Like it or hate it, LinkedIn has a strong presence online and profiles come up high in searches. This can be a positive or a negative, depending on what your profile looks like.

But one thing is certain. You are being judged on your profile – both as a person and a business. Many people use LinkedIn as a digital voyeur – checking out profiles of people, researching potential suppliers, looking for candidates for roles, searching for business partners or keynote speakers.

So, the question is “does your LinkedIn profile make you unhirable?”

The answer might yes!

I just have to do a quick search to see the number of profiles that are not complete, are lacking in real details, tell me nothing about the person or company, aren’t optimise to be found, and do nothing to make me want to interact with you, let alone hire you.

Ask yourself these questions?

• Is my profile picture current (not when you were younger and 10kg lighter)?
• Is your profile picture professional? Photos of your wedding, your kids, you partying or playing footy are not suited to LinkedIn. Keep them on Facebook
• Do you have a branded header image and does it tell me about the problems you solve?
• Do you have details about your current role, how you help your clients, results, and ways they can connect with you?
• Do you have a summary section that shares your years of experience, how you work with others, where your expertise lies, and the results you’ve achieved?
• Do you have recommendations from people you have worked with?
• Does it look like every other unfinished profile or do you look like a leader in your field?
• Can I see quickly what services you offer and what your area of expertise is?
• Does it tell me how to work with you?
• If you were a potential employer, recruiter, or client, would you hire you?

Your LinkedIn profile is like another website for your business. Whilst you don’t own your LinkedIn profile (LinkedIn do), you are renting this valuable piece of real estate so should make the most of it. Just like a house you want to get the best sale price and return on investment for it, and that is what your LinkedIn profile can do for you personally and your business.

Take an objective look at your profile and give yourself a score out of 10 based on the above questions. Anything below an 8 means there is room for improvement and you are missing an opportunity.

It always amazing how many professionals neglect their profile then expect to gain work from it. The first place I go after a website is a person’s LinkedIn profile. It tells me straight away if I want to work with you. It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer, account, recruiter, IT person, CEO, or tradesman. If your profile looks neglected, I won’t be lining up to hire or work with you.

If you think your LinkedIn Profile Making You Unhirable (as a person or a business) then let’s talk about how I can help make your Linkedin profile sparkle.