Are You Really Using LinkedIn?

I raise the question this article’s title after reviewing hundreds if not thousands of LinkedIn profiles recently.

(Hey, somebody’s got to do it!)

Many are well written and complete, but, unfortunately, many are either incomplete or poorly written.

Let’s discuss this!

What’s the problem here?

The problem is that many people don’t take their LinkedIn profile seriously.

How so?

Here’s just a few pieces of evidence:

1. Profile pictures are still missing
2. Gaps in experience or, worse, overlapping dates with different employers
3. Little to no engagement with their connections
4. Not keeping profiles current (I know of several folks who are at least two to three jobs behind in their profiles!)

Honestly, I think many are on LinkedIn only because one or two friends connected with them.

What does this inattention to LinkedIn profiles mean?

For you, it means the following:

1. Missed opportunities
2. Looking unprofessional
3. Missing out on the bigger scene which is happening around you

For all of us on LinkedIn, it means the following:

1. We can’t locate useful connections
2. We receive incorrect or dated data and waste our time trying to resolve it
3. If you’re paying for a LinkedIn Premium product then you’re being overcharged

For LinkedIn itself, it means following:

1. Their database is not nearly as accurate or as complete as they claim (i.e., How many dead people are still on LinkedIn? LinkedIn acts like it’s the deceased’s responsibility to inform them!)
2. Too many eggheads! (i.e’, no profile pictures, always a bad sign)
3. An inbalance because there are not as many senior decision makers on LinkedIn as they’d like us to believe (Based only on my own informal study)

The moral of this story?

Please complete your LinkedIn profile and keep it current!

Do this now and going forward, not just when you think you may need a new position.

Challenge your friends and management to complete their profiles too.

Challenge LinkedIn to ensure the accuracy and completeness of its database especially if you’re paying for a Premium product.

This is in everyone’s best interest if we do this!

That’s it for now!

Please check-out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program to get some more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!

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.