Having a LinkedIn profile that is up-to-date and current is one of the best ways for a CAPS professional to be found by the public and other professionals so we can serve the public better.
Blending in with the crowd
In classic “Where’s Waldo?” style, our title character is found, often after a rather exhaustive search, hiding in plain sight among dozens of other people and objects. On LinkedIn, the object is to be found, not to make a game of how inconspicuous we can be.
Blending in on LinkedIn is easy – having no profile at all so there is no way to be found by anyone, using an outdated profile that does not give the person trying to make the contact any assurance they have found the right individual, or having nothing special in the profile to connect with readers and stand out from the crowd.
Being noticeable isn’t that hard
On the other hand, being noticeable isn’t that hard. It may take a little more effort, but it’s easy to do.
In no particular order, start with your location. “United States” doesn’t give us much information. Show where you are in case someone wants to find you and connect. LinkedIn sometimes uses your exact place name and sometimes defaults to a larger geographic name close to you. This lets someone know if they are reasonably close to identifying you as the person they are seeking. Yes, there can be more than one person with the same name from the same place, but we have narrowed our search.
Make sure your place name is up-to-date. If the location shown on your profile is out-of-date and not where you are right now (just from last week from a recent move or a place you lived a few years ago), and you do not appear where I might be looking to find you, it doesn’t help either one of us to connect.
Next (some might say this is first), examine your name. Is this how you are known professionally? Your given name, your nickname, or your initials may be the way you brand yourself in the marketplace, or it nay be some other way. Be consistent, and let us find you by how we know you.
Updates are easy to do
You don’t need to hire a consultant to make changes to your LinkedIn profile. Just edit it as you see the need for changes. Start with your current address (city). Check how your name appears. Then, make sure your position reflects what you are doing now. Started something new today? Then, make the update. We may not know what you were doing previously, but we want to connect with the person we just met or read about – at your current position.
LinkedIn is a great platform for making connections and expanding our service base, but we need to be able to find each other as we are currently.