Protect your Professional reputation: Linkedin Habits to avoid
Designing Your Business Communication
LinkedIn has become a valuable tool in the business world.
In fact, according to LinkedIn data, the platform is especially helpful when landing higher-paying jobs. Unfortunately, if you commit certain faux pas on your LinkedIn profile, you can come across as unprofessional and in turn miss out of potential career opportunities.
Therefore, to help you avoid these pitfalls, PaperDirect, which is passionate about helping businesses appear professional, has complied the following list of LinkedIn habits to avoid:
Not Using a Photo:
According to LinkedIn Career Expert Nicole Williams, you stand a greater chance of having your profile viewed if you have a photo on your profile. When potential employers see a profile without a photo, they can make assumptions that something is wrong.
In addition, if you use your LinkedIn account as a way to follow up after meeting potential clients, having a picture on your profile will help those clients place who you are when you are following up. Therefore, a missing photo can easily result in a missed connection.
Keep in mind your profile photo should be professional. No, this doesn’t mean it has to be a “professionally shot photo,” but it should show you at your best.
Some Rules:
- No kids
- No pets
- No spouses
- Have a high quality file
- If you are older, don’t attempt to “fool” anyone by using an old photo.
Not Posting a Regular Status
It is a good idea to post a status every few days on your LinkedIn account. However, keep in mind, this is not Twitter or Facebook. This is not the place for sharing with your friends the cute phrase your kid just said or the fact that you are enjoying your beach vacation.
Instead, use your LinkedIn status as a way to keep your potential clients and/or employers informed about your latest professional accomplishments.
Not Connecting
It is a great idea to connect to others in your field. Join as many groups as possible, but keep in mind that you want your connections to be professional. Again, this isn’t Twitter or Facebook, the amount of connections is not necessarily the most important issue. The most important factor, is the quality of the connections you have.
Not Updating
Some of us keep jobs for 5-10 years before updating our resume. Don’t wait this long!
If you get a new title, update it on LinkedIn. If you successfully complete a project, add it to LinkedIn. If you develop a new skill, add it to your skill set.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool that every professional should be utilizing. However, there are many common errors like those listed above that will undermine the success you could have with the platform, avoid them and you will succeed in building up your professional persona.
