6 LinkedIn Mistakes You Can Fix - 2016 Winter Spectrum

6 Mistakes You Can Fix in 6 Minutes!By Charlene Rhinehart Are you ready to brand yourself as an industry expert and build your online credibility? Do you want to maximize your time on LinkedIn to attract prospective clients or employers? Are you ready to enhance your digital footprint so that your profile appears in top keyword search results? Since LinkedIn has become the number one business-based social networking tool — more than 400 million users today — you have an opportunity to bring eager eyes to your qualifications and connect with a universe of professionals who are looking for the skills that you possess. Here are the most important questions that you should be asking yourself: • Is your LinkedIn profile viewer-worthy? • Does your professional description provide “bait” for your target audience? • Can your page attract your chosen demographic? If you want to transform your LinkedIn profile from invisible to irresistible, you have to spend more time enhancing your brand and spend less time duplicating everything on your resume. LinkedIn is not a resume, nor is it for idle usage. It’s a social media tool you can use to build a powerful network of business connections. Are you using LinkedIn to its full potential, or are you allowing valuable opportunities to slip away? If you are ready to start your LinkedIn makeover, here are six LinkedIn mistakes that you can fix in six minutes. Charlene Rhinehart, CPA, CFE, PMP Charlene Rhinehart is a Contributing Writer at Huffington Post and Addicted2Success.com. After winning the title of Ms. Corporate America 2015 in a business pageant held in Orlando, FL, Charlene founded CEO Unlimited LLC in order to help professionals create endless opportunities in their career. She is also the founder of The Career Goddess Academy at www.careergoddessacademy.com, where she helps millennials create career success and a lifestyle they love. Charlene recently completed a six-month world tour with Up with People. She traveled to cities in the USA,Mexico, Bermuda, and Europe, where she had the chance to network with influential leaders from all over the world and deliver over100 hours of service by volunteering at community organizations and performing in a weekly two-hour show.24 SPECTRUM | WINTER 2016

Are you guilty of making any of these LinkedIn mistakes?Log in to your LinkedIn account and upgrade your profile today.1 YOUR IDENTITY IS UNAVAILABLE. 4 YOU NEGLECT THE RELATIONSHIP TAB. Are you hiding from the FBI? That’s what people Do you remember every person that you meet may assume if you neglect to add a photo to your at networking events? Will you remember the LinkedIn profile. powerful conversation that you had with them two years from now? Think about it. Would you go to a networking event dressed in your sweaty gym attire? Of course not! Why? Don’t feel bad if your memory is not up to par. The LinkedIn You want to make a good first impression. Relationship tab solves all of your memory challenges! Every time you connect with someone new on LinkedIn, you should Your LinkedIn photo is the gateway to other professional get into the habit of putting information in the \"Relationship\" opportunities. Don’t miss out on your next opportunity tab that will appear when you click on their profile. by having a mysterious identity on LinkedIn. In this section, you can add notes that’ll remind you2 YOUR URL LOOKS LIKE A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. about conversations that you had or how you met the What do those numbers at the end of your person. There are even reminders to reach out to them LinkedIn URL represent? If you don’t know, then it again in a week, a month, or on a recurring cycle. Add should not be included in your URL. anything you want to the Relationship tab. You are the only one who will see these notes. This is your chance to create a unique LinkedIn URL that can be added to your business cards and email signature. 5 YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MISSING. Your LinkedIn assigned URL appears under your profile It’s great when you present a compelling story to the picture. world about yourself, but it speaks volumes about your work when third parties recommend you. To customize your LinkedIn URL, press the \"Edit Profile\" button. Click the gear symbol next to your URL, which Validate your LinkedIn profile by receiving recommen- will take you to a separate page where a \"Your public dations. If you claim you are a high-performing financial profile URL\" box will let you change the link. analyst, it better be validated by stellar recommendations from your supervisors and peers, who mention that Most people use their first and last names as their unique expertise of yours when they recommend you on LinkedIn. URL. If you have a common name, use differentiators that would not question your professionalism. That means no Have a strategic plan for your recommendations. Approach “xXx” or “420”! different people and suggest different experiences and traits that you would like them to focus on when writing your rec-3 YOU ARE A LINKEDIN LONER. ommendation. This will help you to present a well-rounded LinkedIn is a professional NETWORK. Your goal view of your capabilities. is to use your network in order to build your professional NETWORTH. 6 YOU ARE A LINKEDIN GHOST. How often do you update your LinkedIn profile? It’s important to engage with your network. You can’t Do you comment on others’ posts? Do you share use your introverted nature or shyness as an excuse on valuable information with your network? What LinkedIn. Sorry! There are many ways to engage with your are you doing to demonstrate that you are network without directly reaching out to individuals. plugged-into what’s going on in your industry? Under the \"Connections\" tab, LinkedIn makes it easy to find Never underestimate the power of your LinkedIn profile. little ways to connect with people in your network. You can People use LinkedIn to recruit employees, identify their congratulate someone on a work anniversary, new job, or next guest speaker, and create profitable partnerships. An recent accomplishment. Take advantage of that! active profile can be your ticket to a myriad of professional opportunities! ▲ WINTER 2016 | SPECTRUM 25