The LinkedIn Hall of Shame

During a Friday afternoon conversation amongst some of the team, we got talking about common LinkedIn faux pas…

…So, without further ado, allow us to

present our LinkedIn Hall of Shame – featuring the eight profile

types to avoid at your peril!

DISCLAIMER:

These people are not real, nor are any of them based on a particular person. They are all completely fictional,

and have been created for your entertainment (and education) only!

Exhibit A

But did you notice any of the hard work she’s put in to cultivating her professionalpersona? Very unlikely, as we bet you’re still transfixed on that pout in the top left-hand corner!

Unfortunately this profile picture does not reflect well on Olivia as a professionalbusiness woman. Unless, of course, she’s applying for Britain’s Next Top Model, we’dsuggest saving the selfies for Instagram. A smiley but smart corporate headshotwould be far more suitable for LinkedIn. And believe us, we’ve seen a lot worseoffenders than this on genuine profiles, some of which wouldn’t look out of place onthe page of a glamour magazine!

Let’s kick off with OliviaAnderson. Olivia’s actually notdoing too badly when it comes toher profile – she’s filled in all therelevant sections, provided apretty comprehensive summaryof her work experience andskills, and is sharing news articleswhich interest her via statusupdates.

In fact, even multiple readings of this page shed little light on the question. Max isblinding us with social science and, like his pal Stefano, it’s doing nothing for hiscredibility (or likeability).

While we must applaud Max for his enthusiasm, when it comes to LinkedInsometimes less is more. It’s not the right outlet for live event updates, nor sharing adozen articles a day. Think quality, not quantity. And, like Olivia, we’ve seen worseoffenders than this in the real world.

Exhibit B

Wow, Max Tunbridge, that’s quitea profile you have there. Youcertainly are a social media forceto be reckoned with! We’ll besure to get in touch whenever weneed a…wait, what is it you doagain?

Douglas would be far better off saving the family photo album for Facebook, whereno doubt he has a whole gang of friends and fellow Nottingham Forrest fans justdying to see the latest snaps of him and Holly, or read that hilarious anecdote fromhis trip to the park.

Sorry, Douglas, but we’d hazard a guess that when it comes to your colleagues andcustomers, it’s a case of TMI.

Exhibit C

As you can see from his profilepicture, Douglas Fir’s a familyman. But cute as his chosen shotmay be, is it really suitable for aprofessional network? Sadly, noit’s not.

As a recent graduate, it’s understandable that Phoebe doesn’t have a huge amountof work experience to share. However, all those typos and grammatical errors areunforgivable, and give entirely the wrong impression – and we won’t even go therewith that photo…

If she wants to be taken seriously by prospective employers, Phoebe needs to eithertidy up her profile considerably or remove it altogether until she has somethingvaluable to share.

A quick look at

Phoebe Hampton-Jones’s profile suggests that a) she doesn’t really understand LinkedIn, and b) she doesn’t really care.

Exhibit D

Sadly, in this case the only thing Stefano is achieving from his profile is makinghimself come across completelyunpersonable. Mr “SALES, SALES AND MORE SALES”needs to tone it down a notch and include some actual, tangible work experience ifhe wants to be remotely credible.

And again, that photo just isn’t doing it for us. Full marks for the smart attire, minus100 for the thumbs up, another 100 deducted for the prop. Both unnecessary.

Next up, we have StefanoFerraro. The saying goes that“people buy from people” –which in theory makesLinkedIn an invaluable tool forour resident “sales guru”Stefano.

Exhibit E

And although the hashtag does seem to be creeping inevitably into everyday syntax, we’re yet to see the value of including them in your work experience description –though there may be a place for them in a timely LinkedIn status update, when used correctly.

Also, have another go at @-mentioning people, as that too seems to have #failed.

Where do we start withour next chap, AlexanderDrayton? Well done fortrying, Alexander, but wethink you could do withrevisiting your profile set-up. Turning your photothe right way up would bea good start.

Exhibit F

From the public requests for recommendations, to the vast number of recruitmentfirms she is following, something tells me Janet is not in a committed workingrelationship with Drains United.

Although LinkedIn is a valuable tool for recruiters and job seekers alike, publiclyseeking your next position while still working for your current employer sends out anumber of messages – and unluckily for Janet, ‘loyal professional’ is not one ofthem.

Janet Roberts appears to be on LinkedIn for one reason, and one reason alone: job hunting.

Exhibit G

It’s likely Mary’s just a very busy lady who hasn’t quite got round to finishing it –which is a shame, as we bet she’s got mountains of experience and insight to share, plus a whole heap of professional contacts to boot.

It wouldn’t take Mary long to update her experience and add a nice headshot so her contacts can identify and connect with her, while just a couple of minutes a day could be set aside to log in and share her – no doubt very interesting and incisive –thoughts on that news article, or Dynamic Systems’ latest announcement.

This brings us, last but not least,to Mary Smythe. Looks like Maryhas got about five minutes intocreating her profile, and not muchfurther.

Exhibit H

While LinkedIn has come a long way from its initialinception as a recruitment tool/online CV it is still anetwork for people.

As LinkedIn’s Henry Clifford-Jones highlighted in ourevent, the average LinkedIn member is 12 times morelikely to see top tech brands through an employee’sprofile page than through the company page.

Your profile is your own, very public, representation ofyour brand – both that of your company and that of yourown, personal brand.

So take pride in it.