Love may be blind, but at Cornell, it definitely has 500+ connections.
We all know the feeling when class starts to wind down and each minute feels like an hour. There are no emails to check, no busy-work to do and it’s too risky to pull out your phone to ‘doom-scroll.’ Yet, there is one more option: a classic, a staple — LinkedIn.
Coming into Cornell, I would joke about pitching my LinkedIn during every interaction for potential summer internship connections. What I didn’t know though, is how much of a role it would play in my love life. Somehow, the strictly professional platform slowly became a strategically romantic one.
Instagram is no longer a subtle way to tell someone you're interested. It’s too mainstream. In a world where everyone follows everyone, an Instagram follow means nothing. Not to mention, it's impossible to tell who someone is in their profile photo with three other people, and every tagged photo is of their senior trip with ‘the boys’ or holding up a fish.
Some may suggest Snapchat, but that’s too high of a risk. No add back, no snap back, left on open; it gets worse and worse. And, in the rare case of finding their VSCO account, it’s probably inactive. Each of these platforms doesn’t carry enough strength — there’s too much ambiguity.
Thus, LinkedIn is the perfect solution.
Unlike the others, LinkedIn removes the guesswork. It provides a clear headshot of potential partners looking their best in a spiffy suit, allowing you to get to know them outside of the 9 a.m. just-rolled-out-of-bed look. It also has an easy way out. If a connection goes awry, you can simply blame it on the Cornell hustle: “I’m just trying to get to 500+ connections!” It’s just like when you sent your club's donut-selling event to him to respark the conversation: “To increase our profits.” Right …
But the real advantage isn’t just the photo — it’s the information. Not only does LinkedIn provide the perfect picture to send to group chats, but it also helps you assess compatibility. Your chemistry with each other could very well be based on if they have a lab internship for the school year. For instance, if they are a future doctor, maybe they can help fix your three-month lingering cough. Or, if they are an aspiring business bro, maybe they’ll manage your money so you’re not down $200 worth of Big Red Bucks two months into the semester.
At a place like Cornell, ambition isn’t just attractive; it’s expected. Let’s be honest, we are all pretty driven here. Yet, some people always seem to be sending snaps back from their bed, no matter what time of day it is. With LinkedIn, you can see if this is just a flu knocking them out, or their lifestyle, helping you to determine if this is the right person for you. Because here, you’re not just choosing a crush. You’re choosing someone to lock in with you — both romantically and in Olin Library.
You can be the power couple, running clubs and conducting Zeus coffee chats next to one another. You could be studying in the stacks, updating your resume in sync and strategically planning your dinner break in between your project team and their new member training for Cornell Financial Analysts.
And, whether you want to or not, you will see when they announce, “So happy to share that I just landed a summer internship for a new start up.” While you may start getting stressed about your own internship prospects, you can use these emotions to fuel an enemies-to-lovers trope between the two of you. After all, nothing builds tension quite like mutual professional jealousy.
So, the next time class is dragging on and you’re debating whether to text your crush, don’t. View their profile instead. After all, nothing says “I’m interested” like appearing in someone’s “Who’s viewed your profile” at 2:13 p.m.
Us Cornellians don’t exactly have time to separate our personal lives from our academic lives. So go ahead, shoot your shot. Worst case scenario, they don’t connect back with you. Best case, your coffee chat can now be a coffee date.
Katherine Istomin is a member of the class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at kistomin@cornellsun.com.
