LinkedIn Profile Mistakes To Avoid

By Selipha Kihagi

It is with no doubt that LinkedIn is the first place employers are making a stop to hunt for suitable candidates and to advertise open positions. For this reason, a smart job seeker should make an extra effort to have a LinkedIn profile that stands out and keeps the employer interested to read on.

While keeping the employer glued to your LinkedIn profile is a good thing for your next job, it may also be your worst nightmare if the profile is bound with mistakes. What do I mean by LinkedIn profile mistakes?

This is the information you include or leave out from your profile that could ruin your chances of getting the job.

Mistakes To Avoid In Your LinkedIn Profile

1. Leaving out the Summary section
One of the most difficult or presumed to be difficult sections of a LinkedIn profile is the summary section. This is because it demands that you describe yourself to anyone coming to your profile, and since you want to pass the best information, it gets even more difficult.

It is just like the profile summary in a CV, it can be difficult but it is necessary. Take time to structure a great LinkedIn profile summary that sells you perfectly.

2. Writing ‘unemployed’ or ‘looking for job’ as your headline
While it is true that you are currently looking for a job, including this as your professional headline is not going to work in your favour. The secret to get discovered on LinkedIn is prioritizing on keywords, meaning that you have to include your area of study.

If an employer is looking to hire in Procurement, they are probably going to search “Procurement Assistants on LinkedIn Kenya”, leaving you out in the search. No employer is going to search ‘unemployed Kenyans on LinkedIn’, so you must be creative.

Say something like, “Procurement Professional. Seeking Procurement opportunities in XYZ field”.

3. Not personalizing the connection request
When sending out a connection request from your LinkedIn profile, a box pops up giving you the option of including a personalized message but not many people are bothered to do this. Instead, they allow the request to be sent out with the LinkedIn default message, “Please add me to your LinkedIn network”.

Go the extra mile to write a personalized message that is appealing to potential employers and your professional networks. Unique sells.

4. Not utilizing the Privacy settings
A LinkedIn profile just like Facebook or Twitter or other social media pages, there is the provision of privacy settings where you control what people see. Note that this does not mean you hide your entire profile information, that will not help you. It means that you can decide what your connections see.

For example, you do not want potential employers to see your desperation for your job by exposing your daily activities, leave out some information to yourself.

Getting a job through LinkedIn is becoming popular across top companies, some even request that you apply with your LinkedIn profile only. Be smart about it and you’ll make it just fine.

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Selipha is a Communications Officer at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading Recruitment firm that offers CV Writing, Job Placement & Career Advice. If you have any queries, contact selipha@corporatestaffing.co.ke