The essential guide on what NOT to post on your LinkedIn profile

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash

Pune’s 46-year-old Kushal Gupta was in the process of applying for a different job but found that he wasn’t able to catch the attention of recruiters across his professional network. He was later pointed out that his profile timeline on LinkedIn contained a lot of irrelevant information that was driving away potential recruiters.

“I did not know that posting personal activities or religious views was considered inappropriate on professional sites. Now I have tweaked it to make it look more job-ready,” he added.

While platforms like LinkedIn are also categorised as social media sites, there is a difference between Facebook and LinkedIn. The latter is strictly a professional networking site and should be used only for that.

Amidst a lot more job-seekers looking for new opportunities on sites like LinkedIn amidst the lockdown, it is imperative that such individuals are conscious about what they post on their timelines.

Here’s a basic check-list on what not to post:

Personal information is a no-go area

You may have gone sky-diving in the United States or visited a strip club in Amsterdam but these are not relevant information for recruiters or professional contacts.

What you do in your personal time is strictly private. Don’t post pictures or status updates on your professional networking site timeline.

The same goes for posting pictures of family, friends, spouse or children celebrating festivals, birthdays or anniversaries. This is just unnecessary information for your network.

Having said that, interests outside of work including charitable work or volunteering services are interesting for potential recruiters because they show the personality and behavioural attributes of an individual. You could post one to two such activities a week.

A word of caution. Don’t use your timeline to brag about your donations posting the exact amount of cash paid to charitable causes. Exaggerated help of helping people during the lockdown are also unwelcome.

Keep spiritual beliefs to yourself

Your potential recruiter will not be interested in who is your favourite god nor wants to know whether you fasted for a festival.

Festive greetings should be restricted to Facebook and Twitter. Professional sites like LinkedIn are only for connecting for work-related issues and not for wishing fellow colleagues ‘Happy Diwali’.

You may also strongly feel drawn to a religious guru and would be eager to share his/her spiritual messages. Unless this guru is a professional coach or HR leader, do not post such messages on your timeline.

It goes without saying that extreme religious views and hatred for other sects, beliefs is a strict no-no on LinkedIn. Such posts would even lead to job rejections by potential recruiters.

Never use abusive language, stay away from politics

Using abusive language and cuss words could be your behavioural trait while interacting with friends but strictly avoid using this tone on professional networking sites. Even Facebook and Twitter are stringent about anti-abuse policies though these are violated on multiple occasions. On LinkedIn, such posts could cost you a job or prospective clients.

It is good to have a political leaning but it is not necessary to display love for a political leader or party on your LinkedIn timeline. Posting such views may not just be against company policies but also could turn away potential recruiters who have different beliefs.

The same goes for commenting on someone else’s politically-aligned post. If your views don’t match, read it and move on. You need to comment on their timeline to prove a point about a political party. That is not what you are here on LinkedIn for.

Avoid non-professional discussions

Facebook is a casual platform for meeting friends or connecting with like-minded people. Professional networking sites like LinkedIn are purely meant for business and jobs. So, use the platform to secure only that.

Apart from basics like not indulging in online flirting or sending unsolicited pictures to men/women on the platform, avoid sending connection requests to people merely because they are attractive. This is not a matrimonial forum.

Another allied issue is sending requests to company CEOs only to ask for job opportunities. This is not an appropriate practice and may turn away any future career prospects in these companies. If you indeed want to connect to learn more about the company or their career journey, send a sharp but polite message.

The last but most crucial part is to completely avoid irrelevant threads and discussions. You may be a cricket fanatic but a ball-by-ball update on the India-Australia test series is not required on the timeline. Your network may have their own means to check match scores.

Similarly, discussions on celebrities is a no-go area. Your personal views about Kareena Kapoor Khan’s motherhood should be kept away from your professional network. Your opinions on someone’s personal life don’t matter, neither does your professional network care about your views on this.