Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of LinkedIn requests from people I don’t know, which I don’t accept, because, well I don’t know them and they’re usually trying to pitch something to me.  But one caught my eye because his name was listed so unconventionally. 

DRUM ROLL – he included a grape emoji before and after his name. Yes, a grape emoji. Actually two grape emojis. I’m pausing now for emphasis. He was in the wine business so at least the fruit-themed emoji was somewhat relevant, but using emojis in your LinkedIn profile, especially in your name, is a big no no. I think they are unnecessary and take away from the overall big picture of YOU. Instead, let your profile’s powerful words describe you. They also don’t always translate visually to desktop, which is how many people still use LinkedIn. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your online resume. Don’t be trite or silly in it. Think gravitas. Perhaps in a creative field, an emoji may work, but what if you turn off someone? It’s just not worth it.

For me, the only place on LinkedIn where an emoji might be acceptable would be in a comment, and even there, you’d need to exercise caution on which ones you chose to use and how many you selected. It is my opinion  that no matter how blurry the lines are getting between personal and professional, I still don’t think that emojis are the right symbols to help visually convey aspects of your professional brand on this platform. There are so many more effective ways to do it – but again, this is just my opinion and others in more creative fields can feel free to disagree.

I thought it would be a good idea to post my JD Supra article on LinkedIn don’ts and add a #51 – don’t use emojis on LinkedIn especially in the listing of your actual name. Read on for more LinkedIn don’ts: Read on for more LinkedIn don’ts.