Too busy to tend your LinkedIn presence?
Waiting until you’re in the midst of a job search could be too late.
If you’re like many busy executives, you may have only added your last job, a bit of your education, and no entries in Skills or the About sections. Your Headline may only contain your current job.
Unfortunately, these minimal details will NOT differentiate you from the competition – and could dampen your job prospects.
Read on for key reasons you shouldn’t wait to update your LinkedIn presence:
1 – You could be caught in an unexpected layoff.
If you’re reluctant to change your LinkedIn profile because the boss might find out, change your thinking. For starters, your boss is likely refreshing their profile at the same time – which is why they may be scanning LinkedIn to see what you’re doing.
In How to Secretly Update LinkedIn While You’re Still Employed, you’ll see ways to build a subtle personal brand message that promotes your value, but doesn’t give you away.
If you’re suddenly in need of a new position, you’ll be glad you devoted time to brushing up your profile and you’ll likely gain faster traction with prospective employers.
2 – Employers might already be recruiting your competition.
Even if you’ve provided a current job title that implies multiple promotions, employers can’t distinguish between you and a comparable prospect for an open role.
Your career can look lackluster against that of another candidate who has taken the time to understand, capture, and express their personal brand.
Consider this: you won’t even know if employers are finding new hires with skills nearly identical to yours. Updating your profile could be the key to discovering more opportunities for yourself.
3 – Your LinkedIn profile won’t match your resume.
Most people prepare a resume first before tackling LinkedIn, so when you launch a job search, employers and recruiters will be confused when they see you on social media. Some employers even take a pass if your LinkedIn profile doesn’t align with your resume.
Think about the volume of information on most resumes, such as multiple job titles and dates, in addition to courses, certifications, awards, revenue results, team management, keywords, and professional affiliations. That’s in addition to the accomplishments that distinguish you from others with a similar career.
Now, compare that to your bare-bones digital identity. Employers might even think your LinkedIn profile belongs to another person!
You could even look out-of-date for not having more than the bare minimum of details filled in.
4 – You might find a good opportunity… and then you’ll scramble to make changes.
Updating LinkedIn strategically and thoughtfully takes time. In Why the Worst Time to Update Your LinkedIn Profile is When You’re Looking for a Job or Business Opportunity, Hannah Martin points out that your timing is already late if you’re firing off resumes.
Expressing your personal brand takes more than a few job titles and lines of text. If you haven’t documented your accomplishments (and adjusted them for presentation on LinkedIn), your competition will… and they may do a better job of eliciting interest from recruiters.
Your best bet? Make a date with LinkedIn – NOW.
Make recruiters’ lives easier and do yourself a favor by documenting and leveraging your leadership skills, personal brand, and achievements.
Take notes from A Fast Formula for a Powerful LinkedIn Headline, 22 LinkedIn Tips You’ll Need in 2022, and 3 Reasons to Take Your Current Job Out of Your LinkedIn Headline to aid in your efforts.
Then, continue to update LinkedIn to keep yourself (and your personal brand) ahead of the game.
