Bengaluru woman says man on a date asked for her LinkedIn instead of phone number: 'I don't want to invest time...'

Generally, when on a date, people exchange phone numbers. In the modern dating scenes, people prefer to share their social media profiles like Instagram or Snapchat. However, looks like the new trend is checking work profile and career trajectories, especially in Bengaluru. A 23-year-old woman says a casual conversation with a man at a cafe in Indiranagar took a surprising turn when he asked for her LinkedIn profile instead of her phone number or Instagram. According to her Reddit post, the man wanted to check her “professional background” before deciding whether to stay in touch, saying he did not want to invest time if their “career trajectories” did not match. Her unusual encounter quickly sparked debate online.

‘He literally asked for my LinkedIn’

The Bengaluru woman, posting on Reddit said she was working from a cafe in Indiranagar when a man struck up a conversation with her. The interaction initially seemed promising. She said they were “actually vibing pretty well” while discussing music festivals, travel plans and other interests. When he asked whether they could stay in touch, she assumed she would share her Instagram or WhatsApp. Instead, according to her, the man pulled out his phone, opened LinkedIn and asked for her professional profile.

What followed left her stunned. She claimed he told her, “Let me check your professional background first,” adding that he did not want to “invest time” if their career trajectories did not match. The woman said she was so surprised that she packed her laptop and left the cafe. She later questioned whether Bengaluru's dating culture had become a case of “tech brainrot” or whether she had simply encountered a “glitch in the matrix.”

Was it a dating move or a professional one?

The unusual LinkedIn request prompted Reddit users to interpret the interaction in very different ways. One user joked, “Maybe he's looking for a referral.” Another described it as a man's version of “friendzoning” or “siszoning” someone. The user said this can happen when men are impressed by a woman's achievements or thought process but do not necessarily want to date her. According to the commenter, asking about her “professional background” could simply be a cover for staying in touch. “Take it as a brocode for techie bros,” the user added.

Not everyone thought the man's approach was strange, however. One Reddit user suggested that sharing a LinkedIn profile could actually be a more comfortable way of maintaining contact, arguing that “sometimes it’s uncomfortable for people to share contact details.” According to the commenter, LinkedIn can be “a polite way to stay in touch and not be pushy.”

Some defended the man. Another Reddit user went further, saying the man was not necessarily wrong and should perhaps be applauded for his approach. The commenter argued that by not asking for her phone number, he avoided making her feel like he was being a creep. By skipping Instagram, he also avoided giving the impression that he wanted to “stalk” her. The user compared the situation with how people used to exchange Facebook profiles before the platform became less common for such interactions.

Another user defended the idea of evaluating shared ambitions, writing, “What’s the problem in that?” They added that there was “nothing wrong” with wanting someone ambitious or looking for a partner with similar “life goals or aspirations.” However, one commenter remained sceptical about the entire story, bluntly saying, “I can guarantee this never happened.”