Eight reasons why your LinkedIn profile isn’t working
Are you wondering what all the fuss is about LinkedIn? Got a profile but never had any enquiries, offers or connections from interesting people?
If you’re a professional today, you know you need to be ‘on’ LinkedIn. But setting up a profile isn’t enough.
If you really want to reap the rewards of a LinkedIn profile, and attract job offers and connections from industry influencers, you need to do more than just half-heartedly create a profile. You need to be active on the site.
Eight reasons why your LinkedIn profile isn’t working
So if your LinkedIn profile isn’t working for you, it’s time to start troubleshooting. And here are eight places you can start.
1) Your profile photo is wrong
Firstly, make sure you have a profile photo. According to these stats, having a LinkedIn photo means your profile is 14 times more likely to get found, and you’re 36 times more likely to receive a message.
But not any old photo. Forget the one of you 10 years ago on holiday. Or the cute one of you with your child. Or even the one where you’re holding a glass of wine. (Yes all these photos have been used on LinkedIn before…) Your photo needs to be professional and appropriate.
2) You haven’t completed your profile
According to this article: “Users with complete Profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn”.
So if you’ve written a bit of a summary and added a couple of roles then got bored, we recommend going back and finishing the job.
At the very least you need to have:
- A profile photo.
- Two or more positions you’ve held, with descriptions of your roles.
- Five or more skills on your profile.
- A summary about yourself.
- Your industry and postal code.
- Where you went to school.
- 50 or more connections.
3) You haven’t added any skills
As you can see from above, skills are important. So much so in fact that profiles with at least skills receive as many as 17 times more profile views. So make sure you can add ‘completing a winning LinkedIn profile’ to your skills.
4) You’re not a member of any LinkedIn groups
It’s not enough just try complete your LinkedIn profile, you need to use it. And that means getting out there and networking so the right people stand a batter chance of seeing it. And LinkedIn groups are the perfect opportunity to do this.
Find groups where industry influencers and employers might be hanging out and contribute usefully. Show off your knowledge nicely and let people come and check out your profile to find out more.
5) You don’t connect with people
Just like any other social media platform, don’t sit back and wait for people to find you on LinkedIn. Start growing your connections by reaching out to people first. Here are five simple ways you can start growing your connections:
- Post daily updates.
- Engage with other people’s updates.
- Make your connection requests personal.
- Add your LinkedIn URL to your email signature.
- Seek out old colleagues and connections on LinkedIn.
6) You don’t ask for recommendations
The more glowing testimonials of your work you have on your profile, the more you’ll impress a potential employer. But again, don’t wait for people to volunteer themselves to write them. Go out and ask them.
7) You don’t use keywords
You’re familiar with the idea of adding keywords to your web copy so Google can find you? Well LinkedIn works in pretty much the same way.
If you want the right people to find you for the right reasons, make sure you use the right keywords to help them – and add them into your profile in the right places.
8) You haven’t checked your privacy settings
The CEO from your dream company may have stumbled across you on LinkedIn and been desperate to get hold of you, but you have no idea. Because your privacy settings mean you don’t accept messages or new connections.
So before you do anything else, just check your privacy settings and make sure your profile is open for business.
Need help mastering LinkedIn? Watch our masterclass
If you need help writing your LinkedIn profile and knowing how to engage on the platform, then watch our LinkedIn Masterclass.
In the hour-long class we’ll teach you how to confidently use LinkedIn to achieve your professional goals. Here’s what you’ll learn:
- The secret to AUTHENTIC success on LinkedIn
- Why you need to work out your 10 LinkedIn keywords before editing your profile
- Two easy ways to work out your keywords
- The six pieces of information people use to judge whether or not to click on your profile
- An easy way to test your LinkedIn headline
- The eight types of keywords that you need to add to your headline
- The five golden rules of the perfect LInkedIn photo
- Five questions you need to answer before writing your LinkedIn summary
- And the four whats it needs to include
- The ideal professional-personal balance you need to strike
- Eight things you need to include in your experience section to wow
- Why your skills section is so important and how to use it properly
- Easy ways to get more skills and recommendations (and the two things you need to do)
- What LinkedIn karma is – and how to get it
- The two reasons why you need to comment more on LinkedIn
- The perfect mix of content you need to share on LinkedIn
- How to use the 80:20 rule
- The secret to writing LinkedIn articles people will love and share
- And what to do if you’re stuck for inspiration
- How often you should post and share on LinkedIn
- 19 ideas to help you promote your LinkedIn profile
After watching this class you’ll be able to confidently and knowledgeably be able to edit your LinkedIn profile for the opportunities and connections you want to attract.
And importantly, you’ll also understand how to properly use the platform to become a high valued member, and get engagement on your content.
“The best online class I’ve done – fantastic value!”
If you’d love to master LinkedIn and confidently start using it to get more opportunities, then make sure you watch this class.
Sign up now and you can watch the class immediately. You also have lifetime access to the class and supporting documents, so you can return to it whenever you need.
As well as a recording of the class you get:
- A copy of the class slides.
- An ebook of the full class notes.
- A quick cheat sheet with 19 ways you can promote your profile.
- Links to resources that answer questions in the class.
This has been one of the most popular classes we have run, and was described by one attendee as “The best online class I’ve done – fantastic value!”
So if you’d love to finally master LinkedIn, and make sure you attract the opportunities your competition are currently snapping up, watch our LinkedIn Masterclass right now.
