Dont Do These 5 Things on LinkedIn If Youre Looking for a Job

Don’t Do These 5 Things on LinkedIn If You’re Looking for a Job Don’t Do These 5 Things on LinkedIn If You’re Looking for a Job There are definite dos and don’ts when you’re looking for a job. You don’t want to send out incomplete job applications. You don’t want to have a sloppy home office, particularly if you have a Skype interview lined up. You don’t want to be unprepared for your job interviews. And the list goes on. The same job searching rules (and dos and don’ts) apply when it comes to social media, too, and in particular, LinkedIn. By far the most popular social media site for business professionals, LinkedIn has its own set of unspoken rules on how to handle yourself. Based off the Hootsuite article, “LinkedIn Etiquette Fails: 4 Mistakes That Will Make You Look Unprofessional,” learn what not to do on LinkedIn if you’re looking for a job. Don’t Do These 5 Things on LinkedIn If You’re Looking for a Job 1. Don’t reach out to a potential boss before your interview. Imagine that you read a job description and it just speaks to you. You know that this is the job you’ve been searching for all along, and it’s destiny that you are meant to be chosen for the position. So in an effort to secure the position, you do some research, find out the name of your potential boss, and search for  that person  online. (Hey, aren’t all recruiters and hiring managers doing the same thing?) But you take it one step further and send him an invitation to connect. Thing is, you shouldn’t try to establish a connection before an interview (or even when you’re submitting a job application). This is one occasion when you just need to wait it out until you’re contacted by a hiring manager or boss to interview. 2. Don’t look for love in all the wrong places (i.e., LinkedIn). Sure, some people use social media to score a date or look for a long-lost love. That’s fine for some sites, but not LinkedIn. This social media platform should be used for business purposes- and business purposes only. That means reconnecting with former bosses (not old flames) and creating new connections with people in your industry. 3. Don’t endorse people you don’t know. In today’s world of work, people arent just workers: They’re brand ambassadors for themselves. So don’t risk jeopardizing your brand- and your reputation- by making moves that could cause a hiring manager to question your credibility. That’s why you should only endorse people you know and can vouch for on LinkedIn. 4. Don’t send out generic connection requests. Let’s say that you’re just starting out on LinkedIn and you need to boost your connections. In an effort to expedite the process, you might be tempted to crank out generic “I’d like to connect on LinkedIn” requests to everyone in your address book. The problem with that, though, is that some former coworkers and bosses might not remember you off the bat. Instead, you should try to customize each invitation to help spark people’s memories of who you are and how they know you. Yes, it’s more time-consuming, but in the end you’ll be more likely to get a greater number of accepted invites and quality connections. 5. Better yet, don’t connect with those you have nothing in common with. The important thing to remember about LinkedIn is that it’s not a popularity contest. After 500 connections, LinkedIn stops counting- even if you might not. This isn’t Facebook, and having 3,787 friends doesn’t make you any cooler on LinkedIn than having a few hundred solid contacts and connections. In fact, it might dilute your social media presence to have connections that make no sense with what you and your brand are  about. So try to focus on having contacts that have a direct connection with the type of job you’re looking for and are relevant to your industry. There are so many things to remember to do (and not do) when you’re job searching. But try to keep these tips in mind to make the most out of your LinkedIn experience. It can help make your job search that much smoother- and your LinkedIn profile that much stronger and attractive to potential bosses. Readers, what etiquette tips do you follow on LinkedIn when looking for a job? Let us know in the comments below!