Top 10 Ways to People Misuse LinkedIn

I was looking through some accounts on LinkedIn and found important information missing. This article tries to look at what people do not but should know when creating an account on the Social Network.

1. Keywords

All those who have an account with LinkedIn should provide a thorough keyword-optimized summary. Linkedin’s internal search is setup for employers to search candidates with similar skills and backgrounds. Many employees just provide an account with basic info and no keywords.

2. Job Postings

It should be obvious but for some it is not. Job postings do not belong in discussion boards. The whole purpose of Linkedin is not for people to get jobs from discussions. It is for people to connect and build their networks. Craigslist is more appropriate for job postings on discussion boards.

3. Link Twitter with Linkedin

This is a big no-no. People really do not think when they do these things. There are some things on Twitter that should not be posted on Linkedin. The bad and the good that is posted on Twitter may show up on Linkedin once you join accounts.

4. No Network

Many individuals do connect. They think Linkedin is like Facebook. You can invite as many friends as you want. The only thing they are missing here is the networks. They are not viewing second and third degree connections.

5. Picture

I personally would add a picture. This would set you apart from all other people with the same name. There is always a face to every description.

6. Not Appealing Status

This again is not Facebook and Twitter. Make sure your statuses are appealing and are relevant to profiles. People forget, especially when Twitter automatically changes statuses on Linkedin.

7. Recommendations

Your profile is not complete without 3 recommendations. Employers will have a hard time finding your or hiring you if your profile is not complete.

8. Headlines not properly done

These headlines appear beside your name on search engines. They are the ones that sell you and not your name. No good headline = no good offers.

9. Not many Connections

Connections bring networks. The site is a social networking site. Many just add only 1 connection or sometimes 2.

10. Lie

People do lie on Linkedin, despite the fact that company profiles can be viewed on the account. If one lies, this is the place they can get caught.