15 LinkedIn mistakes that are easy to fix

Are you making serious errors on your LinkedIn without even knowing it? Here are common mistakes and what you can do to fix them.

This headline is too vague. It should feature job titles. 

Here are the top 15 LinkedIn mistakes and what you can do about them:

MISTAKE 1: Using a vague profile headline plus ineffective job titles in your Experience section. Such mistakes can ruin your chances of recruiters finding you for the jobs that you want. TheFix

MISTAKE 2: Stating that you are a volunteer in your current “job”. The Fix: Don’t tell people you will work for free … they’ll take you up on the offer! Put your volunteer efforts in the Volunteer Experience & Causes section instead of in your Experience section.

MISTAKE 3: Not listing a current position when you are job seeking – Big mistake! The Fix: Cover the gap from your last job until now with a "current" position where you explain the job duties that you can do (Example: "- Able to leap tall building in a single bound.") Fill the job title box with the job titles that you want. Make the company name something like “Available”.

MISTAKE 4: Adding just your job titles and not your job duties. The Fix: Copy / paste the job duties from your resume into your LinkedIn work experience section. Listing your duties helps you show up higher in LinkedIn search results and provides proof to recruiters that you have relevant experience.

You will get about 6x more profile visitors and 7x more invitations to connect if you include your photo.

MISTAKE 5: Not featuring your photo on your profile. TheFix

Include a summary section on your profile. Also bulk up your Experience section with job duties.

MISTAKE 6: Not including a summary. The Fix: Use the 2,000 characters available in the Summary section to welcome people to your profile and to explain why you are uniquely qualified for whatever it is you do. Include a list of specialties.

MISTAKE 7: Having a too-tiny network. Do you have less than 100 connections? You look like you have few friends and/or are bad at LinkedIn. The Fix: Let LinkedIn search your email list and invite friends to connect. Do so by clicking Network and then Add Connections. Also invite former coworkers and networking acquaintances. Get even gutsier and invite beneficial strangers to connect. Here’show.

MISTAKE 8: Not linking your companies to their LinkedIn company page in your Experience section so that their logos will show. The Fix: Go to Edit Profile and then scroll to one of your past positions. Click “Change Company”. Start typing the name of the company until the system recognizes the company name. Select the company from the list. Not all companies are listed on LinkedIn and not all listed companies have a logo, but many do. Featuring the logo looks impressive on your profile, plus people can click the logo to visit the organization's LinkedIn company page.

Leave your months on “Choose” if leaving off your months makes it look like your worked for an employer longer. 

MISTAKE 9: Not optimizing your dates of employment. The Fix: Remove the months from your employment dates when doing so will fill in gaps. For example, if you left a job in January 2013, leave the month box on “Choose”, instead of selecting a month and it will look like you were at the company for the whole year.  

Leave the “Dates Attended” boxes on the hyphens to hide when you attended college.

MISTAKE 10: Not removing your college dates. Listing your college years can be an instant age giveaway!  The Fix: Leave the "Dates Attended" boxes on the hyphens instead of choosing a year.

MISTAKE 11: Not getting written recommendations. The Fix: Recommend others and then ask them to respond in kind. Request recommendations from past coworkers, vendors, partners, or classmates by going to your Edit Profile page and then scrolling to the Recommendations section. Click on the pencil icon. On the right margin, click “Ask to be recommended” and then follow the prompts to ask select people to recommend you. Email them your resume to make it easy for them to write about you.

MISTAKE 12: Not accepting skills endorsements. The Fix: List up to 50 skills on your profile and then visit connections’ profiles and endorse their skills by scrolling to the Skills and Endorsements section and clicking the gray + (plus sign) next to each skill. Many people will return the favor, particularly if you ask them to and if you explain precisely how to find and endorse your skills on your profile.

MISTAKE 13: Not using bullets to break up long blocks of copy in your profile. TheFix

MISTAKE 14: Not following relevant companies. TheFix and not joining relevant groups. TheFix

Add sections to your profile so that you can include impressive information about your background.

MISTAKE 15: Not benefiting from free add-on sections. The Fix: Find sections to add like Honors & Awards, Volunteer Experience & Causes, and Projects. You can find them on the right margin of your Edit Profile page.

Bonus Tip: Change your LinkedIn public profile address to look like a pro. The Fix

Fixing these common mistakes on LinkedIn can improve your job prospects. So get busy and improve your LinkedIn presence! Doing so can help you … Get a Job!

What other mistakes do people make on LinkedIn? Share your thoughts. Also share this article with people who it could help. Thanks, Kathy

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