LinkedIn is now considered to be the largest professional marketplace online. It is more important than ever to make sure your LinkedIn profile is set up correctly; you never know who will come across it.

The 7 Most Common Profile Mistakes On LinkedIn

  1. No Profile Photo – It may seem like a no-brainer, but put a photo on your profile!  Any picture is better than no picture, but don’t put a selfie as your photo.  Use a photo that someone else took and you can even find a random photo and crop it to be just you.
  2. Boring Headline – Your headline is 120 characters, make the most of them.  Don’t go by the book and put what everyone else does, do something that will make you stand out and spark someones interest.
  3. Not Current – Keep your profile up to date with your latest position(s), contact information, and skills/associations.  You’ll also want to post updates on your profile such as interesting articles or any news related to your company.
  4. Wrong Content – While keeping your profile fresh with content is important, don’t post the same content that you would put on Facebook and Twitter.  Keep it professional.
  5. Improper Use of Your Company Description – That 2000-character space may look find with generic information about your business and skillset but similar to your headline you want to stand out from the crowd. Discuss what makes you unique and what you bring to the table.
  6. Failure to Connect – Chances are that you already know a bunch of people on LinkedIn.  They could be friends, family, coworkers, or clients.  Connect with as many of those people as you can without appearing spammy.  The larger your network the larger your potential reach is.
  7. “Private” Profile – LinkedIn allows you to have your profile be private, where people cannot see any (or most) of your information unless they are connected with you.  That’s a great feature for Facebook, but for LinkedIn, you want to have this disabled so people can learn more about you before they connect with you.

What are some other common mistakes that you see in LinkedIn profiles?  Post your thoughts below and be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn.