Peter N.
Does your resume/CV get you job interviews? Send it to Career-Resumes.com for a free resume review.
What makes a LinkedIn Profile bad?
Is it too much information, too little information, a certain type of picture, too many groups... ?
Good Answers (20)
Rosalie O.
Online & Social Media Account Manager, Client Relations at Meltwater Group
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (5), Blogging (3)
Peter,
Here's a list of what I think makes a LinkedIn profile bad.
1. An incomplete profile
2. No profile photo, or one that doesn't show your face
3. No website, blog, or Twitter links
4. Profiles that are kept private or choose not to outline the person's name
5. No Connections and Recommendations
6. Obvious lack of interactivity on LinkedIn
7. No LinkedIn groups or use of LinkedIn Applications
8. No Contact Settings or Personal Information
Good luck!
Dave M.
Professional trade show booth traffic builder and party entertainer. Corporate and private sector events.
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A profile with absolutely no info... This makes the person look like a scammer of sorts...
Placing a profile pic of your dog or something other than your actual face is also detrimental to one's image here on Linkedin... WIthout a real image, the person comes across as hiding something...
When talking about "Social Media", the emphasis is on socializing, not hiding...
Wallace J.
Multimedia Producer, i3D Programmer, Acrobat 3D PDF, Android App, Virtual World & iTV Design, Kindle, Nook & Sony eBooks
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Too Little Information, No Participation, and hundreds of traded recommendations!
Judy B. M.
Business WRITER | Editor | Blogger | Strategic MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS | B2B | Web Content Creator | BusDev
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When it's bare bones and of no substance, lacking even a current job description or dates of employment, and listing only a handful of contacts. Worse still, is the obviously fake profile, lacking a genuine name.
Valerie L.
Independent Consultant & Creative Strategist
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Too little information and a profile picture of you and your significant other at the beach...or your dog/cat.
Aidan F.
Project Engineer at B/E Aerospace
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Too much information is as bad as too little; People like Tweets, not Biographies. No picure is obviously bad, but so is a picure of something other than you. Too few groups is bad, because it appears to show that you're not interested in anything. Showing up to a max of 50 different types of groups tells a story about your diversity.
Prashant M.
Project Manager at Toluna India Pvt. Ltd.
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A Linkedin profile is your online resume. Whatever blunders ruin your resume will ruin your profile here at LI as well. Some examples are improper information, spelling mistakes, use of shorthand language et al.
I strongly believe that in the coming five years, HR teams will start evaluating candidates on the basis of their LI profiles and at that time, the accuracy and authencity of a LI profile will matter a lot.
Natalie K.
Senior IT Specialist at Nordea Bank, Capital Markets & Treasury Securities, Business Development
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Using a name that is obviously not the real one, too many recommendations, unclear purpose of the profile.
Link to a prison record!
Gregory L.
Director, QA & Support, Meshin at PARC
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Misspellings, poor photo, sales-ish late night tv type of content, not enough content, updated years ago, no recommendations
Susan S.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., financial marketing writer.
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First, too little information or none at all; a "cute" or incomplete name and camouflaged background; an unprofessional-looking photograph; and a level of caginess that makes one reluctant to network. I find the people who don't like to share their contacts difficult to work with unless they, themselves are fascinating.
I like a lot of information, accurately and correctly presented. Second or third languages are something I envy and make allowances for, but if English is one's first or only language, the profile should be well-proofread and clear.
I don't like cute; I don't like aggressively salesy; and I really dislike touchy-feelie.
Fred B.
Relationship Management Pro & Community leader
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For me, having an abundance of "connections" isn't a good thing. I equate it with the people who troll for connections on friend's friend lists in Facebook.
Nykie D.
at NDL Metasycbe Ltd
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People who just have company names in their profile, without stating what they actually did at that company. People who have no photo or a company logo instead. People who feel that they have to put everything in their name field, such as 'Nykie Duffy BA(Hons), QTS, A Level French' (I have two BA (Hons) degrees, and neither of them are in with my name).
