Top 5 LinkedIn Mistakes to Avoid

Mary Murcko, Purdue University alumna and current publisher of Self Magazine at Conde Nast, visited Purdue this spring, and she spoke to students about her career and gave advice about finding employment. According to Murcko, one tool that employers are using more than ever to do research on applicants is LinkedIn. She says that some employers, including herself, will not take a first look at an applicant’s resume if he or she does not have a LinkedIn profile.

However, simply having a LinkedIn profile does not guarantee anything if it is not created well or used properly. Savvy Intern posted an article by Power Formula with the 10 biggest mistakes made on LinkedIn. From that list, here are my selected top five.

1. Punctuation and Grammar Mistakes

Remember that you have an online reputation to create or uphold, and LinkedIn is one way that you contribute to your online reputation. As a result, punctuation and grammar mistakes are detrimental to your online reputation because they make you appear careless to your viewers. To reduce the chance of having these sort of mistakes, type what you want to display on your LinkedIn profile on a Word document, use spell and grammar check, and then copy and paste the information to your profile.

2. Not Having a Profile Picture

According to the article, a profile picture entices viewers to look at your profile up to 14 times more than if you do not have a picture. Further, think about your behavior on LinkedIn when you see a profile without a picture. Most likely, you skip that profile. This is what could happen to you. For tips on what to avoid with profile pictures click on this video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmNkSiV6AMk. 

3. Conversations That Should Be Taken Offline

Some people make the mistake of having personal conversations and confidential business exchanges on LinkedIn. It is more appropriate to have these types of conversations via a telephone call, email, or regular mail because more than just you can view these conversations. Remember that LinkedIn is a professional business site, not a social media for personal use like Facebook, and you should keep all dialogue as professional and respectful as you would in a real business conversation.

4. Using the Summary Section in Your Profile as a Laundry List of Keywords

While keywords are important to include in your summary, this section should be devoted to letting your viewers get a sense of you as a person. A list of keywords is not enough to transmit who you really are to your viewers.  

5. Not Having Your Most Important Job in Your Headline

On LinkedIn, your headline follows you everywhere you go. Make your most important position your headline, adding a little creativity or a “market punch” to it is a plus.

Avoid these top five mistakes and you will have a stellar LinkedIn profile, more connections on the site, and a higher chance of having your resume viewed by today’s employers.