Are You Committing The Top 3 LinkedIn Profile Sins

Are You Committing The Top 3 LinkedIn Profile Sins Chances are good that youre NOT maximizing your LinkedIn Profile in a  way that will actually get you hired. How do I know? Because Ive seen these mistakes many times especially when Ive explored the methods used by job hunters enmeshed in a failing job search. Here are 3 common pitfalls to avoid when building and leveraging your LinkedIn Profile for a job search: 1 Failing to use all the space provided. You’re guilty of this if your summary is comprised of just a few sentences, your work history only includes titles (and no description of your achievements), or you skipped sections like Interests or Skills Expertise. These are valuable pieces of data that not only educate readers on your career, but also serve to boost your searchability quotient. Here are the current character limits for LinkedIn categories: Headline â€" 120 Characters Summary â€" 2,000 Characters Skills Expertise â€" Up to 50 Characters Company Name â€" 100 Characters Job Title â€" 100 Characters Job Description â€" 2,000 Characters Interests â€" 1,000 Characters If your profile isnt close to maxing out each of these spots, youre missing out on valuable opportunities to sell yourself to employers! In addition, many recruiters surf LinkedIn for candidates that possess specific skills or career experience. By adding more information that contains key search terms, your odds of being found based on a keyword search (and subsequently recruited!) can rise dramatically (particularly important in Skills Expertise). Even the Interests section is keyword-optimized so use it! (See my post on LinkedIn SEO for more power tips!) Want proof? Take a look at my LinkedIn Profile (or search for me on LinkedIn, using the phrase executive resume writer in LinkedIn.) Youll quickly see why every word counts. 2 Conveying a message that  is inconsistent with your traditional resume. There’s no way around it â€" employers will be trolling the Web for information about you, even if you’ve already sent your resume to them to review. The problem comes in when your job history, core competencies, or achievements seem different online than on paper. After creating both your resume and your LinkedIn Profile, I recommend printing them out, and reviewing information such as job dates, education, job titles, and employer names side-by-side. You’ll be able to spot any discrepancies quickly. In addition, reviewing the profile this way allows you to see if it delivers the same value proposition message as your resume. If you missed mentioning highlights of your career (such as metrics on revenue generated or cost savings), you can incorporate this data back into the profile so that it aligns with your brand. 3 Mistaking a resume summary for a LinkedIn summary. Your LinkedIn Summary  is designed primarily to present a snapshot of your brand and value proposition. However, many people mistake this for the resume summary of qualifications, and insert a long paragraph. I cant say this enough!  Web copywriting is much different than writing for printed or emailed documents. Youll need to create your profile so that it can easily be  read online, using first-person  writing style, with presentation techniques intended for the Web. Rather than use your resume summary, instead write a more personalized account of your background and qualifications, breaking up the text visually so that employers can quickly scan through for key words. Font treatments such as bullets or all caps can help to deliver more punch. Remember, your career isnt identical to anyone elses. Why settle for making your LinkedIn Profile blend in when it can promote you with a differentiating, powerful message? Need a competitive edge for your executive job search? As the #1 U.S. TORI award-winning executive resume writer, I create branded, powerful resumes and LinkedIn Profiles that position you as the #1 candidate PLUS arm you with the job search tools that will get you hired faster. My clients win interviews at Fortune 500 firms including Citibank, Google, Disney, and Pfizer, plus niche-market companies, start-ups, and emerging industry leaders. Get in touch with me  to experience the outstanding results my expertise can bring to your transition. Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CPBA, TCCS, COPNS, CIC