Graduating from college or university is a major milestone in life. After years of hard work and dedication, you’ve finally earned your degree. Now comes the question: should you announce your graduation on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 740 million members. Broadcasting your graduation on LinkedIn makes the accomplishment visible to your connections, potentially leading to job opportunities, business partnerships, and more. However, some argue that graduation announcements on LinkedIn can come across as bragging or unnecessary.
This article will examine the pros and cons of announcing your graduation on LinkedIn. We’ll explore the potential benefits, drawbacks, and best practices to help you decide if and how to share your exciting news.
The Potential Benefits of Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
Posting about your graduation on LinkedIn can offer several advantages:
Increasing Your Visibility
Announcing your graduation on LinkedIn makes your accomplishment visible to all your connections. This is an opportunity to get your name in front of people who may be able to help you land a job or make valuable connections. Recruiters often search LinkedIn for recent graduates, so it helps make you discoverable.
Validating Your Knowledge and Skills
Earning a degree shows you’ve gained expertise. Announcing your graduation validates the knowledge and skills you’ve worked hard to acquire. It shows you’ve put in the time and effort to become an expert in your field. This can strengthen your professional credibility.
Expanding Your Network
When you share your graduation news on LinkedIn, your connections can like and comment on your post. This interaction helps expand your network by forming new connections. It also strengthens existing connections by reminding people of your relationship. A wider network improves your chances of hearing about job opportunities.
Attracting Career Opportunities
Informing your network about your graduation can prompt opportunities. Recruiters may reach out about open positions. Former colleagues may think of you for projects or roles. Announcing your graduation puts your accomplishment on people’s radar so they think of you when relevant opportunities arise.
Boosting Your Confidence
Posting about major milestones can give your confidence a boost. Seeing your accomplishment acknowledged and celebrated by your network is validating. This confidence boost can help you excel at job interviews, business meetings, and other situations where self-assurance helps you shine.
Potential Drawbacks of Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
While there are plenty of benefits, there are some potential drawbacks to consider as well:
Appearing to Brag
Some people may see announcing your graduation as bragging or showing off. This can cause people to perceive you negatively. Some cultures frown heavily on bragging about accomplishments. It’s important to read your audience and ensure your post comes across as grateful and humble.
Too Much Personal Information
LinkedIn is a professional platform intended for career-related networking. While milestones like graduation are related to your career, some people prefer to keep personal achievements off their LinkedIn profile. Revealing too many personal details could dilute your professional brand.
Alienating Those Without Degrees
Not everyone has had the opportunity to attend or complete higher education. Announcing your graduation can alienate some of your connections by creating have and have-not categories. This could discourage some people from engaging further with you on a professional level.
Misaligned Expectations
Sharing your graduation may cause some people to have unrealistic expectations of your knowledge or experience level. You’ll have to put extra effort into showcasing exactly what you know and what you still aim to learn in your field. Otherwise, some people may assume too much about your abilities.
Inviting Unwanted Outreach
Some recruiters and sales people aggressively pursue recent graduates. Announcing your graduation can open the floodgates to canned outreach you don’t want. You may be bombarded with generic messages instead of the high quality opportunities you desire.
Potential Benefits | Potential Drawbacks |
---|---|
Increasing Your Visibility | Appearing to Brag |
Validating Your Knowledge and Skills | Too Much Personal Information |
Expanding Your Network | Alienating Those Without Degrees |
Attracting Career Opportunities | Misaligned Expectations |
Boosting Your Confidence | Inviting Unwanted Outreach |
Best Practices for Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
If you decide to announce your graduation on LinkedIn, here are some tips for doing it effectively:
Keep it Professional
Focus your message on how earning this degree equips you with knowledge and skills to excel professionally. Avoid overly personal details about the journey or accomplishment.
Express Gratitude
Thank those who helped you reach this milestone, like professors, mentors, friends and family. This shows humility.
Spotlight Your Goals
Articulate how this degree enables the next phase of your career aspirations. This gives people context for how to connect you to opportunities.
Share Photos Thoughtfully
Consider posting a professional headshot of yourself in graduation attire instead of casual ceremony snapshots. This reinforces it as a career-focused post.
