10 More (Proven) Ways to Screw-Up in LinkedIn

My original “10 Ways to Screw-Up Your LinkedIn Presence” article has had hundreds of readers internationally since its posting on 10 June 2009. If you haven’t read it, you can get to it via this link: http://habaconsulting.blogspot.com/2009/06/10-ways-to-screw-up-your-linkedin.html

Over the past 15 months, I have continued to witness glaring issues with how people disrespect their own online profile in LinkedIn. Since so many people are still being lazy or foolish, or simply stubborn procrastinators, it’s time to add more cautionary advice about what NOT to do when maintaining your LinkedIn presence.

1. SKIP PROOFREADING FOR SPELLING/GRAMMAR, especially for your title or headline. This makes a very bad impression on the legions friendly with the Spelling and Grammar Police. No, LinkedIn doesn’t have a facility to help – do your homework yourself.

2. PASTE YOUR RESUME INTO YOUR PROFILE, because you’ve already spent a lot of effort crafting your resume. It’s lengthy, structured, full of technical language specific to your industry, and… woefully devoid of your personality. The purpose of LinkedIn is to connect and interact with all sorts of people, so be more personally engaging in how you present yourself so that people will be interested in getting to know you.

3. LIE ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYMENT STATUS. Some who are unemployed leave their previous employment information in, perhaps because they don’t know how to represent a status of being unemployed. This is not simply lazy; it’s lying. There are many pointers available for truthful alternatives. Search Answers in LinkedIn for creative solutions.
4. INAPPROPRIATE OR TOO FREQUENT STATUS UPDATES drive some people (like me) to hide all of your status updates, forever, out of irritation. I don’t need my LinkedIn page to be “Starring You” every day.
5. SPAM FELLOW LINKEDIN MEMBERS with relentless promotion of yourself or your business. When you need to ask for something, always counterbalance your request by giving a gift of information or assistance.
6. DUELING LINKEDIN & FACEBOOK PROFILES. Prospective customers or employers are going to Google you to find out more about you. When your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles make it seem as though you are two separate people, searchers will wonder who you really are. Are you the experienced and grounded entrepreneur, or the neurotic and scattered hedonist?
7. HIDE YOUR PERSONALITY behind techno-speak and bullet points. Without going too overboard, make sure your profile information reflects your personality. Your headline should be succinct, but attention-getting. Read your summary aloud and consider whether it sounds like how you would speak, or if it is too stilted. Ask a trusted friend/mentor for objective input.
8. CONNECT WITH ANYONE WHO SENDS YOU AN INVITATION merely to pump up the number of people to whom you are connected. Connect only with people you know and respect, through positive face-to-face or online interaction. What good is it to either of you to be connected to a stranger?
9. LET YOURSELF GO STALE. You have a profile in LinkedIn, but haven’t developed it or kept it current. You never log in, and don’t reach out to make connections. Make a decision. You are either all in or all out. You’re not doing yourself or anyone else any favors with halfhearted participation.
10. DISREGARD LINKEDIN RULES AND GUIDELINES as detailed in their User Agreement (which is legally binding).

Now go review your LinkedIn profile again.