LinkedIn Profile Secrets:

7 Ways LinkedIn is Destroying Your Career

BenFanning.com

Why Most LinkedIn Profiles are a JokeEver noticed how many employees have a LinkedIn Profile packed with powerful action words, big dollar projects, and enormous responsibilities?

But the reality is that all of that means very little...other than the fact they can create a beautiful profile.

It doesn’t mean their profile gets results.

Just putting up a profile that looks like your resume is too easy to do; particularly because it’s incredibly difficult for an employer or connection to validate the information and confirm anything substantial.

Sure you can go “Corporate Vanilla” and create your profile like everyone else but...

• It’s a sure way to get lost amidst the 130 million other LinkedIn users

• It lessens your chances for new opportunities, promotions, and finding the next big thing for your career.

• It can even leave you frustrated and wondering why you ever bothered getting on LinkedIn in the first place.

But the good news is you don’t have to fall into this trap.

I’ve got another way to share with you. You can use the nonsense to your advantage.

BenFanning.com

About the AuthorMy name is Ben, and I’ve been using LinkedIn since 2004.

It’s been a powerful tool for me, and I’ve used it to:

• Land two new job opportunities within Fortune 100 organizations• Launch and support my own business at BenFanning.com as Chief Burnout Office and

Burnout Specialist • Expand my network and stay in touch with over 5,000 connections• Inspire executives daily to reignite their passion for the corner office• Engage with groups on a much more meaningful level

Honestly though for several years, I didn’t understand the point. I just got on LinkedIn because someone else said it was a good idea. Since then I’ve experimented and tested several approaches to understand what works and what can be most helpful with minimal effort.

Then last year I was surprised to learn that I was in the top 1% of online LinkedIn profiles viewed.

Often my coaching clients ask for my help in building a stronger LinkedIn profile that yield better results for new job/promotion opportunities and expanding their network with key industry players.

So I’ve compiled the most common problems, and how to fix them.

Address these career killers on your Profile, and you’ll see the difference.

BenFanning.com

The first tragic mistake most make is over-focusing on your work history.

This is particularly harmful when you include a list job responsibilities that you never liked in the first place.

The reality is that companies, recruiters, and colleagues are most likely to contact you about opportunities regarding the work history that shows up on your profile.

Profiles loaded with only work history generate parallel job opportunities (rarely advancement) and opportunities in areas you’re trying to get away from in the first place.

Instead, focus your LinkedIn profile on what you’d most like to do in the future.

You can be honest about your job history, yet discuss how your previous roles prepared you for this next step.

Create your LinkedIn profile with the next step in mind, and make your profile clear about where you’re headed next.

Do a test by sending your LinkedIn profile to 3 former co-workers. Ask them to read it and to tell you what seems to be the most logical next step for your career.

BenFanning.com

Create Your Profile with the Next Step In Mind

1: MakingYour Profile About Your Past

Most LinkedIn Profile headlines are unoriginal, dull, and even worse -- Unclear.

This is taking the most valuable real estate on your LinkedIn profile and massively underutilizing it.

It’s equivalent to building a one-room shack on Park Avenue (if you remember Monopoly).

Use your 120 characters that LinkedIn allows for your headline for maximum return.

Your headline is what people see first, and it’s what triggers them to click on your profile or move on by.

Rarely do I ever recommend using your current job title. They just aren’t compelling.

Try these two options to make your headline more attractive:

•Write down your 1-2 most significant achievements. Select the most empowering words and the work them into a headline

•Use 5-10 words that tell how you make people and organizations better

After you’ve got your top 3, select a few colleagues for some feedback and see which generates the most enthusiasm.

BenFanning.com

A boring headline is like putting a one-room shack on Park Avenue.

2:Being Boring or Worse...

3: Focusing in the Wrong PlaceMost employees work on their profile, they obsess about lining up their work years, getting their exact job titles correct, and filling in all their roles and responsibilities.

This is a time trap is a misallocation of energy and effort.

Spend 80% of your time on LinkedIn on your headline and summary.

