Keep God in Your Heart–and Off Your LinkedIn Profile

Why do I cringe when I see “Child of God-Follower of Jesus!” in a LinkedIn profile? I’m a very religious person and quite open about being a Mormon. Religion is a huge part of my life and of the lives of many of my friends. So, why does this bug me?

It’s certainly not because I discriminate against the religious. Remember, I amreligious and I find it inappropriate. It’s not just me, either. I asked Inc’s Social Media Editor, Stephanie Meyers, what she thought about declaring religious beliefs in places that hiring managers and recruiters often look. She said,

I think it shows a potential misunderstanding about how privacy settings work and how social media is used, so it makes me nervous for the person when I see it! I want to ask them, “Do you know that an employer might read this? Are you comfortable with that?” (I think this is also true with other passions and hobbies–basically anything that you wouldn’t want to talk about in a job interview, I would be very careful about including in a public or professional social media profile. But I see it most consistently with religion.)

She brings up very good points. When you’re looking for a job or when you’re hiring others for jobs, everybody is Googling everybody else. The question is, do you want your this to be how you are represented?

To keep reading, click here: Keep Good in Your Heart–and Off Your LinkedIn Profile

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38 thoughts on “Keep God in Your Heart–and Off Your LinkedIn Profile

  1. Just not sure if you are condemning professionals of faith or giving advice. In a professional world differentiation is required to reach areas intended including sales. Many professionals are connected through religious groups. Not sure if I agree with your article and I have that right.

    1. What would make you think I’m condemning professionals of faith? Did you not read the first paragraph where I self identify as a person of faith?

      Connecting through religious groups is fine. Making it part of your LinkedIn profile is not.

      1. “Did you not read the first paragraph where I self identify as a person of faith?” Guess that is why your are the “evil hr lady”.. The tone is not professional. Could you get away with talking to one your employees like that? hmmmm
        Of course I read it you are a Mormon. As we are different we will have different opinions.

        1. People are allowed to disagree with you, even vehemently, without being called “unprofessional.” I’m not sure how you judge a person’s “tone” in an online setting. Plus you implied Suzanne was ACTUALLY evil. So who is unprofessional now? YOU. Grow a thicker skin.

          1. Yes that is the whole point!! Agree to disagree professionally…
            The “unprofessional” tone is quoted above.
            If my job is to give appropriate advice on HR matters shouldn’t it show through responses good or bad. Irene I am not calling her evil just unprofessional and again I have that right.

            1. Connie, I was wondering, are you offended by this article because you feel that religion does belong on a LinkedIn profile? I would be interested in your take on why having this information on your profile might be a positive for a candidate.

  2. I tend to agree and try very hard not to unduly intermingle my strong religious beliefs and active religious practices with my work. However, if one is the type of employee who cannot resist proselytizing on the job, by all means s/he should include as much religious information as desired on sites such as LinkedIn, so that prospective employers will — at least — have an inkling of what type of employee the candidate might turn out to be.

    1. Good point. I once had a manager who wanted to save my soul and would argue religion with me all the time. Joke was on him, though, as I went to church in the same congregation with his boss. Heh.

  3. I also believe that religion is something that we need to keep for ourselves. This is not something that should matter when we apply for a job. The emphasis should be put on our learning and working experience, and trust God with all our hearts to lead us on the right path.

    1. I don’t think we need to keep religion to ourselves. I very much want it in the public square. But, where I don’t want it is on a resume. It doesn’t belong there.

      1. I think it depends – if someone is both devout and evangelical, and would strongly prefer to work in the company of those who believe similarly, then by all means go ahead and include that – it will “weed out” many potential employers, but I do know some folks who would see that as saving time, rather than lost opportunities.

        Otherwise, no. Just, no.

  4. I so agree with this. It’s not so much about your religion; it’s about understanding appropriate boundaries. If you don’t know what is/isn’t a good time to discuss religion, that can create a problem in the workplace.

    1. Boundaries would have been a good word to use. Wish I’d thought of that.

      And when are you going to write another post? I live for your posts–or die for them, whatever makes you happy.

  5. Nice article. I’m a big old atheist and I wouldn’t blink at mentions of religion on Twitter–which is often a blend of personal and professional–or implied religious affiliations in education or volunteering. I think the problem with “Real Estate Agent, Child of God” is that it shows a lack of understanding of the border between personal and professional. It’s the same thing with “Real Estate Agent, CrossFit Enthusiast” or “Real Estate Agent, I love kitty cats!”–I’d wonder whether that person’s judgment and attitudes about work and personal life would fit in the organization.

    1. But the CrossFit Enthusiasts are just downright crazy pants.

      There’s a Crossfit gym close to me, and it’s such a dismal place, but I understand that’s part of the allure. If you’re not suffering, you’re not working out!

      I, on the other hand, go to the bright and shiny gym with all the other middle aged moms. They have free juice.

      1. In the ER, Crossfit enthusiasts are our bread and butter….ditto for physical therapists.

    1. Marla: Did you click on the link – it goes to an article that explains precisely what she’s talking about and a study that was done (that being said, “model minority” stereotypes are just as bad as any other stereotypes, and I say this as a jewish person).

      1. It may also have something to do with the stereotype that Christians put their religion on display, while Jewish people generally do not.

