LinkedIn Job That Offers "Exposure" But No Salary Goes Viral

Job on LinkedIn offers exposure instead of salary

Job openings posted online by companies, from start-ups to large-scale corporations, usually go like this: requirements and duties in bullet points, with compensation left out for the interview. But in the rare instance that a job’s compensation gets shared online, it either sounds too good to be true – or rings warning bells.

This was recently shown by a LinkedIn job offer that went viral online. The job offer posted by a company on the career portal – frequented by many for employment openings – was looking for someone with a background in Graphic Design and over 3 years proficiency in softwares such as Adobe Photoshop.

But the twist is that they were offering “exposure” instead of monetary compensation.

Compensations for job, but not including salary

The job posting by an unnamed start-up was shared to several social media platforms, including Facebook page The Incumbent Agency, a meme page that sells T-shirts, where it has racked up over 600 shares and 300 reactions at the time of writing.

On first glance, nothing seems out of place with the position, as the requirements are listed out in bullet points in the post like many other job postings.

Some of the listed requirements include an “education background in Graphic Design or related field”, and over 3 years experience using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. Potential candidates must also have an eye for designing logos, icons and infographics, while possessing “good knowledge of typography and layouts”.

Image credit: The Incumbent Agency

However, the twist comes in the compensation section for the job which was underlined in red. According to the job posting, there will be no immediate salary for the position for work put in at their company. The reason given was that they are a newly founded start-up and not making any profit. Nonetheless, the start-up will be offering a “possible payroll when the business becomes profitable”.

The job posting also lists other “compensations” instead of a fixed paycheck, including “recommendations” – we’re assuming letters of recommendations here – exposure to working with the unnamed co-founders of the start-up, and experience for resumes and other future job postings.

Image (for illustration purposes only) credit: Alex Kotliarskyi / Unsplash

We did a comb through LinkedIn for the same job posting. However, we could not find the same posting by the unnamed start-up company.

Netizens find job offer irresponsible

As all jobs typically come with a paycheck – unless the position is one of voluntary nature – the job posting by the unnamed start-up on LinkedIn garnered the flak of many netizens across the globe. A resharing of the post to Facebook group, [Copy]writers’ Hub Malaysia, by a Malaysian netizen shared the same outrage.

Other netizens soon flocked to the post, sharing their discontent with the job posting. One Facebook user aptly summed up the job posting’s compensation in one sentence, commenting, “Walao…Work for free…”

Image credit: Facebook

Another Facebook user had a little more to say about the job posting, commenting, “What a joke. If you don’t have money to pay for talent, just do it on your own. Or don’t start a business at all.”

Image credit: Facebook

Others were just amused with the job posting and its compensation, with another Facebook user commenting sarcastically, “Gonna buy myself a burger and an iPhone with this exposure currency”.

Image credit: Facebook

Job on LinkedIn offers exposure, but no salary

Job postings that offer exposure instead of a paycheck are typically associated with volunteer positions, and internships – though, Malaysians are actively raising concerns about interns not getting paid for their contributions to institutions. So it’s understandable that many online, including Malaysians, are up in arms over this job offer with high requirements, but offering exposure instead of monetary compensation.