- May 3, 2015
- Posted by: Con P. Sweeney
- Categories: LinkedIn, Social Media
Recently, a friend complained to me about sending Inmails on LinkedIn to people only to find that their profiles weren’t current and they hadn’t been in the roles that she was querying them about for years.
This got me thinking and I did a little checking among my first degree connections on LinkedIn and found that more than a few of them were out-of-date. (I mean more than those profile pictures that were taken even before LinkedIn existed!)
Let’s talk for a bit about why having not just a complete but a current profile on LinkedIn is important.
Why does LinkedIn need to be current?
First, LinkedIn is the primary business social media application for networking out there today.
That’s it!
(If anyone thinks there’s another please share it with us. We’re obviously missing something.)
LinkedIn is becoming because of this the go to place for recruiters, people looking for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), networking and other opportunities, and validation of who you are by your connections.
Being current on LinkedIn shows that you’re on top of things and you value the community of your connections.
LinkedIn is your opportunity to showcase your recent work and ideas to the community.
Given the rate of change in most professions these days if you’re not current then you may not appear to be working on the latest things in your world whatever they may happen to be.
But, when you update your LinkedIn profile there are a few things you should avoid doing.
Don’t give the appearance that the only time you update LinkedIn is when you need a job.
Even if you’re out of work, don’t put “Need a Job” or “Unemployed” as your current position.
State what you are and what you do.
(Sadly, given changes in the economy over the years, there are some profiles on LinkedIn which come across as being desperate. This must be avoided! When I talk of keeping current it’s about your skills and experiences.)
Demonstrate that you’re engaged in the LinkedIn community by:
- Joining and participating in Groups (Start your own Group just make sure you can do it the right way)
- Update periodically
- Use LinkedIn Publisher
- Like and share others’ work
Overall, what you want to do is to let the LinkedIn community know that you’re there and why they should be paying attention to you.
Give more than you take from your connections.
And, remember to update your profile regularly!
That’s it for now!
In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!
I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.
Remember!
I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.
I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.
My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.
Stay well!