More unemployed Americans are posting GoFundMe links on LinkedIn, a shift that reflects a tougher hiring market and stretched household budgets. For job seekers like Jesse Jashinsky and Jeffrey Knutson, it has brought in real money—while also exposing them to
For Jesse Jashinsky, the humiliation didn’t start with the layoff. It began when he ran out of options.
More than a year after being laid off as a software engineer, Jashinsky was still searching for work. He supported his family with a patchwork of unemployment and SNAP benefits. help from their church. and increasing credit card debt. Then his car broke down. Replacing the transmission was an emergency expense he couldn’t afford.
Jashinsky made a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe and put it on Facebook. A few days later, he shared it on another social network, writing: “I don’t know if this is the right thing to do on LinkedIn, but I’m kind of desperate.”
He is 40 and lives in Utah. Jashinsky said the LinkedIn post helped his fundraiser collect more than $3,800. “I had no idea if it would get us anything, but I had nothing to lose,” he said.
That “nothing to lose” feeling is showing up with increasing frequency on LinkedIn, even as the site has long been used for buttoned-up professional updates. In the past year, LinkedIn has become a place where workers share layoffs, job searches, and—more directly—requests for mutual aid.
Business Insider reviewed 50 LinkedIn posts from the past year containing GoFundMe links. The recurring themes were prolonged unemployment, mounting bills, and financial emergencies. Many people described the decision to post GoFundMe links on LinkedIn as awkward or uncomfortable, driven by necessity.
About half of the posts were from people raising money after layoffs or extended job searches. Others sought help with medical bills or hardships affecting family and friends.
The timing matters. The job market has grown more difficult. In February. the hiring rate fell to a level last seen during the early pandemic and the aftermath of the Great Recession. As of March. more than a quarter of unemployed Americans had been looking for work for 27 weeks or more. up from about 18% three years earlier.
LinkedIn users say the crowdfunding strategy can work—but the tradeoff can be sharp: stigma, scam risks, and unwanted scrutiny online.
The new openness on LinkedIn
The platform’s shift is partly tied to how job seekers already signal availability. “Open to work” banners were introduced in 2020 amid soaring pandemic unemployment. They helped users signal availability to recruiters and their network. though some worried the banners made them look desperate and could turn off potential employers.
Brooke Erin Duffy. an associate professor of communication at Cornell University who studies social media platforms. said norms around online self-presentation have changed rapidly. Growing uncertainty about the labor market and public conversations about work culture—including the “quiet quitting” trend—have pushed more people toward open discussion of career struggles. “People aren’t just sharing more of their personal lives — they are more likely to express vulnerability in professional contexts. from layoffs to demoralizing experiences at work. ” Duffy said.
Andrew Selepak. a social media professor at the University of Florida. said seeing others get traction on LinkedIn may encourage people to post their own asks. He added that people may also be taking lessons from social media influencers. many of whom have drawn attention and support by sharing personal experiences online. “I think many people understand on a very basic level that people will connect to me more the more transparent I am — the more I reveal about myself. ” Selepak said.
A job search that turns into a public plea
Jeffrey Knutson’s post arrived after months of unemployment and mounting pressure to keep a roof over his head.
He shared his own GoFundMe on LinkedIn after his unemployment benefits began to run out and he feared losing his apartment. Knutson, 54, lives in Chicago. He had lost his job as a digital asset manager months earlier. He has raised over $6,500, which he said came primarily from longtime friends, acquaintances, and even some complete strangers. “I wanted to be honest about the reality of the current job market and show that asking for help during a difficult period can be both practical and necessary. ” Knutson said.
The openness had a downside. Knutson said publicly sharing his GoFundMe led to suspicious messages from people posing as recruiters or offering to help promote his fundraiser. Some interactions initially appeared legitimate before turning into requests for money or paid services.
“I would definitely advise people to be cautious,” he said.
Knutson and other job seekers did not say they regretted promoting their fundraisers online. For those making donations, GoFundMe’s website says an “overwhelming majority” of the site’s fundraisers are legitimate.
Why LinkedIn fits some pleas—especially now
There’s also a practical reason LinkedIn keeps showing up in this story: the platform is largely used by white-collar workers. who have been disproportionately affected by the hiring slowdown in recent years. Selepak said. He also pointed to the gradual onboarding of Gen Zers to LinkedIn. saying younger users are more accustomed to sharing personal experiences online.
Older workers, Selepak said, may have larger networks on LinkedIn to turn to for support. LinkedIn launched in 2003, making it older than Facebook, YouTube, Twitter/X, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Valerie Lockhart’s experience shows how “network size” can shape the choice of platform. After struggling to find work following a layoff from Morgan Stanley last year. Lockhart launched a GoFundMe to raise money for plumbing repairs that left her family without hot water. She said she was hesitant to share the fundraiser on LinkedIn. but did so in part because she had a larger network there than on other platforms.
For Issac Jeremy Caballero, the barrier wasn’t only money—it was pride. After losing his healthcare instructor role last year, Caballero started a GoFundMe. He said the process required him to put aside his pride. He eventually decided to share the fundraiser on LinkedIn after reflecting on the strength of the network he’d built there.
Caballero has raised more than $2,500, which he said helped him stay afloat while he looked for another job. “I wanted to be transparent about my situation and trusted that the same community I’ve supported would understand and potentially support me in return,” he said.
The throughline across these posts is stark: a prolonged job search, bills that don’t pause, and a digital space where asking for help once would have felt out of place is now becoming part of the economic reality for some households.
One employee’s desperation may have once sounded private. On LinkedIn, it’s increasingly public—along with the hope that a professional network can do something practical when unemployment runs too long.
LinkedIn GoFundMe job seekers unemployment hiring rate inflation crowdfunding scams unemployment benefits SNAP unemployment market