Common LinkedIn don'ts - avoiding mistakes that just might hurt you

LinkedIn has become pretty mainstream over the past couple of years. It has grown way past the point when it was mostly just social media early adopters. Today it's pretty much expected that professionals maintain a presence there, and if that's not enough of an incentive to take LinkedIn seriously, try Googling your name. You'll likely find your LinkedIn profile near the top of the results. 

Despite the huge popularity of LinkedIn, many people take a lackadaisical view of the network. They display incomplete profiles, neglect to upload a picture, and let invitations pile up in their inboxes. These mistakes should be obvious to everybody, but there are a few additional things people do that can really hurt their reputation within the network. Are you doing any of these things?

1) Unprofessional status updates

LinkedIn is a professional network, not a social one. People here don't generally care to read about your non-professional activities. Everything you post on LinkedIn should be carefully crafted to get you into the job you want or bring business through the door. If you want more information about how status updates among LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter differ, here's a video I did about this topic.

2) Using a logo or random image as your photo

LinkedIn is a professional network, and people should see you here as they see you in your day-to-day professional life. Bankers and lawyers should be in a jacket and tie, law enforcement should be in uniform, and chefs should be in their coats if that's how people see them in their professional lives. It is not appropriate to use a photo of you in a baseball cap unless you're a baseball player, or a photo of you on the beach unless you're a lifeguard.

One more thing, although you may be tempted to use your logo, it is against LinkedIn terms of service to represent yourself with anything other than a photo of you. The user agreement states that "...your profile photo should be a photograph of yourself and not a cartoon, symbol, drawing or any other content." Yes, others get away with this, but do you want to be the one that LinkedIn makes an example of by removing your profile?

3) Spamming other members

This is a real pet peeve of mine and many other members. We are all here to network, but nobody wants to be harassed by your sales message on LinkedIn. It is not okay to spam your connections or fellow group members with pitches for your product or service via the LinkedIn message system or through group discussion boards. Remember that spam is unwanted and unsolicited messages, so if you send out these kinds of messages or post them on discussion boards, you are a spammer. There are plenty of other ways to position yourself as an authority and let people know what you have to offer on LinkedIn without spamming others. 

These are my top 3 LinkedIn mistakes. What else do you see people doing on LinkedIn that hurts their professional reputation?

 

 - Christine Pilch

Photo credit: roger4336

Comments

[Cparizo]

Another mistake people make is sending a connection request and just using the default message. Unless you're absolutely sure that the person will remember you, add a little something, i.e. "We met last night at the Chamber event and discussed real estate trends."

[Christine Pilch]

Thanks for a great addition to this list, Christine! You're absolutely right. In fact, I often follow up a stock connection invitation from a stranger with a message that says something like, "Please forgive my rusty memory, but I can't remember where we've met." This usually opens a dialog, and I learn the stranger's objective in connecting. That gives me the information I need to decide if I want to connect or not.

I also follow up all connection requests with a personal message via the LinkedIn system thanking them for the invitation.

[Laura R]

Another one is asking someone you've never met to connect - especially with the default message - rather than asking a common connection to introduce you.

[Christine Pilch]

Thanks for the comment, Laura. I agree wholeheartedly that using the stock LinkedIn connection request message is bad!