LinkedIn is a tool that can be best leveraged for Job hunting in today’s competitive world and therefore it becomes far more important to have a Profile in really good shape.
Basis my corporate exposure, pasted below are few mistakes that we as professionals make on LinkedIn which ideally should have been avoided.
1. Unprofessional Profile picture –
The picture on your LinkedIn profile will not impact the Recruiter in terms of Hiring decision but it can make a strong impression to the person viewing your profile. Having said that, pasted below are few parameters that needs to be kept in mind before uploading a picture –
Good LinkedIn profile pictures are:
o Photos of only YOU & nothing else post cropping;
o the ones where you look polished with conservative outfit;
Rest of the pictures can turn recruiters off as it is seen as an indication of how professional you are.
2. Incomplete experience –
Any recruiter would like to understand your Career Story on your LinkedIn profile. Therefore it should be clearly articulated on your profile. In case you are missing any experience which is relevant to your career then your career story gets diluted & not impressive. As a practice, its important to update your profile regularly to get benefitted. Most of the time it has been observed, professionals may end up making contacts for the future or end up finding an opportunity that was never even posted online though you are not actively looking out for job.
3. Extra information which is not required –
Over information on your profile can be distracting at times to the Recruiter. As a suggestion, You might want to remove experience(s) that doesn’t add value to your profile. We understand it feels counterintuitive to remove work experience, but your LinkedIn experience should talk only sensible Career story.
4. Not connecting with people you worked –
One of the best things to do on LinkedIn is to create professional connects irrespective you are actively looking out for a change at the moment. You never know what these connect might bring to you in near future. Therefore its recommended to connect with people you work with. With the passage of time, your Managers, Peers will go in different directions, take different career paths, and could be very useful references in near future.
LinkedIn is the best “Social network” for professionals so use it & get updated of what people are up to.
5. Not on LinkedIn –
Of course, the biggest mistake of them all is not having a profile on LinkedIn. Your network is something you build over time, not just when you need it. Along those same lines, LinkedIn isn’t something you can just “switch on” and use to your advantage the moment you need it. Rather, it’s something you must build and contribute to over time. Then when you need it, it will be there for you.
So even if you can’t see the point of LinkedIn right now, take my word for it: you will need it someday!
So start building your Network today and avoid these common mistakes !!
