How Would You Rate Your LinkedIn Profile?

I recently asked this question on LinkedIn, “How would you rate your LinkedIn profile?” The choices were, poor, fair, good or very good. I wasn’t referring to completeness based on the LinkedIn scale. I wanted to know how you would rate your profile based on how good or compelling it is.

Would a recruiter, HR professional, or hiring authority be so impressed that they can’t wait to contact you? That is the goal of a LinkedIn profile. Why else would you have one if you are in a job search?

So that is my question to you, “How do you rate your LinkedIn profile?” We would really like to know.

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

Now the really important question, “How would you rate your resume?” Let us know that too. Just simply send us a comment. You can do that at the bottom of this article.

Did you rate them both the same? Most rate their resume good to very good and their LinkedIn profile poor to fair. WHY?

Both of these are marketing documents. That is all a resume is. It is put together to market you. In our best selling job search workbook,“This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” we don’t like to use the word “resume.”  Rather, we prefer to call it your Personal Compelling Marketing Brochure.

Your LinkedIn profile is your online marketing brochure. It must sell you. Your profile can be even more compelling than a resume because of all of the added features LinkedIn allows you to add to your profile. Most are not possible on a resume.

So here is the next set of questions, “How many hours have you dedicated to developing your resume?” My experience is that most candidates spend hours not only developing their resume, but revamping it, changing it, redoing it, updating it, and so on. For many, this is a never ending process.

OK, so then, “How many hours have you dedicated to developing your LinkedIn profile?” We would really like you to be completely honest and answer these questions. Just add your responses to them in the comment box at the bottom.

Still  not convinced about why you need a great and compelling profile on LinkedIn?  Here are some additional reasons that might convince you.

• For my last three placements, all of the candidates came directly from LinkedIn.

• Two clients recently told me they hired mid-level sales people directly from LinkedIn.

• Before posting an open position on a job board, most recruiters go to LinkedIn first.

• I’m currently working on two searches and I found all of the candidates using LinkedIn.

• LinkedIn now has over 45 million users.

• More and more internal recruiters and HR professionals start their searches on LinkedIn.

• Companies can save thousands of dollars searching LinkedIn versus searching resumes on a job board.

Given all of this, would you reply to a job posting with a fair resume? Would you expect a call back from a hiring authority or recruiter if your resume was “fair?”

If your LinkedIn profile isn’t better than your resume, you are leaving a very valuable tool in your tool box. When I’m coaching job seekers, one of the first items we work on is their LinkedIn profile. It is not uncommon that within two weeks of completing the profile makeover for these candidates, that they start receiving inquiries.

So let us hear from you regarding how you responded to these questions. We are really interested.

Don’t know how to build a great profile?

Get a FREE LinkedIn Profile Assessment. To help you build a great LinkedIn job search strategy, we are having a webinar on March 26. This webinar will ensure you not only have a great profile, but in addition, teach  you how to find contacts, how recruiters use LinkedIn, and how to ensure that if someone comes to your profile that you are positioned as the expert.  CLICK HERE to learn more.

Also, Barry and I have had extensive discussions regarding LinkedIn on our weekly radio show that airs every Monday at 11 AM PST at www.latalkradio.com on channel 2. We add all of these recordings to our audio library. These recordings are free for you to listen to or download. CLICK HERE to review our audio library.

Finally, consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are more than 4,4oo members, and a wealth of articles and discussions to help you in your job search. CLICK HERE to join.

Brad Remillard

7 Comments

• 

  By Lyndell Danzie-Black, March 12, 2010 @ 10:38 am

  My resume I rated fair
  My linkedIn profile – good

  Not that I have gotten too many positive feedback from either.
• 

  By Craig Sterling, March 12, 2010 @ 11:04 am

  I couldn’t agree more with you. Linked In is one of the most powerful tools available for job searching and networking. I have come across a few people who have contacted me looking for leads, and I always ask to see their Linked In profile. I am shocked that a couple of them had nothing, or an incomplete profile. One commented that “yeah, I’m not sure I believe in the social networking thing…” I was amazed. Linked In is not the social networking site of Facebook or Twitter or MySpace. It is a valuable tool that helps get business done and connections made. Thank you for the article.
• 

  By bradremillard, March 12, 2010 @ 11:14 am

  Lyndell
  Just a suggestion from my own experiences working with thousands of candidates, may I suggest both are poor.

  I have had many candidates tell their profile was GOOD. I looked at it and at best it was FAIR and incomplete.

  This is not to embarrass or knock you. Please don’t take it that way.
  As they say, “If it ain’t working, change it.”
• 

  By Bruce Bixler, March 12, 2010 @ 5:13 pm

  My 10th version of my resume is good to very good.
  My LinkedIn Profile is beyond very good. I have been contacted by two recruiters and one company directly and I just finished my third interview with the later one waiting for an in person interview.
• 

  By Greg Rawls, March 13, 2010 @ 6:31 pm

  The problem I have with my profile is that it is only applicable to one specific career opportunity. That’s fine for those looking for their next career move, know exactly what their title should be and what industry they wish to serve. However, if you have multiple skill sets and your goal is to find any job for which you qualify in order to pay your bills then LinkedIn is less of an enabler.

  My fear is that, while I am advertising myself on LinkedIn as an IT project manager, I am turning off anyone researching me for a Marketing Ops guy or Development team lead. They receive my job inquiry, go to LinkedIn to find out more about me and then discard me for fear that my “real” interest is IT PM.

  If I try to construct one resume that covers all my options then I come off as vague about who I am and where I want to go; essentially advertising that I am only trying to fill an employment void rather than making a career choice.

  So, your choice may be to leverage LinkedIn if you know exactly where you want your career path to lead. If you don’t, then your LinkedIn profile may do you more harm than you imagine.
• 

  By Anastasia Larvoll, March 23, 2010 @ 1:44 pm

  I believe my Linked in profile is good, but misses some punch lines and specialities. I don’t know how to make those punch-lines!?
  I also don’t know how to make my contacts write recommendations – most of them don’t have recommendations themselves and act lazy..
  I’ve written a couple of rec.s for them, but haven’t got any in reply.

  I believe mu resume is fair, but lacks headlines. I don’t know how to make the headlines without sounding uncritical?
• 

  By Carl Schuett, January 26, 2012 @ 3:35 pm

  I think my profile is good and I’m always working to make it the best it can be.

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