{"id":2474,"date":"2008-06-19T19:15:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-19T19:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/2008\/06\/19\/linkedin-can-hurt-your-career-too\/"},"modified":"2021-07-30T03:06:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T07:06:45","slug":"linkedin-can-hurt-your-career-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/blog\/linkedin-can-hurt-your-career-too\/","title":{"rendered":"LinkedIn Can Hurt Your Career, Too"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe the title of this post is misleading. It\u2019s really the misuse of LinkedIn that can hurt your career, not LinkedIn itself.<\/p>\n

Everyone is touting LinkedIn as the best professional thing since sliced bread. But there is a such thing as too much information. And LinkedIn can allow you to provide too much information.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a real-life situation\u2026<\/p>\n

A few months ago, I was recruiting for our Business Development Manager position here at Next Level Purchasing. After an excruciating round of phone interviews, I had narrowed it down to two top candidates and a dark horse candidate.<\/p>\n

I conducted an in-person interview with one of the top two, who had previously provided me with a link to his LinkedIn profile. I was kind of impressed by his LinkedIn profile. He had a lot of information on there \u2013 including lots of recommendations \u2013 and his usage of it made me feel like he was technologically savvy which I liked being that our purchasing training is all technologically delivered.<\/p>\n

He continued to impress me in his in-person interview. I was seriously considering him.<\/p>\n

The next day \u2013 a day on which I had an interview scheduled with the other top candidate \u2013 the first candidate sent me a follow-up email. In this email, he really tried to \u201cclose the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wrote: \u201cI\u2019d like to take a moment to point out that I have 34 professional references from clients, partners, colleagues, and managers. Every client that I have landed in my current position has taken the time [on LinkedIn] to recommend doing business with me. That\u2019s something to be proud of.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d I thought. \u201cThat is<\/em> something to be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, I thought, \u201cWait. I\u2019m not so sure about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In my head, I pictured this guy working for Next Level Purchasing and harassing all of our customers for references that they don\u2019t really have time to write. I thought that this guy may use his job opportunities selfishly for personal gain.<\/p>\n

Then, I interviewed the other top candidate. Yes, the guy impressed me on the phone previously. But in person, he blew me away!<\/p>\n

So as this second candidate incredibly enhanced my perception of him, all I could think about the first guy was his addiction to LinkedIn and the potential of him making the acquisition of LinkedIn references a higher priority than actually doing his job. Linked In, LinkedIn, LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

Who did I hire? Not \u201cThe LinkedIn Guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it has worked out extremely well.<\/p>\n

As I was writing this, I thought about going to The LinkedIn Guy\u2019s profile to see if he found a new job but then I remembered him telling me he knew when I was looking at his profile and how much time I spent on it. That\u2019s creepy.<\/p>\n

No, I don\u2019t hate LinkedIn. I\u2019m on there myself. But, like a lot of things, things can be used and things can be misused. The results will tell the story.<\/p>\n

Use LinkedIn wisely, my friends.<\/p>\n

Recommended Reading<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n