10 Things Not to Do On LinkedIn: What to Do Instead

As a long-time card-carrying LinkedIn member, I've seen my share of profiles and been approached by thousands of members to join their networks. I've seen the best of profiles and the worst. I've encountered the best of networkers and the worst.

I'm going to mention some of the LinkedIn don'ts that I consider pretty obvious, but I'm also going to suggest what to do instead. After all, I would be doing half the job if I only harped on the negative. So, here are my 10 #LinkedIn don'ts and what to do instead:

𝟭. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝗤𝗥 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼. This makes me see red. There's nothing logical about this because if I capture your QR code, I'm only going to see the same thing on your profile.

✅ Do this instead: Upload a clear, friendly, professional headshot. Show me who I would potentially connect with—people connect with people, not pixels. By the way, you don't need to hire a photographer who will charge you $400; a friend with a good camera will do the trick.

𝟮. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲. I'm the kind of person who initiates a buying transaction (It must be because I'm a first-born person).

✅ Do this instead: Start with a genuine thank-you, a bit of context, and a real conversation. Build rapport before pitching anything. It was once suggested that to form a relationship, it takes seven correspondences.

𝟯. Similar to #2, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗜'𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱. I don't think it's being constructively persistent; I think it's annoying and am most likely to block you.

✅ Do this instead: Respect boundaries. A polite, “Thanks anyway—let me know if I can help in the future” keeps the door open without slamming it in anyone’s face. I know rejection hurts, but it's better than being blocked and potentially blackballed.

𝟰. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁. I don't mind a difference of opinion as long as it's professional. Like you might say, "Bob, I see nothing wrong with someone trying to sell me something; after all, LinkedIn was developed to enhance business."

✅ Do this instead: Share respectful, thoughtful disagreement. It makes the platform more interesting and shows you’re thinking critically—not just liking passively. I've disagreed with posts but always begin with, "This is a great posts, but there are some statements I disagree with...."

𝟱. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟬-𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. In my old age, I've become extremely intolerant of large word blocks. If I want to read James Joyce, I would dust off my copy of Ulysses.

✅ Do this instead: Break up your content with bullets, spacing, and concise sentences. Make it skim-friendly for busy eyes. Always put yourself in the reader's shoes and ask yourself, "Is this too much to take in?" We love our words, but sometimes less is definitely better.

𝟲. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯. Continue to engage on LinkedIn while you're working, so you can continue to build and nurture your network. You might have to leave your gig and it would be nice to have a strong network in place.

✅ Do this instead: Stay active! Share your expertise, support others, and continue to build your network for the next opportunity. I can't tell you how many times I've talked with clients who resumed using LinkedIn. It's like your kids contacting you only when they need something.

𝟳. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀. Angela Watts 🔹 M.Ed., SHRM-CP, CCTC wrote a great post talking about the reason why you shouldn't talk politics. Here it is: https://lnkd.in/efzDQdEi. I won't tell you to take your political views to Facebook because politics don't belong there as well.

✅ Do this instead: Focus on professional topics that unite people—career growth, leadership, business trends, and the occasional uplifting story. There is one exception: if your job is politics, that's fine. I have a friend who's a political reporter and I love reading his take on politics.

𝟴. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲. I haven't personally experienced being hit on, but I spoke to one person recently who has. It made them want to discontinue using LinkedIn.

✅ Do this instead: Keep messages professional. Compliment someone’s insights, not their looks. There are apps for dating; this isn’t one. If you're in the market, Google the most popular dating sites. Did you know that eHarmony[dot]com is the most popular one according to CNET[dot]com. Go there instead.

𝟵. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻. Same with trying to hit on people, it's a violation of a person's rights and shouldn't exist on this platform.

✅ Do this instead: Uplift, support, and educate. You never know who's watching—and kindness is a better brand than cruelty. My valued connections, Shelly Elsliger, PPCC, CPSL and Jeff Young , raged a war against bullies. Some people still haven't gotten the message.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀. This shows a total lack of emotional intelligence. I know you're angry about your situation, but there's a better way to get back them; land a job that pays more or, better yet, at one of their competitors.

✅ Do this instead: Share what you learned or what you're looking forward to in your next chapter. Positivity is memorable—and attractive to employers. I've seen some great Open-To Work announcements that have class written all over them.

Like them or not, these are the don'ts that come to mind for me. I've had some pushback from one of my close LinkedIn connections, Kevin Willett, on #2, until he recently changed his mind and credited me for his epiphany. (I say this in jest.) See his video here: https://tinyurl.com/4aebe5tw

But no one can object to #9 unless they're a bully. Most would agree that bullying and using LinkedIn as a dating site are just plain wrong. We have to remember that LinkedIn is a community in which we all have to live harmoniously.

If you liked these dos and don'ts, read the next ten here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-more-things-do-linkedin-what-instead-bob-mcintosh-ncn6c/

If you have other LinkedIn don'ts and what to do instead, write them in the comments below.

#LinkedInDon'ts #LinkedInDo's #LinkedInUnleashed