11 Signs that You’re Being Greedy on LinkedIn

Over the years, I’ve written dozens of articles for my Forbes column and for my LinkedIn Blog about the ways LinkedIn can benefit you. But are you using LinkedIn to help others? Ask yourself the following questions to find out if you’re using LinkedIn as a solo act:

1. Have you given at least as many recommendations as you have received?

2. When you see great news about a colleague in your Notifications, do you take the time to drop them a note that says “congratulations,” or at a minimum, do you at least click on the “say congrats” button?

3. When you read and enjoy other people’s LinkedIn posts, do you like or share them, or do you just keep on scrolling without leaving any hint that you found the post to be valuable?

4. Does your profile describe the team effort involved in your achievements, or do you describe all of your victories as if you single-handedly worked miracles?

5. When people comment on and share your posts, do you thank them?

6. Does your summary emphasize the value you deliver to others, and your ability to discern what others need, or does it just describe job duties you performed?

7. Do you make it a point to connect with colleagues who are junior to you on LinkedIn so that they have access to your network and can call on you as a mentor throughout their career? (If you want to stay on top of using LinkedIn as a career advancer, feel free to connect with me, I'd be delighted to have you in my network!).

8. Do you join groups on LinkedIn just so that you can get ideas from other people, or do you also contribute your own expertise, even sharing slides and videos from presentations you’ve recently given?

9. Do you actively promote your employer’s brand on LinkedIn by sharing their content with your connections and groups, or are you just using your membership to further your personal gain? 

10. Do your profile and posts include information about your community service, pro bono work, or other volunteer achievements, conveyed in a way that will help the organization benefit further because you touted it on LinkedIn? (You do donate your time and talent to worthy causes, don’t you?).

11. Do you participate in LinkedIn’s LinkedIn for Good program where you can mentor others or volunteer to support a not-for-profit? 

If you’re greedy on LinkedIn—putting the spotlight only on yourself and failing to interact—you’re not really “linked in.” You’re locked out, and that ultimately undermines your career.

You may not see this as greedy; you probably just see it as an indication that you’re short on time, and even the split second it takes to click on “say congrats” is more than you can spare. But shifting the focus to others should be part of your routine, not a low-priority chore. It ensures that you’re woven into a mutually supportive network—and that’s the true path to lifelong success and fulfillment. 

Test your LinkedIn savvy with this informative quiz. And tell me how you did.

William Arruda is the co-founder of CareerBlast with Ora Shtull. CareerBlast is a video micro-learning platform that provides expert support to blast your career upward in just 9 minutes a day!

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