Avoid These 3 LinkedIn Profile Disasters
You have a stellar resume and your interview skills are sharp. You have awesome accomplishments and you know how to communicate them. Regardless whether you are stellar job seeker: if your LinkedIn Profile isn’t well developed it could stop a potential job opportunity cold.
Avoid These 3 LinkedIn Profile Disasters
No Profile Picture
No Professional Branding Statement in your Headline
No Summary Statement
The Digital Age of Your Professional Dossier
LinkedIn is your digital professional fingerprint. The very first place a recruiter or hiring manager will go after they receive your resume is LinkedIn. If there are any gaps or discrepancies between your resume and your LinkedIn Profile it could spell doom for your job candidacy. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”CoachEurban” suffix=””]Based on current trends, LinkedIn could replace resumes in the future![/inlinetweet]
1. Your Profile Picture
You must have a profile picture! Humans are 90% visual. Much of what we infer by visual clues sends certain physiological messages. No profile picture makes it appear like you are hiding something. Or worse: that you just don’t care enough about your professional career to be bothered. Neither option is a fantastic step forward for a job seeker.
How to Make the Best First Impression:
→ Be Relevant. Your profile picture must be relevant to your target position or industry. For example, if you want to be a crane operator don’t wear a suit. A tie isn’t necessary for every position. A phone camera savvy friend can take a decent picture of you for LinkedIn. However, if you are going for an executive role, spend the money and have a professional photo taken.
→ Stick to Nature. Take a photo in front of greenery or a stone wall. Greenery sends a subconscious message that you are open to change, flexible, potentially innovative and interested in growth. Stone walls send a message that you are firm in your convictions and have solid foundational core values. Pay attention to your background and make sure it doesn’t detract from your smiling face. Lines, busy patterns or clutter behind you is distracting to the viewer.
→ Be Current. Choose a profile photo from the last several years. Unless you are basically unchanged from previous years (some people age well), do not post the photo from 20 years ago. Be professionally yourself. Don’t make your future hiring manager guess who you are when you walk into the interview.
2. Your Headline
LinkedIn profile headlines typically end up being your most current job title. That is just fine if that is the only thing you want to say about yourself. Don’t lose the opportunity to market your personal brand. An accomplished career transition is about marketing and branding yourself. You are SELLING your expertise and skills.
Answer this question: “Why would someone want to talk to you?” What makes you different, unique or what special skills do you have? What do you want the hiring manager to know about you that is relevant to your target jobs? Your answers become your headline and branding statement. Don’t forget your certifications in your headline as appropriate. However, if you have half a dozen certifications only pick a few for the headline. You don’t want to lose people in a sea of acronyms.
Branding Statement LinkedIn Headline Examples:
“Leader in Operational Excellence | LSSBB | Proven Successful Change Agent”
“Top Performer in Growing Market Share | Expert in Client Relationship Development”
“Leading IT Healthcare Innovations | Telehealth and Digital Health Expert”
“Expert Relocation Specialist | Top Producing Realtor | CHMS | ABR”
I have seen some individuals use headlines to their detriment. Please stay away from political statements or anything that might not send the right message to the reader. Edgy and controversial isn’t the best way to market yourself on a professional platform.
3. Your Summary
Here’s where the rubber meets the road for marketing yourself. Your Summary is your professional introduction. This is your ‘Sales Pitch’. The Summary is an opportunity to demonstrate your target job position focus, business acumen, skills, and expertise. Whether you like selling or not, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”CoachEurban” suffix=””]a compelling LinkedIn headline followed by a clear statement about your unique capabilities is the key to a successful career transition[/inlinetweet].
I use the Goldilocks Principle: “Not too long and not too short”.
♦ Stick to the point. Attention spans are nanoseconds long. Your resume will only get 3-5 seconds. What makes you think that your Profile is destined for a long read? No more than three paragraphs – ideally two is enough.
♦ Don’t add fluff. HR Specialists and recruiters would be millionaires if they could get a dollar for every time they saw the word ‘detail oriented’. Please don’t use fluff words or boast unnecessarily. “Awesome performers” or “superstars” do not get bonus LinkedIn profile points. Stick to the facts and be brief.
♦ List your expertise. Outline your professional skills below your Summary statement separated by bullet points, vertical slashes, or similar. Make sure you insert a space between the symbol and your keywords so algorithms can recognize them.
Take your profile from “So what?” to “Let’s call them!” by following these simple techniques. Don’t underestimate the power of your professional LinkedIn profile. Avoid these 3 LinkedIn Profile disasters that could make the difference between you getting an opportunity to shine or staying in the same old routine.
A little bit about me …. my name is Erin Urban (LSSBB, CPDC), I’m a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a keynote speaker, a certified career growth and leadership development coach with almost a decade of mentoring and coaching successful professional transformations.
There is nothing more rewarding than helping people achieve their dreams!
With an extensive background in leading individual, cultural and organizational change initiatives: my mission is to lift you up to defy your limits and exceed your goals!
Seen on: Thrive Global | besomebody.com | Forbes.com
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