        Think about how many Christians at work put up outward displays of their religion around Christmas, whether it’s a nativity set, a tree, lights, reindeer, whatever. When was the last time you saw a menorah on someone’s desk?

      2. Please, that’s ONE study, with as many holes as Swiss cheese. It certainly is not a good basis on which to feed another stereotype.

  6. There is a difference between listing religious groups you belong to in order to highlight leadership roles within a community, list volunteer work, or something else that can showcase your professional abilities. This doesn’t only apply to religion, but also anything else that isn’t showcasing your professional credentials. If it is personal rather than professional, it doesn’t belong on LinkedIn.

    1. Exactly. You also shouldn’t write that you attend book group once a month and that you like to march in protests. It’s not appropriate.

      In fact, I really dislike the new LinkedIn Hobby stuff. I should write about that.

      1. Unless you’re getting a job at a bookstore, or with the Occupy Wall Street High Command, or wherever.
        Just like your religion definitely belongs on your resume when you’re applying for a job at a church.
        There’re exceptions to just about every piece of job advice. (Like California. That’s always an exception. Except when it isn’t.)

        1. Sure. There are times it’s appropriate, but that would be on a customized resume.

  7. I think something else that should be considered is that religion is a protected class.

    And someone who’s putting their religious views up in a place liked Linked-In is likely to be someone who’s going to bring them up in the office. At great length. Whether you want them to or not.

    And dealing with *that* can be a minefield that a potential employer is not even going to put themselves in a position to have to navigate.

    1. Talking about religion at work isn’t illegal. Even the boss can if he wants. But, you can’t give preference to religious people (or preference to non-religious people).

      I agree with you that this type of label is a sign that you may have to deal with problems down the line. The question is, can you legally consider that? I don’t know what the courts would say.

      1. In my (not a lawyer) opinion you certainly *can’t* legally consider that – but that doesn’t mean that its not going to be considered anyway.

      2. I wish I’d know that 10 years ago when a non-profit hired me and I lied about my religion to win their favor, because they said they wanted someone committed to their mission and directly asked me about my religion.

        It was obviously a bad fit in the end.

  8. As has been said this is about boundaries.

    I would view someone’s religious postings on LinkedIn the same as someone who posted other non-work related, non-job search related stuff – as I don’t need to know and would not want to hire you because you clearly don’t understand that there is a time and place for certain things and this is not it.

    Reminds me of the guy several years ago who every year on the anniversary of Roe v Wade would bring in pamphlets with pictures of aborted fetuses to put on everyone’s chair. Disgusting!

    While I get that this was a big issue to him and he was passionate about it; he just didn’t understand that it was also a place of work. He didn’t seem to understand that not everyone agreed with him. And most of us do NOT want disgusting pictures pushed in our faces.

    Why management didn’t fire him I simply do not understand. Was it fear of a lawsuit? Would he sue for “religious discrimination” if they fired him? Or did his immediate manager agree with him?

    Please believe me that this next statement is NOT anti-religious on my part; but, if I was in the position of hiring someone and I saw something that was “not in the right place” such as a religious message (or they could be trying to sell me Amway stuff too) on LinkedIn I would have to think really hard (or be really desperate) before hiring that person since they clearly don’t understand boundaries. other employees have rights too – and one of those rights is to not be annoyed by self-righteous co-workers. Whether that self-righteousness is religion, selling Amway products, or pushing the latest diet fad.

    Call me old-fashioned; but work is work – keep other stuff out of it.

  9. I’m guessing that Gay Pride, Social Justice Warrior and similar should be treated just as religion should be?

    Charles: “Call me old-fashioned; but work is work – keep other stuff out of it.”
    If I could agree more than 100% with this, I would. I don’t care if a person is black, blue, yellow, green, purple, Muslim/Hindu/atheist/Christian, whatever. Are you doing the job you are getting paid for? Are you making the company a success? If “yes”, then I really don’t care about the rest.

    1. Absolutely. In fact, I hate that LinkedIn is trying to get you to identify causes that you support. That can only end poorly.

      1. Thank you. In too many cases it seems that religion is singled out for “special” treatment.

        1. I’ll probably write another article next year about how politics should stay off your LInkedIn profile as well. Blech. Are you a good market researcher? Can you balance a spreadsheet? Then I don’t care who you voted for.

  10. I agree with you. It is inappropriate to list your religious beliefs on sites like LinkedIn. If you are using that site as a place to network, it should be completely professional. I keep my professional and personal life completely separate. I have Facebook for my personal life and LinkedIn for my professional life. I WILL NOT be friends with co-workers on Facebook, but I will LinkedIn with them. I only list professional items and work related items on LinkedIn. If I want to talk about my faith or leave a bible verse to encourage a friend, I do that on Facebook. While we are talking about keeping personal and professional separate, your profile picture on LinkedIn should not be with your kids, your spouse, or your bff. It should be a nice looking head shot of just you. And not the one from last years New Year’s party when you are chugging a beer. We all need to remember to separate our lives in reality and on social media. I have to maintain a professional relationship with my employees regardless of their beliefs or my beliefs. Therefore, I keep those two parts of my life separate. However, it is my beliefs that make me an ethical, moral, conscientious, and hard working person. So we can’t completely separate them. Just what we post on social media.

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