5 mistakes to avoid when you're posting about your new job on LinkedIn, according to an HR expert
"I really don't think LinkedIn is the place for personal oversharing," HR CEO Carly Holm told Business Insider, advising professionalism at all times.
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- Getting a new job is personally and professionally exciting, and many share their news on social media.
- HR expert Carly Holm shared her top tips for posting about your new job on LinkedIn with Business Insider.
- Holm advised against oversharing and recommended keeping posts concise, professional, and positive.
A LinkedIn job announcement post is often where your professional network first learns of your new position. It could be seen by past, present, and future employers — so it's definitely something worth putting some time into.
Carly Holm, founder of Nashville-based Humani HR, has 16 years of experience in human resources and previously held roles at Bank of America and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. She told Business Insider she loves it when people announce their new jobs on LinkedIn.
Holm said it's a positive thing as an employer to see a new hire's network commenting and engaging with these updates, especially when it's from previous employers and colleagues.
Like all online posting, however, there can be pitfalls to sharing your new role online, and Holm offered five potential mishaps to avoid when announcing your latest job.
1) Oversharing
Where these posts can go wrong is where there is any oversharing, Holm said.
"You never want to talk about your previous employer," she said, advising against ever stating why you left your last role and why you wanted to join this new company.
Holm said job announcements should be "concise," "professional," "to the point," and "positive."
She held that although LinkedIn is a social media platform, it's not like Facebook or Instagram, which are better suited for sharing your more intimate or private experiences.
"I really don't think LinkedIn is the place for personal oversharing," she said.
2) The woes of finding a job
Holm says she has mixed feelings about someone sharing the struggles they have experienced in the labor market in a new job announcement post.
This is where a person opens up about applying to, say, 500 companies within 16 months, only to receive hundreds of rejections.
She says these kinds of difficulties should be saved for people in the real world.
For Holm, a job announcement post should always be positive.
3) Job hopping
It's best not to publicize starting with a new organization too often as this can signify job-hopping, Holm said.
Moving between several different positions or companies within a short period of time is classed as job-hopping.
"If people are job-hopping a lot, that doesn't look good in the eyes of any employer," Holm said.
"If I have someone in my network and every six months they're announcing that they have a new job, that's gonna raise an eyebrow a little bit," she added.
While there are different situations and sometimes things just don't work out, a recruiter might wonder why this person hasn't kept a job, Holm said.
4) Timing
She recommended waiting to announce a new position until you actually start with that company. Anything can happen between getting a job offer and beginning work, so you shouldn't announce your news too early.
You don't want your current colleagues or employer to discover you're leaving your current workplace via LinkedIn, Holm said.
5) Company policy
You should check if your company has a social media policy. Holm told BI that there are some scenarios where it's inappropriate to make a job announcement, especially if it's a more confidential role — but this is rare.
Another example Holm shared for avoiding drawing attention to a job update was for startups in stealth mode.
If in doubt, she advised talking to your manager first just to double-check.