24 May,2026 11:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Saesha Deviprasad
Job and internship search has become a war of words in LinkedIn. Pic/iStock
While most are trying to combat the heatwave, there is another heated rivalry, not the one you are thinking of, that is tiring out Gen Z - better known as the "internship wars". During this season, fresh LinkedIn pages are born, while others are revived and hit with a wave of internship jargon, such as "fast-paced environment" and "growth hacker mindset", among other fancy words that the job market today demands.
As Gen Z tries to cope with the baffling reality that entry-level jobs require more than entry-level qualifications, personal branding is an equally overwhelming task.
The first step to landing an internship? Diversify - but strategically, feels 19-year-old student Kavya Nair. "It's not a question of how many places I have applied to, but how many of them would consider hiring me as an intern, which is ironic because internships only serve as a temporary glimpse into the career."
Hot in the job market, 21-year-old Aditya Vajandar has over 1600 followers on his LinkedIn page, but this has given him no advantage. "It's been extremely frustrating for me to keep applying everywhere with no avail in return; my LinkedIn connections include a few CMOs of large industries."
What seems to be rewarded is brand building, a "voice" on social media platforms, mainly LinkedIn - a platform many tend to associate with corporate culture, lengthy blogs either sharing projects, or random bits of learning and motivation.
Ironically, many end up carving out time for working on the platform for some work, like 20-year-old student, Shlok Momaya. "It really depends on the day, but on average, 30 minutes to an hour," he says.
21-year-old Aditya Makhija works in public relations. For him, LinkedIn used to be a two-hour investment daily. " I used to spend at least two hours each day scrolling, reading what people are talking about, and commenting on their posts. I would also write samples of my post, editing them until I was satisfied with the final output."
Just like on every social media platform, exaggeration on LinkedIn is the name of the game."Exaggeration of achievements is a very common, almost stereotypical trait that anyone would see on LinkedIn. Activities as mundane as watching a movie can be listed on LinkedIn as a moment of great professional learning. It is extremely easy to mask your activities with corporate jargon. I personally believe this happens because people would much rather present a better version of themselves, especially when the people watching could make or break careers." But it's rather easy to get lost in the superficiality of it all. Momaya is of the notion that, "It's much easier to hide your personality, strengths, and weaknesses on LinkedIn by using the right language and managing your profile. There is always a sense of pompousness that persons with a âwell-defined' profile will have when you talk to them."
Khushi Shah, Admissions Consultant and LinkedIn Writer
"I have been on the platform since college, I've run pages, done live sessions, written content for other people's profiles, and I know how the algorithm works. I've sat with students who have real depth, thinking, and potential, and they get overlooked because their profiles aren't optimised. Meanwhile, someone with half the substance but twice the confidence is moving ahead."
Pratik Vaidya, Managing Director, Karma Management Global Consulting Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Many young applicants now use words such as âstrategic thinker', âgrowth mindset', âimpact-driven', and "cross-functional exposure'. The problem is not the words, but that many candidates are unable to explain what they actually mean. This is also happening because job descriptions themselves have become full of corporate language. A simple internship role is sometimes written as if it were a senior management role. Students then copy the same language into resumes and interviews.
