I asked a LinkedIn insider how to actually stand out on LinkedIn in 2026

There's&nbsp;a moment a lot of professionals know well. You put real thought into a LinkedIn post, hit publish, and watch the likes trickle in. Five.&nbsp;Maybe six. One comment from a colleague you personally recruited into the thread.&nbsp; Meanwhile, your feed has started to look like it was written by the same person. Polished, vaguely inspirational, and somehow saying nothing at all.&nbsp; In this episode, I sit down with Jessi Hempel, senior editor-at-large at LinkedIn and host of the award-winning podcast Hello Monday, to get inside&nbsp;what's&nbsp;actually happening&nbsp;on the platform right now. Jessi has spent 25 years in tech journalism and eight years at LinkedIn, and she has a front-row seat to how AI is reshaping what it means to have a voice, both on the platform and in your career more broadly.&nbsp; We talk about why your LinkedIn profile is doing more heavy lifting than any post you'll ever write, how to approach content in a way that builds real conversation rather than chasing reach, and what the rise of AI-generated posts actually means for anyone trying to show up as themselves online.&nbsp; If&nbsp;you've&nbsp;been feeling like&nbsp;something's&nbsp;off with how your content is landing lately, this conversation will give you some much-needed clarity.&nbsp; &nbsp; Jessi and I discuss:&nbsp; The part of your LinkedIn profile that matters far more than your posts (and that most people ignore)&nbsp; Why Jessi's posting advice runs counter to what most social media gurus will tell you&nbsp; The one habit that has made the biggest difference to how Jessi's own posts find reach&nbsp; What AI-generated content is doing to trust on LinkedIn, and where Jessi thinks&nbsp;it's&nbsp;all heading&nbsp; The creator who has built one of the most engaged communities on the platform, and what makes her strategy work&nbsp; Why Jessi thinks a major career shift is becoming the smarter move for mid-career professionals right now&nbsp; <li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&