7 things to never do on LinkedIn if you want to get hired

LinkedIn is a great platform for professionals to connect with those in their industries and share valuable ideas. It is also an excellent place to build and develop your personal brand. When you are on a job hunt, you should maximize your presence on the platform in a positive manner to get noticed by recruiters. Avoiding certain behaviors on the platform during your job search will help you have a better job search experience. Here’s what not to do on LinkedIn when you are looking for a job:

1. Disappear from LinkedIn after creating your profile

Every day, we talk with at least one client who has had a set-it-and-forget-it attitude toward their LinkedIn profile and is now regretting it. If you set up your LinkedIn profile years ago and haven’t touched it since, your online presence is extremely outdated. Make a habit of regularly updating your LinkedIn profile.

2. Endorse skills that you have no idea about

Are you the person who’s always endorsing your friends for skills starting from fanfic writing to lion taming? Maybe hit pause on that for a while. Anyone can easily find out whether you have previously worked with the people you endorse on LinkedIn. Ensure that you only endorse professionals for skills that you have witnessed.

3. Send connection requests to the left and right

The number of connections on your LinkedIn profile is not a vanity number. You should only send connection requests to the professionals that will be beneficial for your career. It is a good idea to add connections to your profile starting with your family, friends, and colleagues. However, ensure that your profile has more than 50 connections, as the platform prioritizes accounts with over fifty connections as active profiles.

4. Repost selfies from Instagram

The first thing you must understand is the differences between your social media and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a platform professionals use to stay updated about industry insights, while Instagram is a visual platform for your day-to-day life. Unless you are sharing content from your other social media that is essential for your personal branding, refrain from reposting that content through your LinkedIn profile.

5. Use the default headline

Avoid using the default LinkedIn profile headline that mentions your current or recent job title and employer. It tells potential employers nothing about your personality or skills. Create a LinkedIn headline that grabs attention. Be sure to bring out your personal brand through your LinkedIn profile headline.

6. Use a bare-bones LinkedIn profile

If you haven’t got safety concerns such as avoiding an abusive family member or stalker, you should make some information on your LinkedIn profile visible to anyone. If a person has to connect with you to view your information on LinkedIn, it will likely dampen the progress of your job search. Ensure that important information in your headline, about section, education, and experience are visible to interested recruiters.

7. Complain about your boss

Whether you were let go by the new CEO who sacked half the company or have a toxic manager who likes to abuse you verbally, LinkedIn is not the ideal place for you to vent about your current or previous employers. Potential employers may take this as a sign of disloyalty. Reserve your sentiments for your close friends and refrain from badmouthing your previous employers on LinkedIn.