10 common LinkedIn mistakes damaging your brand.

by: Tina Kashlak Nicolai

Common LinkedIn mistakes. I hate social media” and “LinkedIn has turned into Facebook” are the two most popular statements by job hunters that I regularly hear from clients (resume and coaching) and candidates (recruiting.) Coming in at a close third is, “I don’t know what recruiters are looking for, so I don’t use it.”

Job seekers, career changers, and business owners across all generations and industries may benefit from these 10 common LinkedIn mistakes damaging your brand.

#1 Having multiple LinkedIn profiles with your name and photo. (*Do you have multiple personalities? Are you hoarding your LinkedIn profiles? INTERVENTION!)

When recruiters view LinkedIn and see a candidate with multiple profiles in the same industry, it tells the recruiter a few things.  You may not know how to operate technology. You don’t want to learn how to add new positions to your only account. You’re potentially lazy. You don’t care about your career.

Solution: Delete all of your LinkedIn profiles except for one.   If you are a corporate leader, own a business, and want to keep clear boundaries between the two, it makes sense to have two profiles. However, in 2022, it has become acceptable to have multiple careers on one profile.

This past week, I was scouting talent and came across individuals with as many as 5 LinkedIn accounts that are scarce with information. It appears the person creates a new LinkedIn account every time they start a new position. This will kill your credibility and brand.

#2 The banner behind your photo is generic or the default issued by LinkedIn. 

No, you won’t miss out on an interview if you have a dull banner. But you are short-changing yourself by blending in and appearing generic.  There is nothing wrong with generic products. We save money when we buy them.  Being generic on LinkedIn and your resume can cost you a competitive salary. If you are dressed to impress, do the same with your online presence.

Solution: There are FREE banners that you can download via Canva as well as many other apps. It takes 5-minutes to download the free banner that reflects your industry, interests, and brand.  Ideas to consider when choosing or creating a banner include your style, ideal work environment, leadership style, expertise, passions, and skills, to name a few. Suppose you are a business owner who showcases featured products or services and includes your website, phone number, and email.

List your brand tagline

#3 Your tagline under your name is boring or missing.

Your tagline is as important as your name. It’s common to list your job title. By turning it up a notch and listing your brand tagline in addition to your job title, you’re telling the recruiter a bit about your expertise and unique brand.  Additionally, an outdated job title or a job title by itself limits you to new opportunities.

Solution: Keep your headline up-to-date with an action statement that describes your top deliverables. This is your brand statement and area to shine!  You can create an inviting account without going over the top.

Example of a before and after:

Before: Mary Smith | Accountant & Bookkeeper

After: Mary Smith | Accounting Pro who thrives during month-end reconciliations! Or, Exceptional at putting calm in chaos during month-end reconciliations!

Show up online

#4 Poor photos speak poorly of you. Having no photo is worse.  Are you invisible? 

While some people post kids and pets as profile photos, I recommend against this unless they are interviewing for a role as a child model or pet extra.  I’ll go one step further. If you want to show yourself with your kids or pets, that’s an option, but don’t simply post your kids or pets without you in the picture.

Solution: Post a photo that conveys your image, personality, or expertise. Or, post an image of you in a recent significant achievement.  In 2021 when I completed my first 70.3 Ironman event, I posted my picture in my profile. This was a milestone achievement as a late-in-life, non-athletic person, former fluffy person.  The skills that resonated with this achievement spoke volumes to my audience.

If you don’t have a significant achievement to share, keep it simple and take a selfie or have a friend take a photo of you. There are many free apps that you can use to brighten the image and even remove the background. Be creative and change your photo one to two times a year to keep it fresh and exciting.  Organic photos are recommended, so your true personality shines through. Suppose you can afford a professional headshot that is a premium for you. However, it’s unnecessary if your budget doesn’t allow it.

Missing Skills Section

#5 The Skills section is missing.

At least once a week, I’m asked by clients to create an SEO resume “loaded with keywords to bring the resume to the top of the recruiter’s search.”  As a recruiter, yes, it is essential to have keywords aligned with the position description.  *Keywords matter. However, all recruiting databases do not elevate resumes equally.  Major search engines like Indeed do, but only if the recruiter creates a search by keying in key words.  Company databases show the recruiter ALL of the resumes from ALL candidates in alphabetical order. Yes, a recruiter can conduct a deeper search using keywords in their company database. However, this is usually only used as a last resort if the current candidate pool falls short of qualified talent—more on this in a future blog. 

