LinkedIn: What Not to Like

LinkedIn is a great professional networking tool and many benefits come from it. But keep in mind—it is just a tool.

I like LinkedIn because of the ability it affords to engage with my spheres of influence and build my networks and cultivate business relationships. It serves as a platform to connect with like-minded professionals, colleagues, school alumni, and other individuals who share my same interests and activities.

It allows me to demonstrate my skills and expertise as a networking expert and super-connector through interactions with my connections and also the articles I publish. When you know how to utilize it wisely LinkedIn can be fun and productive.

However, not everyone uses it sensibly or properly and make mistakes such as these three common ones. And this means you are not getting much value from it. It also means you could be turning others off from wanting to engage on the platform, which may add to the idea of networking and building relationships being thought of as a dirty business.

Here are a few things I have found not to like about networking on LinkedIn:

• How people abuse it: You receive an invitation to connect, only to find they are trying to pitch their next big business idea—and not necessarily develop a relationship.

• How people only use it to “get” something: Creating connections should provide mutual benefits and you also need to provide value to others—remember, you have to give to get.

• Receiving random invites from people only looking to boost their numbers: They don’t put much thought into it and usually use the standard “I’d like to connect with you” canned message—and if you do accept their invite they never follow up.

• Being asked for endorsements from people I don’t know well: How can I endorse you for something if we’ve only just connected or we haven’t really interacted (yet)—it’s challenging for me to recommend you for a skill I didn’t even know you had.

• Trying to understand how their algorithms work: Is everyone seeing my posts? Or are they only viewed by the same handful of people every day? And once you do get a handle on what they’re doing—there are more changes and adjustments being made.

No matter what you like or dislike about LinkedIn, it is not a substitute for human interaction. Yes, you are connecting TO others on LinkedIn, but you’re not always connecting WITH them. It’s missing a personal factor; meeting and brainstorming with someone over coffee (even if it’s virtually given our current circumstances) has the ability to garner higher results than only communicating through online messaging, and something I highly recommend.

LinkedIn definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. It really comes down to understanding the true value of networking and what it means to build and cultivate meaningful connections. It also depends on how much time and effort you put into forming bonds with others. I do continue to use LinkedIn on a daily basis and make efforts to benefit others through the platform and encourage you to do the same. When it’s used properly, LinkedIn can be key in helping you create healthy and robust networks that will empower your success.

Become NetWorkWise Certified

Want even more LinkedIn networking tips? Enroll in our certification course! Through self-paced micro-courses, downloadable resources, quiz questions and action steps, this online training helps you gain an understanding of the right way to cultivate connections and nurture expansive networks. Once complete, you receive credentials validating you as an expert in creating world-class relationships. I encourage you to sign up today and become a NetWorkWise Certified Professional!

This post originally appeared on Quora