5. Managing and Updating Your Profile
In this chapter, you find out how to maintain a solid presence on LinkedIn by updating your profile consistently and sharing strategic updates with your network, including:
Keeping active is critical to your success on LinkedIn. Creating your initial profile might be a one-time task, but you need to update it regularly to let others know you’re an active participant on LinkedIn. In addition to updating your actual profile, LinkedIn enables you to post frequent status updates to inform your network about your activities and accomplishments.
Maintaining an Updated Profile
Even if you create a thorough profile when you first sign up for LinkedIn, you need to update it regularly with new content. For example, you should update your LinkedIn profile whenever your employment status changes, you receive a degree or certification, win an award, learn a new skill, start a new business, achieve a career milestone, or change your LinkedIn goals.
Update Your Profile
You update your profile on the Edit Profile page. This is where you first created your profile, so you should already be familiar with its content. For a reminder of how to enter profile content, see Chapter 2, “Creating Your LinkedIn Profile.”
1. Select Edit Profile from the Profile drop-down menu.
2. Click the Edit link next to the content you want to update. In this example, you edit a position.
3. Edit your selected content.
4. Click the Save button.
5. Click the Done Editing button.
Updating Other Content
Although the Edit link is the most common way to edit profile content, you can also pause your mouse over the media icon to insert or upload media content or click a descriptive link such as Add a Position or Add Education. See Chapter 2 for more details about adding content to your LinkedIn profile, including media content.
>>>Go Further: Understanding Where LinkedIn Displays Your Profile Updates
• On your home page.
• On your connections’ home pages. This occurs only if you turned on activity broadcasts on the Profile tab of the Account & Settings page and if your connections haven’t removed profile changes from their home pages on the Account tab of the Account & Settings page.
• In your connections’ email updates. This occurs only for new positions and only if your connections opted to receive network updates via email on the Communications tab of the Account & Settings page. LinkedIn doesn’t email your connections about minor profile changes.
Sharing Updates
LinkedIn enables you to share important news with other LinkedIn members in the Share an Update box on your home page or your profile. You can share a basic text update of up to 600 characters; a link title, description, and optional photo; and an external file you attach.
1. Type your update in the Share an Update box.
2. Select who you want to share with: everyone on LinkedIn, everyone on LinkedIn and Twitter, or only your connections.
3. Click the Share button.
Mention People and Companies
Optionally, you can mention your connections or companies with a LinkedIn Company Page in your LinkedIn updates. To do so, type @ and then the person or company name. LinkedIn helps you by displaying a list of potential matches as you type. When you mention a person or company, this name becomes a link that others can preview or click.
Share a Link
You can share a link on your home page or profile. For example, you could share your latest blog post or an interesting article you read on the Web.
1. Enter your link in the Share an Update box along with any text you want to include.
2. Click the title or description box to make any changes.
3. The Show Image check box is selected by default. Remove this check mark if you don’t want to include a photo.
Selecting an Image
Some content you link to could have more than one image option. To change from the default image, click the arrows below it to view alternative selections. LinkedIn searches for any images on the page you’re sharing and offers them as options.
4. Select who you want to share with: everyone on LinkedIn, everyone on LinkedIn and Twitter, or only your connections.
5. Click the Share button.
Share an Attached File
You can share a file with your LinkedIn network on your home page or profile. For example, you could share an image, Word file, presentation, or PDF stored on your computer or another network location.
1. Type your update in the Share an Update box.
2. Click the Attach a File icon.
3. Select your file.
4. Click the Open button. Depending on your browser and operating system, this button might have a different name.
5. Select who you want to share with: everyone on LinkedIn, everyone on LinkedIn and Twitter, or only your connections.
Renaming a Title and Description
If you attach a file that includes a title and description, such as a Word document or PDF, you can edit this data.
6. Click the Share button.
>>>Go Further: Understanding Where LinkedIn Displays Your Shared Updates
• On your home page.
• On your connections’ home pages. This occurs only if you turned on activity broadcasts on the Profile tab of the Account & Settings page and if your connections haven’t removed updates from their home pages on the Account tab of the Account & Settings page.
• In the Activity section of your own Edit Profile page, just below your name and headline.
• In the Activity section of your profile page (the one other LinkedIn members see), just below your name and headline. This occurs only if you enabled others to view your activity feed on the Profile tab of the Account & Settings page.
Delete an Update on Your Home Page
Although you can delete updates from the Activity section of your profile, you can also delete updates on your home page.
Delete Versus Hide
Be aware that you can delete only your own updates. If you no longer want to see updates from a connection, pause your mouse over one of this person’s updates and click the Hide link.
1. If you aren’t already on your home page, click the Home link.
2. If your update isn’t visible on the home page, select Your Updates from the All Updates drop-down list.
3. Pause your mouse over your update and click the Delete link.
4. Click the Delete button in the confirmation dialog box.
>>>Go Further: Understanding How Your Network Can Respond to Your Update
• Show their support for your update by clicking the Like link. Your number of likes displays in parentheses after the Like link.
• Add a comment by clicking the Comment link below your update. If your connections have entered comments about your update, you see a link beneath your posted update on your home page and on your profile. The number of comments you have is displayed in parentheses after the Comments link—for example, Comments (2). Click this link to view your comments and add your own feedback to the discussion.
• Share your update with their connections or fellow group members or in updates of their own by clicking the Share link.
