedIn to understand its power and its limitations. In fact, this is why Jennifer McClure and I travel all over the globe and preach social media awareness to Human Resources professionals.

If you are too busy to pay attention to current trends, the future will sweep you out to sea.

(I’ll see you there, I guess.)

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A good friend of mine is thinking about you. He’s a nice guy.

Me? I think it is time to take ownership for your experience at work. Depression is real, but sometimes I want to shake you and tell you that your funk is your own choice. I know you have complaints about work.

I am evolving on this.

• Passion and engagement are a choice. If you choose your way into a lackluster job, you can choose your way out.
• You don’t need a young CEO and a ping-pong table to determine whether or not your company is a ‘best place to work’. You know if the job is worth keeping.
• You shouldn’t need ongoing and repeated feedback from your supervisor to know whether or not you are doing a good job. You’re not a child. You are smart. You went to college. You know the difference between a solid performance and phoning it in.

Some of you really do work in horrendous conditions where your boss is an [insert vulgar thing here]. But almost everyone who has access to the internet during normal business hours has a decent job. You might work with annoying people. You might face your fair share of obstacles. But you get paid for the bullshit in your life, unlike Bangladeshi garment workers.

If your job doesn’t pay enough, which many jobs don’t, you have two options: find another job or spend less money. Actually, I think you should do both. Spend less money. Save it. Then find another job. Keep spending less money. Stop being exploited by a consumer-driven economy.

And in your spare time — and don’t scoff at me because I know you have plenty — you could build a business that matches your values.

Mark Stelzner is right. There are some depressed people at work, today. But you don’t need to win Powerball to escape your depressing job.

You could start by escaping your attitude and making better choices.

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I still like his tribute to Margaret Thatcher.

Also, whoa, Michael Penn. You are Romeo in black jeans. Suddenly I feel old.

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Hello, everyone. Happy Sunday. I am really excited about the week ahead.

More training for my upcoming race and a webinar with Jennifer McClure. And after traveling more than 10,000 air miles in seven days, I am glad to be home.

My ears hurt from all of that flying. Something that hasn’t happened in a few years.

So here is the stupidest thing I read, this week: Keynote by Hillary Clinton at SHRM Chicago Will Be Closed to Media. | The article is fine but I’m not exactly sure how an HR association can guarantee that Hillary Clinton’s speech won’t be covered by the media. Citizen journalists are everywhere. The Boston Bombing and the Mother’s Day Parade Shooting have taught us that if your mom has a smart phone, she can cover an event.

And your mom does have a smart phone. It’s probably the iPhone5. And she looks great at SHRM in her new Coldwater Creek tunic dress. She is snapping Facebook photos and hanging with her friends in payroll. She is not paying enough attention to ask Hillary about Benghazi.

But yeah I can see why SHRM would ban the media.

(Actually, I can. You never see media coverage of HRC speaking at private events. And this might be her team’s requirements. Maybe SHRM rolled over to keep her as a speaker. Can someone find out? And when is Fareed Zakaria getting kicked off the agenda?)

Have a great week!

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