A woman who was branded ‘doable’ by a businessman on LinkedIn has publicly shamed him for his vulgar comments.
Recruitment consultant Sarah Jay, who works in the healthcare industry, shared a photograph from a black-tie work event in August on the career-driven social media platform.
But the 24-year-old was left infuriated when she received a private message after posting the picture from a businessman who told her ‘you’re so doable’..
After telling the man to keep his vulgar opinions to himself, he tried to justify his behaviour and blamed her for sharing a sexy profile picture.
The person who sent the message tried to defend his vulgar comments (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)The picture in question showed Sarah smiling at the camera while wearing a long black dress.
She later decided to expose the users unacceptable behaviour in a public post, which she captioned the reality of being a woman on LinkedIn.
Many users praised her for speaking out against the shocking messages and the majority condemned the mans behaviour but a small number suggested her pictures were not professional enough for the site.
Sarah, from Ipswich, Suffolk, said: ‘It infuriates me. It is a professional photo. It was at a work event. Its not like it was revealing in any way.
‘But even if it was, it doesnt mean youre able to say those sorts of comments. It makes you feel disgusting.
‘I dont want him thinking of me that way from a professional photo that was taken at a work event.
‘It was just him carrying it on for no reason. Id already told him “this isnt professional. This needs to stop. Ill be removing you as a connection”.
The picture in question was taken at a black-tie work event (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)‘He still tried to justify it because of my profile picture being “sexy” and it shouldnt be on a professional platform.
‘Thats why he thought it was acceptable to say such vulgar things because of my profile picture.
‘Even though I shouldnt have to justify myself I felt like I kind of had to.
‘Im open to receiving compliments, thats absolutely fine. But keep it professional and theres no need to make vulgar comments saying Im “doable”. Its not nice.
‘On a professional platform I want to focus on my professional skills. It is not a dating site.’
The recruitment consultant admitted she wanted to expose the LinkedIn users disgraceful language to spread awareness before blocking and reporting his profile as well as notifying his workplace.
Sarah said: ‘The only reason why I did post it was because Id had quite a few vulgar, weird messages from men on LinkedIn previously. Its not just LinkedIn, it has been other social media platforms as well.
Sarah said she wanted to make a point of handling the situation professionally (Picture: Kennedy News)‘Obviously receiving messages like this is gross. You dont expect it as well, especially from LinkedIn, but it is quite common.
‘Its disgusting that other people do get things like that coming through as well. I do see other posts about it as well.
‘A lot of people scribble out their name and picture to try and protect them.
‘But I thought “if someone can be vulgar like that and go against their company when theyre representing them, then why cant I post about it and post their name and photo and make it known that this person who works for this company is disgraceful”?’
By handling the situation professionally she wanted to represent her company well and avoid losing her job.
Sarah said: ‘I did handle it quite professionally so thats why I also posted it to show that you just have to be a bigger person.
‘Hes representing his company and Im representing mine.
‘If it was one of my private social media accounts I probably wouldnt have remained so calm but because Im on LinkedIn Im representing my own company.
‘I dont want to come across rude to a certain extent or say horrible things which then obviously would cause backlash for my company as well and could cause me to possibly lose my job if Im overstepping a line.
‘I dont want to put my job at risk. They are such vulgar comments but its still my company Im representing on LinkedIn.’
The 24-year-old revealed being a young woman can be difficult in her career and she has even dealt with vulgar comments in the workplace.
Sarah said: ‘Its horrible. Yes, Im a woman. Im a younger woman as well and I do have quite a few tattoos which a few people do point out. Theres a certain way to say things and to compliment, not in a vulgar or predatory way.
‘With recruitment sometimes its a bit of a male-dominated career. Ive had a few vulgar comments even in the office before when Ive worked in recruitment previously.
‘Employees saying things about me or even going through my personal social media as well and things being said about me. It can be degrading.
‘Theres no need for that to be in the workplace. Its not nice people saying things about certain things or sexualising certain things about me when its just not needed.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.