10 Things You Must Do for LinkedIn Profile Completeness

If you looked at 10 different LinkedIn profiles, you might see 10 different ways in which people have entered their details.  For a social networking platform that is trying to standardize the way people depict themselves with their “xxx% profile completeness” status that appears when you edit your profile, the results have been surprisingly across the board.  I am still amazed when I find professionals, and even active job seekers, without “complete” profiles.  Remember, LinkedIn profile completeness is not just about increasing chances that your business will get new leads from LinkedIn or that you will find a job on LinkedIn: As LinkedIn said in a recent marketing email to me entitled “Find top talent faster with free profile matches,” if you post a job on LinkedIn you will receive 24 highly qualified profile matches for free.  The only way you get matched up and potentially completed is by having profile completeness.  So even if you are happily working, don’t you want to make yourself open to new opportunities should they come knocking on your door?  For professionals, whether you are employed or unemployed, the value in having a completely filled out profile is equivalent.

Redefining LinkedIn Profile Completeness

My definition of a completely filled out profile is going to differ from LinkedIn’s definition.  Why?  I base my reasoning based on how people might look for you as well as how your personal branding might be perceived.

1. List Your Full Name

You’d be surprised how many people still use abbreviations instead of displaying their full name.  LinkedIn gives you this option in the name of “privacy,” but if you haven’t figured out in this Era of Social Media, privacy is already dead.  Why would you want to have a presence without revealing yourself?  You are potentially making yourself unattractive to those who may want to contact you.

2. Display Your Photo

I still get asked this question often: Should I display nothing, a logo, or a photo?  There are reasons why some people don’t want to display their photos, but this is a social networking platform.  Not displaying your photo raises more questions than provides answers.  If you were interviewed or had a business opportunity, you would show yourself, right?  So why not display yourself online?

3. Have a Professional Headline That Properly Brands You

The Professional Headline is what shows up under your name and also appears prominently in search results.  The safest bet is just to put your current title and company that you work for.  But put something…and if you are looking for potential opportunities, brand yourself properly here.

4. Have Something Relevant and Timely in Your Status Update

This is something that I would not have included several months ago, but the Status Update is not just about linking your account to Twitter and broadcasting tweets that may be irrelevant to your network.  It’s also not about “gaining mindshare” by blasting your network with your Network Updates.  The Status Update is about showing that you are still relevant in doing whatever you are doing.  Going to an event?  Share it.  Attending a conference?  Share it.  Read something interesting that is relevant to your brand?  Share it.  Use your Status Update to show your relevance….and try to aim for a once-a-week update.  You don’t want someone visiting your profile and see a Status Update that is months old…

5. Display Enough Work Experience…with Details

If you’re only listing your current place of employment, your LinkedIn profile is obviously not complete.  And if you are listing where you worked without any details as to what you did there, your profile is incomplete as well.  Look, your LinkedIn profile doesn’t need to be a resume.  But even a one sentence summary as to what you did is enough to ensure that a potential reader understand that you actually worked at the company and understand the role that you had.  It is obviously to your advantage to list as much details about your experience at each company as possible so that you show up in more search results.

6. Did You Go to School?

I’m still shocked by those who don’t put any education details on their profile.  If you went to an institution of higher learning, display it.  If not, list your high school.  Once again, not showing any education details raises more questions than provides answers and makes your profile incomplete, lessening your chances of getting contacted with potential opportunities.  Displaying where you went to school also allows your ex-classmates to find you…and you never know how you might be able to help each other out.

7. Get Some Recommendations

The LinkedIn “profile completeness” algorithm requires that you receive three recommendations in order to get to 100%.  I don’t think there’s any magic number you need to have a complete profile.  My suggestion: get at least 1 recommendation for every position that you’ve had, preferably from your hiring manager.  College student?  Get a recommendation from your advisor, professor, or even someone in your Career Center.  But get something on your profile in the form of a recommendation that displays your realness.

8. Acquire Some Connections

If you’re on LinkedIn you should be networking.  If you are a professional you have years if not decades of professional experience from which to find potential connections.  The calculation is easy: all things being equal, the older you are the larger your network should naturally be.  If you are an executive and only have 10 or 20 connections, what does that say about you?  Connections are also important so that you can get found in the huge LinkedIn database.  Rule of thumb?  Multiply your age by 10 and that is the minimum number of connections that you should have.

9. Your Professional Summary is Essential

Don’t just register on LinkedIn like you’re entering your resume.  Your Summary, or “Professional Summary,” is your way to introduce yourself to the world.  Once again, why would you want to have a presence on the social networking platform and not introduce yourself?

10. Don’t Forget Your Contact Settings

The final section of your profile is one that is often neglected.  Sure, LinkedIn provides some default bullet points for you to use, but don’t stop there: Use your own words to tell the world why you have established your presence on the site.  If you are open to getting contacted say so.  If you are just on to network with people that you already know and don’t want to be bothered by potential opportunities, say so.  Let the world know what your contact policy is, ideally writing about what your networking objective is.  This will show that you are “real” and will complete out your profile.  For those of you that are happily employed or don’t want your company to be suspicious about your online activities, Contact Settings is a chance for you to set the record straight: Tell the world that you are happily employed but just want to get back in touch with ex-colleagues.  The choice is yours, but neglecting Contact Settings completely is something that you should avoid.  And it goes without saying that you want to make sure that you are not false advertising in your LinkedIn Contact Settings.

Did I miss anything that you think is essential to having a “complete” profile?  Anything you disagree with?  Please do comment!  And if you are looking for more profile advice, see my post on LinkedIn Profile Tips: The 10 Mistakes You Want to Avoid and Why.

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Neal Schaffer

Neal Schaffer is a leading authority on helping businesses through their digital transformation of sales and marketing through consulting, training, and helping enterprises large and small develop and execute on social media marketing strategy, influencer marketing, and social selling initiatives. President of the social media agency PDCA Social, Neal also teaches digital media to executives at Rutgers University, the Irish Management Institute (Ireland), and the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland). Fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Neal is a popular keynote speaker and has been invited to speak about digital media on four continents in a dozen countries. He is also the author of 3 books on social media, including Maximize Your Social (Wiley), and in late 2019 will publish his 4th book, The Business of Influence (HarperCollins), on educating the market on the why and how every business should leverage the potential of influencer marketing. Neal resides in Irvine, California but also frequently travels to Japan.

@nealschaffer

Social Media Author, @RBSExecEd & @IMI_Ireland Educator, Keynote Speaker. Speaking at #smmw19 & #cmc19. Next book: Influencer Marketing. Next Trip: Japan.

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