Three Things You Should Never Post on LinkedIn

What LinkedIn (usually) lacks in ostentatious, glamorous, or fun posts, it makes up for in usefulness—provided you use it right. While you’re looking for a job, or even just tracking progress in your existing role, here are three things you shouldn’t list on your LinkedIn.

Do not advertise that you are looking for a job

LinkedIn has a feature that allows you to show recruiters that you’re open to new positions without letting the general public know, and there’s a reason for that. If you are looking to leave your current company, discretion is key. LinkedIn might seem like the perfect place to post a status touting your interest in a new job, but even if you don’t have many connections there, at worst it can easily go back to your boss or make you look desperate and unprofessional. , best case scenario.

Instead, use the “Open for work” feature and turn on the “recruiters only” option so that those with real opportunities to find and hire can see that you are available, while other curious or interested parties cannot.

Don’t write about politics

In general, we know that posting about politics on any platform is an easy way to start a fight or get yourself into trouble, but on LinkedIn it can rob you of leads or customers. Similar to posting that you are looking for a job, this may seem counterintuitive. For example, if you are a business owner whose company’s prospects are tied to a candidate’s victory in a particular election, it may seem appropriate to publish information about the upcoming vote from a business perspective. Or, if you’re a journalist who finds some candidates’ attacks on the press undemocratic, you could publish a post that you think makes you a big First Amendment advocate, ideally to better position yourself in the industry.

The problem is, you can’t predict how a recruiter, potential boss, or potential client will interpret and respond to these messages, even if they’re related to your job. It’s best not to push anyone away, even if it means not going directly to recruiters or clients who agree .

Consider Eliminating Graduation Year

LinkedIn lets you add start and end dates for any job you enter in your experience section, but it doesn’t force you to add college graduation dates, so while you won’t be able to bypass the gap in your work history as easily, you can in some then the degree to circumvent the disclosure of one’s age.

A potential employer doesn’t have the right to deny you a job just because of your age, but if your graduation year shows you’re older or fresh out of high school, this can subconsciously affect the recruiter’s perception of you. If you are afraid of appearing too young or too old for the job, leave this field blank. Just make sure the rest of your profile is detailed so it doesn’t catch your eye.