LinkedIn profile killers lurk everywhere.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know the warning signs.

The LinkedIn profile killers seem rather mundane, but have a calculated effect on how you are perceived by not just employers, but potential business connectors or partners.

Do you have one of these LinkedIn profile killers?

No information.

I see a lot of profiles that don’t have any information – no photo, no information underneath each employer, no groups, no education, etc.

When you simply slap up a profile and then walk away, you can’t expect an employer to stick around, either.

When your profile has no information, it actually says a lot about you, too.

It clearly states that you don’t spend a lot of time networking, and it’s not important to you.

Successful people avoid LinkedIn profile killers like no information because they know that networking is part of the ground game it takes to get noticed, attract opportunities, and build connections.

“Seeking Employment / Unemployed”

If this is in your headline, this is one of the dreaded LinkedIn profile killers.

Screaming this headline is not a career goal. It’s a status. And it drives people away.

Why not, instead, put “(TARGET JOB TITLE) ready to help your company save money!”

Much stronger. More effective. More interesting and compelling.

No call to action

One of the biggest LinkedIn profile killers is failing to include a call to action in your summary section.

What do you want someone to do when they are done reading your profile? How and why do you want them to reach out to you?

A call to action can mean asking someone to feel free to connect, or contact you about business opportunities.

Don’t end on a flat note. Get the reader ready to act with a call to action.

Regurgitating your resume

Many people make the critical mistake of pasting their resume into this platform.

This becomes another LinkedIn profile killer because it’s not telling a prospective employer anything new.

LinkedIn is social media, and social media is, well, social.

So, you absolutely need to provide some insights into what makes you tick.

Some tricks include talking about how you got into your field, what lights your fire, and what you love about your industry.

This can provide a potential employer a little bit about your potential culture fit.

Listing tasks only

Along with not posting your resume content, you don’t want to list all of your job responsibilities.

Yawn!

Try to include information about your biggest on-the-job wins so it conveys that you are a person of action and gets stuff done!

Keyword fail

Not only does LinkedIn have its own search engines, but Google also indexes your profile.

You goal here is to make sure to surround yourself with all the keywords you want to be known for – so that means including keywords in your SKILLS, SUMMARY, and WORK EXPERIENCE sections.

By creating a cloud of keywords that are associated with your profile, you end up becoming more FINDABLE.

Not making your profile robust

Fill out each section completely to avoid one of the biggest LinkedIn profile killers.

That includes posting a short blurb about membership organizations to which you belong, or employers or schools.

Having information about those organizations can also add to your keyword count as well!

Low number of connections

Don’t have a good number of connections?

This can cause people to draw conclusions (true or not) that you aren’t really relevant in your field.

Just remember that you want to make meaningful connections, not just notches on your LinkedIn belt.

But a good number to have is 500 connections.

Make sure you write a customized note to each person, detailing out why you want to connect, so it doesn’t seem like you are just sitting online connecting to folks to add numbers to your count.

No recent activity

No activity is akin to the lights being on and no one being home.

Posting and interacting on a regular basis on LinkedIn conveys someone who is actively engaged within this platform and their industry.

And guess what? Employers and potential leads LIKE this.

So make sure you avoid these LinkedIn profile killers to keep yourself relevant and findable!