Perfectionistic Self-Presentation on Professional Networking Platforms

Anantha Ubaradka

Perfectionistic Self-Presentation on Professional Networking Platforms

Author(s)	Prof. Anantha Ubaradka
Country	United States
Abstract	Professional networking platforms have transformed career visibility by enabling individuals to continuously display qualifications, achievements, occupational identities, affiliations, skills, recommendations, and professional narratives before audiences that may include colleagues, recruiters, employers, clients, and competitors. Although strategic self-presentation is a normal feature of professional communication, digitally mediated career environments may create stronger pressure to appear consistently accomplished, competent, productive, and free from professional shortcomings. The present study examines perfectionistic self-presentation on professional networking platforms, defined as the tendency to publicly promote an image of professional flawlessness while concealing, minimizing, or avoiding disclosure of perceived deficiencies. The conceptualization is grounded in Hewitt and colleagues' model of perfectionistic self-presentation, which distinguishes perfectionistic self-promotion, nondisplay of imperfection, and nondisclosure of imperfection. Their foundational research characterized perfectionistic self-presentation as a maladaptive interpersonal style associated with psychological distress. Because no original participant dataset was supplied, the study uses a simulation-based quantitative design involving 480 synthetic professional-networking users. Perfectionistic self-presentation, professional authenticity strain, upward career comparison, impression-management pressure, and psychological well-being were modeled as related but distinct constructs. The simulated analysis indicates that mean professional authenticity strain increases from 40.05 among cases with low perfectionistic self-presentation to 77.01 among cases with very high perfectionistic self-presentation. The analysis does not represent observed prevalence or causal effects. Rather, it demonstrates a theoretically specified pathway in which repeated efforts to maintain a flawless professional identity may increase discrepancies between experienced and displayed professional selves. The model is supported by earlier evidence showing that perfectionistic self-presentation can mediate the relationship between perfectionistic concerns and reduced subjective well-being, while professional social-networking research has identified associations between frequent LinkedIn use and depression and anxiety among young adults. Research published in 2021 also indicates that exposure to others' career-related social-media posts can increase career frustration through social comparison. The present study therefore argues that professional networking platforms may become psychologically demanding when career visibility is combined with perfectionistic self-monitoring, upward comparison, and fear that ordinary imperfections will damage professional credibility. The study concludes that sustainable professional networking should favor accurate competence signaling, contextualized achievement communication, and professionally appropriate authenticity rather than continuous performance of an idealized career identity.
Keywords	perfectionistic self-presentation; professional networking platforms; LinkedIn; impression management; professional identity; social comparison; authenticity; career anxiety
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 4, Issue 2, March-April 2023
Published On	2023-03-15

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Perfectionistic Self-Presentation on Professional Networking Platforms

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