Your headline and summary are the equivalent of your resume cover letters and that’s where the biggest impact can be.

It’s your place to be most specific about your next step.

This is what people read first and ultimately what will hook them to even read as far as your work history.

Plus the LinkedIn search engine heavily weight these areas of your profile for searches.

BenFanning.com

80% of your LinkedIn time should be focused on your prime real estate - Headline and Summary.

4: Not Speaking to Your AudienceOn LinkedIn if you’re writing your profile for everyone, then you’re likely reaching no one.

It’s critical to think from the audience’s perspective. Once you understand your audience you can hone your profile in a targeted way that will resonate and create interest.

Your primary audience probably falls into one of these categories:

1.Recruiters and Potential Employers - if you’re looking for new job

2.Industry Leaders/Colleagues - if you’re looking to expand your network for future career possibilities and collaborations

3.Customers - if you’re looking to attract new clients

Narrow down your audience to one of these groups and then ask:

•What’s keeping your target audience up at night?

•What key players or solutions are they seeking?

•What words are they searching for on LinkedIn?

Take the answers to these questions to help target your profile even further.

BenFanning.com

If your profile is for everyone, then you’re reaching no one.

5: Not Introducing Personality Sure, you can make your headline specific and targeted for your audience for example “process improvement specialist with a Six Sigma black belt,” but it’s incomplete.

It says nothing about you as a person, and doesn’t make me think, “Hey, they would be great to work with.”

Targeting your profile to your audience will draw potential employers and colleagues to your profile, but it won’t necessarily move them to contact you.

It’s essential that you inject some flair and enthusiasm to connect to them an emotional level.

Try including:

•Your personal mission

•Why you’re passionate about it

•Your best success and maybe even a failure and what you learned from both

BenFanning.com

Does your profile get the reaction “Hey, they’d be great to work with.”

6: Leaving Your Profile UntendedIt’s not a good idea to create your LinkedIn profile and then just ignore it for years.

It’s really not even enough to just make the occasional work history update.

It may seem strange but it’s important to test the impact of your profile.

Results come from trying different headlines and summaries and seeing which ones attracts the most response.

It’s helpful to think about your LinkedIn profile as a work in progress because:

•LinkedIn is constantly updating their formatting and search criteria

•The workplace is changing, thus the words that recruiters and companies are searching for change frequently

•Your own career mission evolves over time

You can start by making a few changes, then tracking the impact under the number of views and searches under your LinkedIn sidebar.

BenFanning.com

Your Profile is a Process, not a Final Destination.

7: Not Openly ConnectingThe most powerful element of LinkedIn is connecting.

Before LinkedIn, it could take weeks to identify common ground or a common connection, now’s it’s really easy.

If you heavily screen your LinkedIn invitations and don’t invite others to connect, then you’re missing out on a major opportunity in your career.

The larger the LinkedIn network you have, the larger the network you can tap into for recommendations, career opportunities, and collaborators.

The biggest benefit of LinkedIn is that you can contact anyone that you have a direct connection with, and you can request an introduction from anyone you have a mutual acquaintance with.

LinkedIn in even goes as far to show you, which contacts and groups you have in common.

Not accepting invitations is fine but shift your mindset to “why you shouldn’t accept the invitation” and avoid “why you should”.

BenFanning.com

Shift Your Mindset to “Why Shouldn’t You Accept their Invitation” versus “Why Should You”

BenFanning.com

This is Just the BeginningHaving a job and ultimately a career you love is a journey.

LinkedIn is just one tool to help along the way.

You can take the first step to reignite your career.

Start Here:

Schedule a complementary 30-min call with me and get a tailored 3-step action plan for creating a LinkedIn Profile that gets results by clicking here or just email me at Ben@BenFanning.com

This quick fire session is designed to be quick, convenient, and confidential.

- Ben

Thanks for Reading

I would love to hear what you learned about this report.

Please take a minute and send me a message on:

LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

of

Ben@BenFanning.com

BenFanning.com