Three LinkedIn Mistakes (You’re Probably Making)
Neon sign reading, “hello” against a gray texted background.
Tiffany Waddell Tate, Career Coach & Talent Development Consultant
In the digital age of rampant social media, SEO, and having access to quite literally millions of people at your fingertips through various digital platforms - it may seem like worrying about what’s on your LinkedIn profile may be less and less relevant. I am here to tell you that it’s still relevant!
Whether you are actively job searching or not, LinkedIn is one of the best ways you can maximize your digital presence, let people know what you are about, and connect with potential job leads in an efficient and effective way.
Click here to download my top 5 tips for making your LinkedIn profile pop
If you have an active LinkedIn profile, I hope you take the time to update it between job experiences and blow the dust off from time to time. As a career coach who has worked with hundreds of professionals to help them maximize their LinkedIn profile, check out the three areas I find most people are failing at when it comes to optimizing their profile:
NOT HAVING A SUMMARY
I get it - writing summaries is hard. Unless you have had a very linear career path where point A has clearly led to point B, you may find writing a summary section challenging. Moreover, other than writing about what you *do* for money, what do you write about? There are a few different approaches to this. My personal favorite is thinking about 1. What you like to do 2. How you’ve spent your time professionally (and professional-adjacent) and 3. What your top interests are / problem you’d like to see solved in the world, and what you’re doing to make an impact in that area. Taking the approach to answer these high level questions is a way to curate a LinkedIn profile that speaks to who you are all around - not just what your job is at the moment. You are more than your job - and your LinkedIn profile should reflect multiple facets of you. That’s the interesting stuff, and what makes you more relatable to people reading about you by way of your profile.
NOT HAVING A QUALITY PHOTO
For the love of all things good - please, please, PLEASE - don’t take shortcuts on your LinkedIn headshot. I don’t think it’s necessary to pay for a headshot by any means, but if you can’t get the high res image file from your employer to use as your headshot (pro tip!), at least ask a friend to catch you in good natural lighting with a basic background with your cellphone. Today’s smart phones have quality cameras on them, so you can get a proper photo of you instead of a grainy thumbnail. If you have thought about going without the photo - think again. Recruiters are 97% more likely to reach out to you (or respond to a message) if they can see your photo. There’s something about seeing the blank silhouette or egg on a social media profile that makes people uneasy or unable to connect with people in a meaningful way. I didn’t make these rules - but I do know that it makes a difference.
NOT TAKING TIME TO CHECK (AND RESPOND) TO MESSAGES
A common mistake I see with LinkedIn users is … not being an active user. I get it; it’s another channel of communication to keep up with. Sometimes, it can get very overwhelming to keep up. I recommend carving out a quick 20-30 minutes each week on your calendar to check and respond to LinkedIn messages, comment on a few articles or posts of friends and colleagues, etc. You may miss out on a recruiting lead, or career accomplishment of someone you care about. While I don’t think it’s healthy to spend copious amounts of time on any social media platform - carving out intentional time to manage your LinkedIn profile and actively engagement with your network is what will separate you from someone who threw their profile together months ago and never went back to the website again. It might also signal to future contacts your ability to manage digital communication effectively - and if that’s a critical component for a job you’re interested in.. it may contribute to the first impression you make.