6 Things You Need to Stop Doing on LinkedIn Right Now

With over 300 million members, LinkedIn is decidedly the number one professional social network in the world.
With that many people, there’s bound to be some “bad eggs” that do not respect the common etiquette of the
site and are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes, people do these things unintentionally and
probably don’t realize there is anything wrong with it. However, as they say, “ignorance isn’t an excuse”. So, if
you use LinkedIn frequently, you’d do well to go through this list and see if there are some things you’re guilty
of and correct yourself if so.

Less Frequent Updates

Many people confuse LinkedIn with Facebook. In fact, I have heard a few people say things like “LinkedIn is the
Facebook of professionals.” This may be what drives many people to post numerous status updates that clog up
other people’s news feeds. This is not acceptable LinkedIn etiquette. If you need to post numerous status updates,
please do that on Facebook. At the most post no more than two meaningful status updates on LinkedIn per day.
People only have so much time to spend going through their notifications. Flooding their news feeds with personal
status updates makes you seem unprofessional, and if you’re looking for a job could hinder your job search.

Stop Spamming Contacts

This is particularly common among shady and “black hat” marketers who think it is just one more platform for them
to spam and sell their products on. If you have been doing this, now is the time to stop. Sure, you can advertise
your products and services on LinkedIn, but if you’re going to be doing that, please only do it occasionally "or not
at all. LinkedIn is meant for building professional relationships. Therefore, treat it as such and not as your personal
spamming property.

Stop Posting Content that Serves No Purpose

Thankfully, this is no longer as common as it used to be. Nowadays, people are more conscious of what they post.
But once in a while, the odd, irrelevant post shows up, this goes back to the above tidbit about LinkedIn not being
Facebook. The same goes for posting extreme ideologies and thoughts, such vitriol has no place on LinkedIn. If
you must air your extreme opinions, setting up your own blog or going to your Facebook are both far better options.

Stop Ignoring Connect Requests

This is one that can be tricky depending on how many connect requests you are getting and from whom. Many
people either don’t have the time to accept every connect invite, or are understandably wary of accepting any
invite from unfamiliar people. Whatever the case, whenever you have the time, try sifting through the connect
invites and connecting with familiar people. This way you don’t look like you’re ignoring those you actually want
to connect with.

Stop Asking Unfamiliar People to Recommend You

This one can be particularly irritating. The rules of the internet are not so dissimilar from real world rules,
particularly in what is meant to be a professional setting. Just as in the real world you would not ask for an
endorsement from a total stranger, it is unwise to try to get that from somebody over the internet. Simply
don’t ask people for recommendations if they haven’t worked with you in the past or even know you. It’s
considered rude, makes you look like you can’t get recommendations on your own merit, and can sully
your professional reputation on a scale that would have been impossible in the past.

Stop the Neg Posts

If you’ve had a bad day at work, this is not the place to vent about it. No matter where you are, people
have their own problems to deal with generally. Please note that there is a clear difference between
negative and critical/realistic posts. Constructive criticism is not only acceptable but welcome. Simply
keep in mind there is a world of difference between saying, “The people at Comcast are all who need
to jump off a bridge” and “Whenever I call customer service I feel greatly undervalued as a customer
because most of the representatives I have spoken with either had an apathetic tone or had thick
accents that made them difficult to comprehend.” The former does nothing for anybody, but the latter
can be very helpful. Also remember: given the nature of LinkedIn it is a good bet somebody you work
for will see any negative posts you make, so it may be best to take venting about your job elsewhere.

Other things you can do are to avoid impersonal or template connection requests and avoid endorsing
people for things they don’t actually do. If you’re not guilty of any of these things, then more than likely
you have nothing to worry about. However, if you are doing any of the above, now is the time to take
corrective action. Good luck in your online networking.

About the author: 

Oscar King is a career counselor for Florida State University, helping students set up professional profiles.
He recommends not only having a good LinkedIn reputation and profile, but also a solid CV and a way to
send and recieve faxes. Since many of the students he works with don't have the money for a fax machine,
he tends to refer them to http://findafax.com/ to find something to best fit their budget and needs.