Poor Profile 

The first and certainly most important, mistake people make is not creating a professional profile. A professional profile includes a clear headshot, a current headline, and a well-informed summary. Your headshot does not need to be professionally taken, however, you should look professional and clearly show your face. Your headline should always be up-to-date and accurately represent where you are currently. It doesn’t have to be your job title but it should represent your personal brand. Your summary is a great way to show your professional accolades in a personal format. What are your capabilities and why are they important to you? Make sure these three items are taken care of and you’ll be ahead of the curve in no time.

Fear of Elaboration 

LinkedIn offers a great variety of additional profile sections… so use them! Don’t be afraid to showcase your skills, accomplishments, and, if you have them, recommendations. You’re kicking your self by not expanding your profile beyond the regular resume requirements – that’s what a resume is for, not LinkedIn. Of course, it’s important to include that crucial information, but in order to reap the full benefits LinkedIn has to offer, you must make sure to utilize all of its capabilities. 

And the point is…  

Like everything else we do in life, your LinkedIn account must have a clear purpose. What are you hoping to get out of being on LinkedIn? There needs to be a direction your profile is heading towards and make it clear that’s where you want to be. What do you want to do? Do you want to meet more people who have similar career interests? Are you looking for a job? There are so many different ways to go on LinkedIn, so it is important to make sure you have a clear and direct path laid out so other’s who visit your profile understand what you’re all about. 

Connect-Activity

After you’ve created a social media account what do you do? Post content, follow others, interact with other accounts. Right? Right. Well, LinkedIn should be the same. Don’t be afraid to post content or write an article. By posting regularly you remain relevant. The following rules are different on LinkedIn. It’s crucial to be constantly adding to your network and reaching out to people you do know or would like to know – building up your network is crucial. Now that you have your posts and network, the next step is to make sure you’re interacting with both. Like other people’s posts, comment and relay relevant information or feedback. By consistently interacting on all fronts you’ll ensure others will do the same for you, therefore keeping yourself relevant across the board.