With over 700 million members, LinkedIn is the most popular professional social network in the world. It’s also one of the most valuable places to post your resume, portfolio, and other work-related content.
While LinkedIn can be a great resource for finding a job or networking, there are some things you should never post on the platform. Here are six of them.
1. Personal Information
Never post personal details like your telephone number, email address, home address, or other personal information on LinkedIn. Even if you’re looking for a job, avoid sharing your email address on the platform; many employers will contact you directly if they are interested in hiring you.
You might think that it’s not a big deal to post personal details, but they can be used against you. There are companies out there that sell this information for easy money. You could also put yourself at risk of being contacted by scammers or spammers who could send you harmful links through your email address.
Salary information is another personal detail you don’t want to share with everyone. This info can cause your current boss to single you out and treat you differently from other employees. You also risk angering other people on LinkedIn who make less money.
2. Political or Religious Posts
Posting political or religious posts on LinkedIn can offend some people. You may alienate potential clients or colleagues with your views, or even start heated arguments. There’s also a risk that posting political and religious posts will hurt your job search.
Recruiters are always looking at social media sites to get a sense of people’s personalities and if they’re a good fit for their company. If they see polarizing posts, they may not be interested in contacting you for an interview.
Note that LinkedIn is not a religious forum. The vast majority of users are not interested in debating religion or arguing about religious beliefs.
Posting religious content can be off-putting or offensive to your connections, and they will likely ignore your posts or even customize their LinkedIn feed to block you. You could also risk having your account suspended.
Also, don’t share political posts on LinkedIn, as they can be offensive to those with a different view. Plus, there’s a high chance that your boss will see them and want to fire you. You could also get in trouble with HR if your employer has a no-tolerance policy against talking about politics.
Remember that LinkedIn is a global platform. Your political posts may not be relevant in other countries, so stick to industry-related topics the majority of your connections can relate to.
3. Controversial Posts
When using LinkedIn, it’s important to remember that you represent yourself and your professional brand. Posting controversial content can lead to unwanted attention and backlash from your followers, so it’s best to avoid it.
Like political and religious posts, controversial posts are often polarizing and generate a lot of discussions, yet they don’t usually result in productive conversations.
In addition, businesses will not want to hire you if they see you posting controversial content on LinkedIn. There’s a good chance that the companies you’re applying to work at might have a strict corporate policy about what employees can and cannot post online.
Some posts you want to avoid include controversial political and social topics. It’s never a good idea to write about abortion, gun control, and disability rights, to mention a few.
Stick to posting interesting content that will show off your personality. Sharing relevant information and engaging your target audience in a meaningful way is a good place to start.
If you feel compelled to share a thought-provoking article with your professional network, try to provide an objective and balanced perspective on the issue at hand instead of taking a strong stand. This will help keep the conversation respectful and productive.
4. Sales Pitch Posts
People don’t follow you to see advertisements; as such, they will likely ignore any sales-related posts. This is because sales pitches on LinkedIn come across as spammy, considering the platform is not the ideal place for them.
People don’t react favorably to self-promotion when it occurs in places where they didn’t expect it. In reality, self-promotion can hurt how connections perceive you and turn off potential customers.
Besides, sales pitches on LinkedIn are ineffective; they waste time and don’t result in many leads. Even if you manage to get a few people to buy whatever it is you’re selling, the amount of time it takes to write a well-crafted LinkedIn post, let alone generate leads through this method, is likely not worth the effort.
LinkedIn is a great place for sharing valuable insights, so focus on posting relevant, benefit-driven content that will help your audience solve their problems. This way, you can grow your professional network and generate sales leads through LinkedIn.
5. Inappropriate or Unprofessional Photos
As mentioned, LinkedIn is a site for networking and building business relationships, not for promoting your wild nights out. Photos of you drinking or partying might reflect badly on your work ethic.
Similarly, photos of you in a skimpy outfit can damage your reputation and prevent you from getting hired. It’s especially a bad idea for job seekers because recruiters can go through all of your photos and judge you based on them.
While pictures and videos are among the things that will help you attract recruiters, always keep it PG. Sharing suggestive photos can also lead to social awkwardness and uncomfortable interactions with your colleagues. Even more, posting inappropriate pictures that violate LinkedIn policies could lead to your account being suspended.
This is probably something obvious, but posting defamatory content on LinkedIn could get you in trouble. If you’re sharing wrong information about a company or person, there’s a good chance that they will take legal action against you, which means job loss and possible jail time. So be careful!
Avoid writing negative posts about your current or previous employers on LinkedIn. It may damage your reputation, get you fired, or make it difficult for you to land your dream job.
Many hiring managers and recruiters are LinkedIn members, and they’ll see your posts. If they think you might be difficult to work with or have a bad attitude, they’re likely to move on to other candidates.
Also, don’t make negative comments about your boss and co-workers. Posting bad things about your colleagues can ruin relationships and make it difficult for you to build professional relationships.
Keep Calm and Stay Professional
LinkedIn is a social networking site that can be great for people looking to connect with other like-minded individuals. However, there are many things you should never post on the platform if you want to remain on the right side of professionalism.
From personal information to political posts to negative comments about co-workers, you’ll need to avoid these types of posts to prevent potential disasters and maintain a positive image on LinkedIn.
Remember: less is more when using social media, so try limiting posts only to important updates or newsworthy items instead of sharing everything under the sun!
About The Author
