Creating Your LinkedIn Profile

Common Mistakes and Tips to

Correct them

©2012 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 6

Mistake #1No Profile Picture/ Bad Picture


X X X X

Tip: Put up a professional picture of yourself

• Preferably a head shot with light background

• Wear your natural smile

• Avoid excessive jewelry, sun-glasses, fancy landscapes in background etc

• Do not have another person with you in the picture frame

• Some one who comes in to meet you after viewing your profile picture should be able to

recognize you easily

Mistake #2Vague/ Non-relevant Professional Headline


Why is your headline so important?

• It is your first impression on other people when they see you on LinkedIn.

• It almost always follows the mention of your name, everywhere on LinkedIn – this is your

tagline!

Tip: Think the ‘Marketing’ way

• Create a precise, powerful statement

• Make yourself memorable

• Excite the reader

• If your Title & Organization’s brand are powerful, they could also form your headline

X X

Mistake #3Boring Summary


Keep it interesting & precise – It’s your elevator pitch!

• Inject your personality into the Summary

• Connect with the reader, create impact

• Outline USPs – Use key words that your target audience would search for to find you

• Keep it conversational – write from 1st person (unless your brand requires otherwise), Avoid

clichéd words

Tip: Have a format:

• Introduce yourself & talk about who YOU are. Make people see you as an interesting

person. Talk about how you came to where you are today.

• Talk about who THEY are – who do you help? Talk about who your target client is – Be

subtle here.

• Finish by talking about what you offer. Don’t give away everything here – just talk about

what you mainly do, and how people can benefit from it.

Mistake #4Incomplete Description of Experience


Your Career history tells your story:

• Tells people about your career path

• Adds to your professional image when you showcase your past work & results achieved

• Allows your ex-colleagues to find you on LinkedIn easily

Tip: Complete this section in full. Think the ‘Sales’ way!

• Include both current position & past positions

• Detail specific accomplishments in each

• Let type-ahead find your company, so you can connect with past colleagues

Mistake #5No Mention of Skills & Expertise in the relevant profile section


Why mentioning Skills & Expertise is important?

• It helps to showcase your core strengths as a professional

• Other professionals can endorse your skills on your profile that lends credibility to your

professional image

Tip: Have a list that’s consistent with your professional image

• Target your strengths

• Prioritize the skills/ expertise that you wish to mention

• Do not fake

Mistake #6No Recommendations


Why Recommendations are important?

• Adds to your professional image by letting viewers know what other professionals who

have worked with you think about you

• Recommendations lend credibility to what you say about yourself

• Recommendations that you write for others also impact your credibility – be careful &

honest when you recommend others

Tip: Keep a healthy mix

• Only ask a recommendation from those who know you well. Give recommendations only to

those you know well & genuinely appreciate.

• Be specific – Ask the referee to recommend you for something specific that you worked on

together. Ask them to include what happened as a result of your working together

• Regularly manage your Recommendations and keep them relevant to your current work-

profile

• Be prudent while recommending others

Mistake #7Excessive/ Irrelevant Group Memberships


How are Groups important?

• Allow you to learn & stay abreast through participation in industry/ domain specific

discussions with other relevant professionals

• Allow you to position yourself as a subject matter expert

Tip: Stick to what’s relevant; Control your visibility

• Only join groups that are relevant for you

• Be judicious in deciding which Group memberships would you like to showcase on your

LinkedIn profile

• Participate in relevant discussions and share expertise to increase your visibility

• Be positive in outlook & constructive in approach

Additional Important Elements of

your LinkedIn profile


Additional elements of your LinkedIn profile


Volunteer Experience & Causes; Certifications; Honors & Awards; Patents; Projects etc

• Helps in projecting a more holistic personal image that includes your world view

Education

• Provides others insight about the formal education you went through

• Makes it easier for your classmates to find you on LinkedIn

Your Connections

• Connect with trusted friends, former colleagues, classmates, industry leaders, partners &

other professionals

• The quality your network also reflects on your personal image

Your Public Profile URL

• Your public profile appears when people search for you on Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.

• You can edit your Public Profile from the Settings page to

- Make it visible to everyone or to no one in search engine results

- Show only the basics like your name, industry, location, # of recommendations

- Add or remove profile elements like picture, current positions or education

- Customize your public profile URL to enhance your online visibility

Websites

• Mention links to you Website, Blogs or other articles published by you online