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By: Helios on March 9th, 2016

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The Do's Vs. Don'ts to Remaining Professional on LinkedIn

Best Practices | Employee Relations

The Do's Vs. Don'ts to Remaining Professional on LinkedInLately, it seems I cannot escape the fact that 2016 is a presidential election year—even on sites like LinkedIn.  I view LinkedIn as a business site for professional conversations and to share and read information which will improve one’s career.  When I am in a professional setting or “polite company,” I believe that discussion about things like religious beliefs, political beliefs, money and sex are topics to be avoided.  I apply this philosophy to professional sites like LinkedIn.  If I would not say it to a colleague, I would not post it on LinkedIn.  Yet lately, I continue to be surprised by the pictures of politicians accompanied by opinions and comments on LinkedIn.  I don’t log into LinkedIn to view others’ political views (or religious views for that matter).

If you are on using LinkedIn to connect with other professionals, to recruit or to job search, it is especially important that your profile on LinkedIn be professional and neutral with regards to politics or religion.  In addition to LinkedIn’s Community Guidelines, here are some tips to keep your LinkedIn presence professional.

Top 5 Tips to Remaining Professional on LinkedIn

  1. Don’t push your political views on LinkedIn. Just as you would not push your political views on your colleagues in a professional setting, LinkedIn is no different.  Your colleagues and connections have their own opinions and beliefs and may not share yours.  There is no place in a professional setting for politics.
  2. Don’t share your religious views. The LinkedIn community is global and has a wide variety of individuals with diverse religious beliefs.  As a professional site, it is not the place to share religious beliefs.
  3. Don’t post math questions or pictures and ask for Likes and Shares. And don’t answer the math questions, like, comment or share others’ posts like this.  Post this type of thing on other social sites, like Facebook.
  4. Don't Like or Comment on someone’s status that is political or religious. When you Like or Comment on something that is political or religious in someone else’s status, know that you are sharing that with your network.
  5. Do use LinkedIn to connect and network with other professionals, share business tips and inspirational information, tips for improving yourself professionally. Seek ways to be more productive and successful on LinkedIn.

Keep in mind the general purpose of LinkedIn and ask yourself if something is business related and appropriate in a professional setting.  When in doubt, don’t post, like, comment or share it.  If you aren’t sure, then ask yourself, “What would Charlie Brown do?”