Stop Making These Linkedin Mistakes

Dec 14, 2017 | Blog

LinedIn logo

LinkedIn is a brilliant, free platform that has grown in importance dramatically within the recruitment field, in particular. It is practically guaranteed that an potential employer or recruitment consultant will check out your profile any time you apply for a role. It is crucial to make sure that your presence on the site is as flawless as possible. However, we still see so many candidates making extremely damaging, but extremely avoidable mistakes on their profiles. We’re on the downward slope to the new year, so get those profiles perfect before 2018 hits!

Spelling and grammar mistakes

This one makes our hearts sink. In one misspelt word you can render your entire profile as looking unprofessional to a potential employer. The worst thing is that it is so easy to avoid! Simply proof read, or get someone else to. Proof your profile a few times, until you are certain that there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Too many seem to have been in a rush to save changes or publish their profile without giving it the proper last look-over. It’s a real shame to see so many making this mistake.

Using a broad or vague job title

Your profile needs to be focused. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t tend to cast the net wide – they are looking for specific job titles and roles. By making yours broad, you will likely be skimmed over. Moreover, LinkedIn is heavily keyword-driven, which means you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t use them on your profile appropriately.

Inappropriate photos (or no photo at all)

Neglecting to put a photo up of yourself simply screams ‘unfinished!’ at a potential recruiter. Putting an inappropriate one screams ‘lazy!’ and also makes it look like you have a weak grasp of what is professionally appropriate in your field. A professional-looking headshot is your best bet, but your latest rock-climbing shot (unless you’re a professional rock-climber) is off the mark completely. Keep it corporate and you can’t go wrong.

Zero participation

You have to be seen to be active on LinkedIn if you are a job-seeker. It reflects very well if you are regularly taking part in discussions, posting updates, and generally being active on the job-hunting scene.

Too few recommendations

You need these, so ask for them. Reach out to everyone you’ve ever worked for or with and ask them to help you out with writing a few lines about you.

LinkedIn isn’t difficult to get right, you simply have to pay attention to detail and be active on it to get the most out of it. Practice makes perfect, as always, so keep tweaking that profile and see how much better your presence on the platform can be in 2018.