Solution: Maximize your LinkedIn Skills by listing 50 keywords that represent your skill sets. If you’re not sure what your top 50 keywords are, you can conduct research or hire a professional to help you locate the maximum keywords. Once you identify your keywords, you’ll want to ask your network to click on them.  When listing keywords, don’t become so rigid that a salad of descriptors overshadows your personality. Allow your personality and brand to radiate how you get along with others and results.

Example:  Strategic, Agile, Engaging, Problem Solver, Peer Leader, Fun, Ideator, Moves Meetings Forward, Origami Paper Folder, and so on. Allow your creative side to attract your next new workplace.

More Common LinkedIn Mistakes

#6 Having a “set it and forget it” (SIAFI) mindset. 

I remember Ron Popeil, American Inventor and Marketing (: 27-second mark) expert tagged this line because it worked for his rotisserie chicken machine. But having a “set it and forget it” mindset for your LinkedIn is a recipe for failure.  If you’re not using your LinkedIn 3-4 times a week and engaging with others, shut it down and delete it. A profile with no activity is as good as a phone book from the 1970s or earlier. The phone book was only good if someone looked up a person by name or a business by category.   You will never be found on LinkedIn if you have a SIAFI mindset.

#7 Having a negative or “I can’t” attitude shows.

Having a negative attitude kills your brand, and it shows. OUCH! It’s true. [Could you stick with me on this as this one?]  Since the evolution of social media platforms, we’ve become inundated with more outspoken people. I love a point-of-view and welcome open, respectful, candid discussions. The key word is respectful.  We have unfortunately gotten to a point where common sense has gone by the wayside. Political banter has crept into LinkedIn conversations perpetuating conflict. This common LinkedIn mistake can be difficult to correct. 

Solution: Keep political posts and comments off of LinkedIn unless you:

a) don’t care about your brand.

b) are running for office or working for a political candidate, and it’s part of your job.

c) there may be a third reason. Please comment if you’d like.

Secret Sauce

#8 The About section has too much, too little, or weak content.

The About section is arguably an area that continues to confuse people. I’ve seen people max out their space with the meaningless information.  Many recruiters are combing through hundreds of resumes daily, conducting searches on LinkedIn, and visually scanning LinkedIn.  The information overload is overwhelming. Most recruiters don’t have time to read sentences and never ending paragraphs.

Solution: Less is more.  Contrast the information with bullets and sentences. Use your white space. Always write this with “I” statements. List information that tells your story.  Write a balanced story weaving in words that appeal to your audience.  Keep in mind words that engage feeling, analytical, and auditory audience members.

Example: 

I’m passionate about leading teams through engaging individual strengths and leveraging them to help my team members reach their unique potential. (feeling)

My team has appreciated my balanced approach to incorporating data and research into their stretch goals. (feeling and analytical)

As a listening leader, I can celebrate wins with my team as I’ve promoted 12 individuals in the past 18 months. (auditory, feeling, and analytical)

When we write with intention to appeal to feelers, analytical, and auditory senses, the content will appeal to everyone. This increases your opportunities.  This is the secret sauce!

#9 Using LinkedIn only when looking for a new job, announcing a new job, or launching a business opportunity.

Having minimal posts and engagement on LinkedIn reflects poorly on your brand. Many people fear using LinkedIn will send a message that they are job searching.

Solution: Use LinkedIn regularly (3-4 days a week for a few minutes a day) to stay on top of trends, expand your network, learn, and share solid content; no one will suspect you are looking for a job when you do decide to do so. You’ll also be building a broader network to tap into should you lose your job without notice.

Finale!

#10 My sister’s husband’s twice-removed daughter who is Gen Z said my profile needs ________________________. (Fill in the blank)

This is perhaps the most challenging roadblock to overcome.  Asking people for advice who are not trained in online marketing creates confusion.  It makes doubt and sets you up to start comparing yourself to others.  People stall and eventually stop moving forward.

Solution: Unless the person offering their opinion is hiring you for the role, is a seasoned recruiter or is an expert in writing profiles or resumes, please stop asking friends and family circles for advice. Writing a professional LinkedIn profile requires experience in writing, content creation, and/or recruiting.   Stop asking for validation from non-experts. Start taking yourself seriously and commit to working on your online presence.  It isn’t easy to be objective when writing your profile. It becomes more difficult to ask a family or friend to be objective if they are not trained professionals in writing content or copy.

Thank you

I hope you enjoyed this blog and learned a few tips and tricks!

Thank you for reading Common LinkedIn Mistakes. I welcome comments and suggestions for future blogs. If you’d like to be quoted in an upcoming blog, I’ll list your expertise and information to help you shine!  Let’s connect!

Warmly,

Talking to Tina

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