This may sound awful, but I hope it makes you think about your LinkedIn Profile a little bit.
Obituaries list the companies and positions the recently departed worked, the charities they were involved in, their interests and hobbies. Often the obituary lists the family members, surviving and otherwise. Obituaries don’t connect the professional development, skills, expertise and experiences from the past positions to the current (or most recent) positions.
Many professional LinkedIn Profiles do the same thing. They list the companies the LinkedIn member worked at, the positions they held, the work they did, their interest, hobbies, groups and associations the member has been involved in. Most LinkedIn profiles have such little information on them I have to wonder if the member actually died before completing the profile.
Few LinkedIn members actually consider their LinkedIn Profile as a publicly accessible document that the viewer looks at in the hopes of discovering your current skills, expertise and value.
If you don’t want your LinkedIn Profile to look like an obituary, use it to tell us more about who you are now, rather than who you were. Think about what you did in the past that helped you become the skilled and experienced professional you are now and tell us about those relevant experiences.
If you look at your LinkedIn Profile and you are not excited about what it says about you, neither will business professionals, recruiters or hiring managers. It takes time to build a Professional LinkedIn Profile, spend the time so that it works for you.
If you need help turning your “obituary” LinkedIn Profile into a Bold & Proud Professional LinkedIn Profile, let’s talk. I’ve done it for myself and hundreds of professional and career transition folks, I can do it for you.
If you want to learn more Networking Skills read my book Networking for Mutual Benefit.
If you want to learn more Social Media Skills read my book Success using Social Media.
If you need coaching on LinkedIn so that you can manage your networks better, consider my LinkedIn Coaching Program.
* This post was written by Career Confidential LinkedIn Expert Teddy Burriss of Burriss Consulting, Inc. Follow Teddy Burriss on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook to learn more about his Social Media Coaching and Career Transition services.