When people update their LinkedIn profiles ahead of a job search, they usually focus on what they need to add. However, it’s also important to know what you shouldn’t include on your page, ensuring you don’t put in details that can hurt your career.
If you want to make sure you avoid potentially harmful missteps, here’s what not to include in your LinkedIn profile.
Spelling and Grammar Errors
While it’s true that everyone has typos on occasion, allowing them to stay on your LinkedIn profile is never a wise decision. Those missteps represent a lack of attention to detail, which may cause some to assume that you’re also sloppy when it comes to your work.
Before you post anything on LinkedIn, review it for spelling and grammar mistakes. If you have doubts, use a free review tool to check or ask a trusted family member, friend, or colleague to take a look before you move forward.
Criticisms of Current or Former Managers, Coworkers, or Employers
Badmouthing current or former employers, managers, or colleagues isn’t just a bad idea during an interview; it’s not a smart move on your LinkedIn profile, too. Regardless of the situation that spurred the comment, it makes you seem disrespectful and unprofessional at best.
Since that’s the case, keep those thoughts off of LinkedIn (and any other publicly-accessible profiles). If you need to air a grievance, consider speaking directly with a family member or close friend. If you feel that your experience should be known, head to a site that welcomes open (and anonymous) reviews instead. Just be aware that even posting anonymously can work against you if it’s easy to discern who made the post based on what’s presented. If that may apply, then keep it offline.
Inappropriate Photos
While LinkedIn is a social media platform, it’s designed with professionals in mind. Since that’s the case, you need to make sure any content – including photos – is suitably appropriate.
Avoid incredibly casual or risqué images. Also, don’t include photos that show you participating in questionable activities, that are overtly political, that boast a religious affiliation, or that may be considered offensive.
Instead, keep things professional and traditional. In the end, that ensures you aren’t harming your reputation. Plus, it helps forge positive images of you in work settings, which is beneficial.
Proprietary Details
While discussing your work history on LinkedIn is par for the course, that doesn’t mean you can post anything about the job that you’d like. Proprietary information regarding your current or past employers shouldn’t make its way onto your profile. Instead, that information needs to remain private.
If a potential employer sees that you’re willing to discuss proprietary information about other companies, they’ll assume you’d do the same to them, too. That makes you a questionable candidate at best.
Plus, depending on the nature of the information, it could violate a past employment agreement or leave you open to a lawsuit. As a result, it’s best to audit out anything proprietary.
Ultimately, knowing what you shouldn’t include on your LinkedIn profile is just as critical as knowing what you should feature. If you’d like to find out more about optimizing your online presence, the staff at GSG Talent Solutions wants to hear from you. Contact us today.