8 Mistakes You May Be Making On LinkedIn
If your LinkedIn profile looks like an exact carbon copy of your resume, stop and and take some notes because 9 times out of 10, your profile isn’t where it needs to be.
If you didn’t know, LinkedIn is the top social network for job recruiting, and most recruiters use it to source and review candidates. There are over 400 million people that have LinkedIn, but only about half are using it to its fullest potential. Sometimes we as LinkedIn users unknowingly make mistakes on our profile that in return can cost us our next interview or job.
Below are 8 common mistakes that I have seen many people make. Remember your LinkedIn profile is a representation of you so treat it with the best care and attention.
1. You and your endorsements are all over the place
There are so many things that we need to let go in 2017, one of which is letting people endorse you for any and everything (and letting it show on your profile). On your profile, you can delete endorsements and you can also rearrange them so that your best endorsements are listed first, and the basic ones are listed last.
When I am reviewing candidates and look at their profile, if Microsoft Word and PowerPoint are the first few endorsements that I see, I immediately roll my eyes. Nowadays everyone is able to use Microsoft Word, so the fact that you know how to use it is not impressive.
2. You put all of your classes on LinkedIn
In school I took so many classes that were literally a waste of time. Although they were “required” for my degree program, I don’t use most of the information learned in my current career. On the same note, every class that you have taken is not important enough to put on your LinkedIn. I know this sounds harsh, but it is true. When you are adding “courses taken” on your LinkedIn profile, only include courses that are critical to the career that you have now (or are seeking). If you are looking for a career in human resources, your recruiter won’t care about the class that you took in Art Design or Music.
3. Your LinkedIn looks like your Instagram selfie
On LinkedIn, I have seen too many professional selfies from both women and men. A professional selfie is a photo of yourself with professional clothes on from the waist up. You may also add a few filters on the photo for special effects and your makeup is slightly on fleek for a nice, subtle look.
I recommend finding a photography student or aspiring photographer and get some nice headshots taken. More than likely the photographer won’t charge you a lot, and you will only need to 1-2 photos.
4. Your verb tense usage is confusing
Similar to your resume, when you are describing your current and past work experience, you need to make sure you are using the correct verb tense. If you are discussing your past work experience, be sure to put your action verbs in past tense, and your current experience in present tense. In addition, your verb usage should be consistent as well. Here are two examples of consistent and inconsistent verb usage
[Tweet "#xoGem: Use the correct verb tense on your LinkedIn profile."]
Inconsistent
- Provided customer service to new and old clients
- Meets area and regional goals
- Marketed brand to community leaders
Consistent
- Manages social media accounts and analyzes data
- Conducts market research on competing brands
- Leads and develops a marketing and branding team
5. You don’t have any data to backup your experience
As the saying goes, women lie, men lie, but numbers don’t; it is the same when it comes down to your LinkedIn or resume. It is always a must to quantify your experience by providing real numbers and data. In return, it will further solidify you as an expert and it will show that you know what you are talking about in regards to your experience.
6. You simply cut and pasted your resume into your profile
On LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to add visuals and links - something that cannot be done with a traditional resume. When you are creating or updating your LinkedIn, don’t just copy and paste your resume into your profile. Take time to provide visuals and a portfolio to your profile. The more visuals and information that you provide, the more appealing your profile will be.
7. You send those “default” messages that look like spam
When I use LinkedIn from my phone, I get notifications when my connections publish a post, get a new job, has a work anniversary, etc. Once I get this notification, I am able to send a pre-designed message to them. This default message is very bland and boring and honestly it looks spam-ish. When you are communicating or connecting with others, take the time out to customize your message. It will appear more genuine and it will give you the opportunity to start a meaningful conversation with your connections.
8. Your LinkedIn url isn’t SEO friendly
For the highest search rankings, simplify your LinkedIn url as much as you can so that when people look for you online, your profile will easily appear. In this article, there is a simple guide on customizing your URL and you can do it in literally one minute. If you use your Twitter or Facebook in a professional manner, you can also customize your LinkedIn url to match your other social media profiles for a higher SEO ranking.
What are some other mistakes that you think you could be making on your LinkedIn? Let us know and we may have an idea on how you can fix it!
Brittani Hunter is a proud PVAMU alumni and the founder of The Mogul Millennial, a business and career platform for Black Millennials. Meet Brittani on Twitter and on the Gram at @BrittaniLHunter and @mogulmillennial.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Stress Awareness Month: Sneaky Workplace Triggers Affecting Black Women, And How To Cope
We all know about the major stress triggers of everyday life, from relationship woes to monthly bills to unexpected emergencies, but there are small, subtle triggers that impact Black women in a big way, especially when it comes to work. It’s good to be aware of these sneaky stressors in order to maximize your day and find ways to incorporate solutions into your self-care routines.
Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
valentinrussanov/Getty Images
How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
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Featured image by Charday Penn/Getty Images