Clarification added March 26, 2010:
I saw a profile yesterday with 50 recommendations for one position. A tad ridiculous, I felt.
Michelle G.
Multilingual professional specializing in business with Latin America
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I sometimes worry that people will think my profile is "lame" in that I just started so I don't have many connections.
To answer the question though, the 500+ connections is strange to me; can you really have meaningful relationships with so many?
I'm not saying you can't, I guess I'm just speculating that I probably couldn't.
Another curious to me is pictures. Some say my profile picture is too casual but I'm in Industrial Engineering/International Sales; a picture of me in a suit is the same as a photo of me in a bathing suit - inappropriate and irrelevant to my field. But why would someone use a picture of their pet as their avatar?
IDK - maybe a vet or someone otherwise involved with animals?
I try not to judge too much though. Maybe linkedin is like decorating your locker?
Jeff B.
Providing insights, ideas and solutions to help businesses gain and retain clients.
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My .02 is that your summary is the most important part of your LI profile. It's that not compelling, no one will read any further. So, it has to be compelling and present value to the reader. Personally, I find summaries written in the first person to be rather generic and boring. Try not to begin with "I am a _______." Think instead about writing in the third person. and beginning with a grabber that puts your personal differentiator and value up front. ("For 12 years, Jane Smith has built innovative technology platforms resulting in dramatic cost savings for the wideget industry.") Talk less about who you are and more about how your experience has made a difference with the companies you've worked for, whether it's increasing profits, improving efficiency, generating sales, enhancing customer service, or whatever. We may think of LI as being a social network, but, in reality, it's really a personal marketing network, but one that brands you as the product.
Christine H.
Do you have your copy of my FREE Report yet? Get "Top 10 Linked Profile Success Secrets" now at: goo.gl/beKnU
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It's best to have a professional picture and a profile optimized for your keywords that is easy to scan.
Too many recommendations seems to cheapen the value of the recommendations ... and it makes me suspicious. I like a small hint of personality, but I agree that the picture isn't the best way to achieve that. Actually, the newer apps such as books you are reading, etc seems to help with the personalization part.
Heather V.
Tutor, Teacher, FR-EN Translator, Editor and Trivia Writer
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I keep on seeing people who don't bother with capitals on their names or for the names of languages or nationalities. It's rather striking. Unless this is some statement in itself, I see many people who've not bothered with these simple things.
One thing that is rather remarkable is that in the social networking environment in which we live, it's now acceptable to put one's photo on the profile whereas, many Americans were raised never to put a photo, or a date of birth, etc. In Europe this is par for the course however. In France, you know the year of birth, the marital status, the handwritten letter so they can analyze your writing, and how many children you have.
I don't have any formal photos at my disposal, so in the spirit of things, I've put a snapshot on this profile. I am always amazed that more Americans don't find this kind of profile offensive.
Karen E. L.
Currently temping as Administrative Assistant - seeking permanent position.
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Too much/too little... That's the problem. It's difficult to strike a balance.
In general, I favor a little more rather than not enough, as long as it's professional. But do be aware that some things, like apps for blogs, slide shows and documents can sloooooow down the loading of a profile even on a fairly fast connection. If you're not a long-lost friend from my first job, I might not wait around while it loads.
I'm definitely put off by people who show only their present position. Even if you're a recent grad at your first job, show your education and an internship (if you had one) or volunteer work.
Too many recommendations are suspicious. Do 35 people really know you that well?
I like to see some information in skills and interests. A little personal information humanizes a profile, but can be overdone. Tread lightly.
The worst are few or no connections, a picture that is not a person (pets, logos, etc.) or is inappropriate for a business networking site.... and the absolute worst is having a company name or anything that is not a person's name as the name on the profile. It's against the terms of service and I did not come here to network with entities. I want to have a conversation with human beings.
