10 Common LinkedIn Mistakes You Can Fix in Just 10 Minutes

If someone views your LinkedIn profile, does it look like you’re an experienced user or an inexperienced newbie?

As a LinkedIn consultant and speaker, I look at hundreds of profiles each week, and many of them are downright embarrassing. But the good news is that most of the mistakes can be fixed in just a few minutes.

However, before you make these changes, you may want to slide your Update Notification toggle to “No” so you aren’t alerting your network that you’re fixing these mistakes.
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10 fast and easy solutions to common LinkedIn mistakes

Think of this as spring cleaning your LinkedIn profile. When you’re finished, your profile will shine and stand out from your competitors.

1.  Photo doesn’t fully fill the photo square. Try reloading your photo, and be sure it’s a high resolution photo.

2.  Your most important current job is not listed first. Just click the up/down arrow next to the job entry you want to move. Then hold and drag the gray vertical bar. Each current job is movable.

3.  You have not customized your unique LinkedIn URL. This is an important link that you should be using on all your marketing information (business card, email signature, etc.). Simply click the edit pencil and add your name.

If you have a common name and the URL with your name is already taken, you could put a “1” following your name or add your middle initial. If you prefer, try including the first letter of your first name with your full last name.

4.  You haven’t listed any websites in your Contact Info section. You can display up to three websites, and they’re hyperlinked to the web page. If you don’t list any websites, it looks like you don’t have a company or anything you’re interested in.

5.  The first 35-40 characters of your headline are not descriptive. When someone scrolls over your photo or name in numerous places on the LinkedIn site, your headline is truncated, and only the first 35 to 40 characters are visible. Therefore, make sure the beginning of your headline describes exactly who you are and what you do.

6.  Your current company logo isn’t displayed on your profile. This is happening because either your company doesn’t have a logo on its company page (ask your marketing folks to fix this) or you had your LinkedIn profile prior to the company having a company page or logo. You need to reattach to your company page by editing that entry. Click Change Company and then select the company page entry when it shows up in the drop-down listing of companies.

7.  Your school’s logo doesn’t show up on your profile. Try to rectify this problem by following the same steps you used to get your company logo onto your profile.

8.  You are not using the Advice for Contacting section to share your business email and/or business phone number. This is especially important if you use LinkedIn for business development or job searching.

The Advice for Contacting section is an optional profile section that is available for free. Locate it by clicking See more near the top of your profile. If you don’t include your phone number and/or email address here, people outside your first-level network may not know how to contact you.

9.  You’re not capitalizing on the Interests section. This section is important for two reasons. If you separate your entries with commas, they are searchable by clicking the word. Also, if you view someone’s profile or someone views your profile, any common interests you have will appear in the In Common With section.

This is a great way to discover topics that can break the ice in conversations or correspondence. So, rather than using full sentences in this section, use words or phrases that other people with similar interests are likely to use.

10.  You have not optimized your profile for mobile. LinkedIn has taken some liberties with how your profile gets displayed on the mobile app. Because 60 percent of profile views are on mobile, be sure to check out how you’re showing up. For more information on mobile, read my two articles (Part 1 and Part 2) about LinkedIn mobile strategies.

If you’ve followed these simple steps, your LinkedIn house should be in order, and you’ll be viewed as an experienced professional rather than an inexperienced newbie.

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