Pay Attention to Your LinkedIn Settings

I enjoy tinkering with myLinkedIn profile. Apparently, so do many others. I know this because I receive daily email messages telling me that so-and-so updated his/her LinkedIn profile. Many of these update messages include “news” such as this:

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• Joe added a new job. (Actually, it is the job he has had all along but he changed the job title.)
• Judy changed her headline. (There was nothing wrong with the old headline, she just thought it was time for a change.)
• Jack added new skills. (He only included 10 in his profile and recently learned that he can include up to 50.)
• Jane changed her photo. (Finally! That bridesmaid dress never was all that flattering.)

Before you start “tinkering” with your LinkedIn profile…

I love reading news from my colleagues and clients, but I prefer something with a little more substance. Before you start “tinkering” with your LinkedIn profile (or hiring a professional to enhance your profile), please take a minute to do the following:

• From the drop-down menu next to your name on the right side of the Home page, choose Settings.
• On the bottom left of the Settings page is a column titled Privacy Controls. Immediately under that heading is a hyperlink that reads “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.”
• Click on the activity broadcasts link and a dialog box will open giving you an option to choose who will see your activity updates.
• If the box is checked to “Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies,” uncheck it.

When you are finished tinkering, go back and recheck the box. It’s that simple! While there, it is a good idea to also take a look at the setting for “Select who can see your activity feed.” This is another Privacy Controls feature that gives you four options to choose from: Everyone, Your network, Your connections, and Only you. But before you choose, consider this: One of the main reasons to be on LinkedIn is to create and sustain “top of mind awareness” throughout the LinkedIn community.

Include something of value in all of your activity broadcasts.

If I have something important or interesting to share, I want everyone to receive it. My recommendation is this to include something of value in all of your activity broadcasts – then share them with everyone!

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