Engage With Commenters
Respond to anyone who comments with congratulations or opportunities. This strengthens those connections.
Limit Frequency
Post once about your graduation, not multiple times. Follow up later by announcing your first job or career milestone.
Should You Announce Other Milestones?
Beyond graduation, here are some guidelines around announcing other milestones:
New Job or Promotion
Yes, share these career updates. They directly help advance your professional opportunities.
Wedding or Engagement
Avoid these personal life updates unless you have a strong professional relationship. Even then, proceed cautiously.
Birth or Adoption
Best to keep these private. You can share if you have a tight professional relationship, but know they may generate fewer likes and comments.
Personal Accomplishments
Marathons, black belt certificates, etc. tend to appear like bragging. Leave them for personal networks instead.
Major Life Changes
Things like relocation or serious illness have professional impacts, so sharing judiciously can be appropriate if handled sensitively.
Activism and Causes
Endorsing social causes or political candidates can be divisive, so avoid unless directly relevant to your industry.
Conclusion
Announcing major milestones like graduation on LinkedIn has its pros and cons. Benefits include increased visibility, validating your expertise, expanding your network, spotlighting career readiness, and building confidence. Drawbacks can be coming across as bragging, oversharing personal details, alienating those without degrees, creating misaligned expectations, and attracting unwanted outreach.
Best practices are keeping it professional, expressing gratitude, articulating goals, thoughtful photo choices, engaging commenters, and limiting frequency. Beyond graduation, focus on sharing career-advancing updates more freely while proceeding cautiously with personal milestones or potentially divisive causes.
Overall, approach graduation announcements on LinkedIn strategically, mindfully, and selectively. With care and intention, it can be an effective way to activate your network and propel your career as a recent graduate. But it should be done with nuance to avoid turning people off or diluting your professional brand. If in doubt, getting mentors’ advice can help ensure your message lands positively within your industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it tacky to announce your graduation on LinkedIn?
It’s generally not considered tacky as long as you approach it thoughtfully. Keep the focus on career readiness rather than personal achievement. Express gratitude and humility rather than boasting. And don’t overdo it with excessive posts.
Do employers care if you announce graduation on LinkedIn?
Many employers and recruiters actively monitor LinkedIn for recent graduates. Announcing your graduation makes you more visible and discoverable to them. But be sure to craft your post professionally and highlight career aspirations.
How soon should you announce graduation on LinkedIn?
It’s typical to announce your graduation on LinkedIn as soon as you officially complete your degree. You want to get the news out while it’s fresh to maximize opportunities. But it’s fine to wait until right before or after your ceremony too.
Should graduation be on your LinkedIn headline?
Only include your graduation in your headline temporarily. Aim for headlines focused on career goals and skills. After a few months, replace graduation with your new job title or professional summaries.
Is it better to announce on LinkedIn or other social media?
LinkedIn is best for graduating from college or university since it directly relates to career. On other social networks like Facebook or Instagram, keep graduation announcements simpler and more personal.
Key Takeaways
– Announcing graduation on LinkedIn can increase opportunities but may also have drawbacks like appearing to brag.
– Keep posts professional, focused on career goals, humble, and infrequent.
– Graduation announcements are most impactful on LinkedIn versus other social networks.
– Use milestones like graduation to validate expertise, attract opportunities, and expand your network.
– Follow best practices like expressing gratitude and engaging commenters.
– Focus primarily on sharing career-advancing updates rather than personal news.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Potential Benefits of Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
- Increasing Your Visibility
- Validating Your Knowledge and Skills
- Expanding Your Network
- Attracting Career Opportunities
- Boosting Your Confidence
- Potential Drawbacks of Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
- Appearing to Brag
- Too Much Personal Information
- Alienating Those Without Degrees
- Misaligned Expectations
- Inviting Unwanted Outreach
- Best Practices for Announcing Graduation on LinkedIn
- Keep it Professional
- Express Gratitude
- Spotlight Your Goals
- Share Photos Thoughtfully
- Engage With Commenters
- Limit Frequency
- Should You Announce Other Milestones?
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key Takeaways