1. Top 5 Mistakes Made on LinkedIn
Mary Murcko, Purdue University alumna and current publisher of Self Magazine at Conde Nast,
visited Purdue this spring, and she spoke to students about her career and gave advice about
finding employment. According to Murcko, one tool that employers are using more than ever to
do research on applicants is LinkedIn. She says that some employers, including herself, will not
take a first look at an applicant’s resume if he or she does not have a LinkedIn profile.
However, simply having a LinkedIn profile does not guarantee anything if it is not created well
or used properly. Savvy Intern posted an article by Power Formula with the 10 biggest mistakes
made on LinkedIn. From that list, here are my selected top five.
1. Punctuation and Grammar Mistakes
Remember that you have an online reputation to create or uphold, and LinkedIn is one way that
you contribute to your online reputation. As a result, punctuation and grammar mistakes are
detrimental to your online reputation because they make you appear careless to your viewers. To
reduce the chance of having these sort of mistakes, type what you want to display on your
LinkedIn profile on a Word document, use spell and grammar check, and then copy and paste the
information to your profile.
2. Not Having a Profile Picture
According to the article, a profile picture entices viewers to look at your profile up to 14 times
more than if you do not have a picture. Further, think about your behavior on LinkedIn when you
see a profile without a picture. Most likely, you skip that profile. This is what could happen to
you. For tips on what to avoid with profile pictures click on this video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmNkSiV6AMk
3. Conversations That Should Be Taken Offline
Some people make the mistake of having personal conversations and confidential business
exchanges on LinkedIn. It is more appropriate to have these types of conversations via a
telephone call, email, or regular mail because more than just you can view these conversations.
Remember that LinkedIn is a professional business site, not a social media for personal use like
Facebook, and you should keep all dialogue as professional and respectful as you would in a real
business conversation.
4. Using the Summary Section in Your Profile as a Laundry List of Keywords
While keywords are important to include in your summary, this section should be devoted to
letting your viewers get a sense of you as a person. A list of keywords is not enough to transmit
who you really are to your viewers.
5. Not Having Your Most Important Job in Your Headline
On LinkedIn, your headline follows you everywhere you go. Make your most important position
your headline, adding a little creativity or a “market punch” to it is a plus.
Avoid these top five mistakes and you will have a stellar LinkedIn profile, more connections on
the site, and a higher chance of having your resume viewed by today’s employers.