If you heard any of the political news in the last election cycle, you might have come across a news story where the reporter states something like…
“Politician’s LinkedIn Profile says…“, or “According to his/her LinkedIn Profile...”
As a LinkedIn speaker and trainer, I read a lot of articles about LinkedIn profiles.
Today, I came across an article from the Chicago Tribune, from Reuters, where the author used information found on a LinkedIn profile, as part of the article:
“Ernst had worked at Deutsche Bank for 9 years, his LinkedIn profile showed.”
Times have changed.
More and more reporters are using LinkedIn as a go to reference point.
That being said, if you’re looking for a job, think of what a Hiring Managers might see.
Or, if you are in Sales and Marketing, what are your Prospects and Buyers going to see?
(You know they’re looking at your LinkedIn profile before your meeting… Right?)
From the Sales and Marketing fields, I’ve seen some pretty bad profiles.
One of my favorites:
“The Quota Killer”
Go ahead… look it up “quota killer” in LinkedIn:
I found 136 profiles that included the term “Quota Killer” listed in them…
I’m not too sure a prospect is going to be really excited to see that in your profile before your next sales meeting.
What are they going to find?
Is your profile accurate and up to date?
Is your story compelling, or does it read like a resume?
Does it sell your strengths?
Your LinkedIn Profile is now your online business card… but free to access by almost anyone.
What message does your LinkedIn Profile say about you?
LinkedIn Profile Tips:
Check your profile job titles and timelines.
Are they accurate?
Are they descriptive of your roll?
Or they the official titles pulled from your companies “Human Resources Pay Grade System” (ie. Programmer IV, Systems Engineer II, Account Manager”)
Will someone reading your job title know what you do?
