There are many reasons why people want to block their bosses from viewing their profiles on LinkedIn.
But you probably don’t want to offend your boss. So, the question this article answers is – can your boss tell if you block him or her on LinkedIn?
The answer is yes, if they go to a lot of effort. However, there are extra steps you can take to preserve your privacy.
You Probably Don’t Need To Block Your Boss
Let’s get this out of the way before we dive into the topic of blocking your boss.
When people are thinking of looking for a new job, they often worry that their boss will figure this out by looking at their LinkedIn profile.
This is usually an unnecessary worry. Managers are probably too busy to be checking profiles of various staff members.
However, you may be one of the unfortunate few who has a nosey manager who seems to live on the LinkedIn platform. If that’s the case, read the rest of this article.
And if you’re curious about what your bosses see when they look you up, then check out our article on how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else.
Can Your Bosses Tell If You Block Them On LinkedIn?
It’s important to know that LinkedIn doesn’t send a notification to people you block on the platform.
LinkedIn actually makes it hard for people to work out if they are blocked. However, it’s possible to figure it out with a bit of effort.
If you’re worried, check out our article on ways to know if someone has blocked you on LinkedIn.
Then think about whether your boss is really going to go to all that trouble.
How To Hide Your Activity Without Having To Block Your Boss
You don’t have to take the nuclear step of blocking your boss to hide the fact that you’re actively looking for a new job.
Here are some tips on keeping a lower profile (so to speak).
Turn off notifications of your profile updates
You can avoid sending out notifications to all your contacts when you update details in your profile.
To do this, follow these instructions:
- Expand the drop-down menu under your account avatar
- Choose “Settings & Privacy”
- Expand the “Visibility” item in the left pane
- Choose “Visibility of your LinkedIn activity”
- Change the setting for “share profile updates with your network” to “No”
Hide your premium membership
People usually pay for premium membership when they’re actively looking for a new job.
The LinkedIn platform will display a little gold icon in your profile to show off your elevated status. You may be concerned that this is a giveaway about your intentions.
You can hide your light under a bushel by turning off the gold icon. Here are the instructions.
Hide your “open for work” status from non-recruiters
LinkedIn lets you add a section to your profile that shows you are actively looking for work opportunities.
When you turn this on, you have the option of limiting who sees it. You can specify that only recruiters see the status, instead of all LinkedIn members who can access your profile.
LinkedIn goes to extra effort to ensure that recruiters who work for your current company don’t see this status anyway. But this only works if the recruiter has correctly set their own profile!
Reasons Why Your Boss Looked At Your Profile
Are you feeling nervous because you noticed that your boss was looking at your LinkedIn profile?
You may have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, there may be some action you should take to avoid potential issues. Read on to learn more.
Checking skills and experience
As a senior member of staff at various companies, I’ve occasionally looked at the LinkedIn profiles of my team members.
I’m simply reminding myself of the skills and experience that the individual had before joining my team. It’s easier and faster to check on LinkedIn than to ask the H.R. department for their CV or resume.
So, be sure to add all the skills that you want to show off.
Here’s a top tip: if you don’t want to work with specific technology or software that you’ve used before, take it off your LinkedIn profile!
Otherwise, you may get lumbered with looking after that old software that you hated in your previous job.
Checking for inappropriate content
Some managers like to check LinkedIn profiles of their staff to ensure that there is nothing there that would reflect badly on the company’s reputation.
Have you (or a “friend”) listed an inappropriate skill as a joke to amuse your pals?
Did you join a fringe or controversial group? If I was working for a meat processing plant, I wouldn’t join the animal liberation group (I’m not sure if there is one).
Checking to see if you’re planning to leave
If your boss has got wind that you’re thinking of moving on, he or she may take a look at your LinkedIn profile for clues.
What type of clues? Well, if you’ve acquired a new skill in your role and that has suddenly appeared in your profile – that’s one potential clue.
