Imagine the following scenario
You develop a great deck, you have your pitch script ready and you and your team are hanging by the phone (or refreshing your inbox obsessively) to hear back from a VC firm.
What you forget to remember is that your LinkedIn bio reads as follows:
Previously- Trainee at [well-known company]
Currently- Founder at [something without a logo] or worse no company page on Linkedin.
The call never comes. And you wonder why?
More often than not, the founding team’s linkedin profile, can make or break the deal for you.
So what are the rookie mistakes you can make with your linkedin profile?
In my experience, although it does feel great to introduce yourself as a founder/ entrepreneur, but it only counts for something, when you have a solid linkedin profile to show for it. (both the company and your individual profile).
Here are a few common mistakes that founders make for both company and personal profiles.
- Lack of company profile– there’s no point in adding your company name in your profile, if it doesn’t exist on linkedin. It gives the wrong impression that you don’t want to be “found”.
Strategic Move: There’s no way around this. A company profile cannot be substituted for. It can be basic in nature, but should provide all relevant information about the company.
- Only employee on the company profile is you: You went through the process of creating a company profile, but if it shows only you as the sole employee, it can generate a red flag. If it may so happen that the rest of your team is NOT present on linkedin, you can show the company’s visibility through its followers.
Strategic Move: If you can’t get all your employees to be present on linkedin, make some noise through your followers, the content you share and the relevant industry connects to follow your company profile.
- Incomplete linked profile– if your profile is incomplete or has unexplained periods/ sections , it gives the impression that either there is something that requires serious explanation or you’re too lazy/ indifferent to update your profile. And you want NEITHER as an impression.
Strategic move: complete and update your profile on a regular basis. If there are sections that you don’t want highlighted as “dicey” , put in an explanation for it that would make it seem legit.
- Your linkedin profile is NOT just a resume– Contrary to common belief, your linkedin profile should NOT just seem like a resume. If you put in your work history and job duties as it is, it may not generate curiosity in the reader. Sometimes, people put just in fancy titles without a further relevant explanation of what their job description was.
Strategic move: Have your profile written from a viewpoint that would appeal to the people searching for a candidate like you. For instance, if you’re a website designer, don’t just write “I designed websites using insert-name-of-software here”. A more savvy description would be “ I help small businesses build their online presence and attract more prospects by creating beautiful, mobile-responsive websites.”
- Your linkedin profile lacks “personality”– although linkedin is a professional platform, but it doesn’t have to be a faceless avatar scrubbed off of all personality and individuality. Founders sometimes end up focusing on seeming more “professional without being original”. Although this isn’t a deal breaker, but a profile colored with a more personality touch does appeal more.
Strategic move: Do NOT take this as cue to use your linkedin profile for personal validations, by adding irrelevant personal details, that give no value addition to your profile. Focus on giving information about the kind of work you do, what you’re an expert in, and the kind of things that interest you. Bear in mind that it shouldn’t seem TMI (too much information).
- Information overload– sometimes in lieu of wanting to build an impressive profile, founders can go overboard with information. Mentioning all sorts of certifications/ courses (irrespective of being relevant or not) or too many job titles with only a few month’s experience when switching within the same organization, can seem like too much information. If your profile goes on for 10 pages, I’ve already lost interest.
Strategic move: Concising information is the key. It’s important to show all relevant job experience and roles, but that drives more information in fewer words. Do not include every relevant class you took in college, especially if you’ve been out of school for three years or more.
- Too much or too little activity– Idea is to determine the right level of activity. Engage but within moderation. While you want to keep an active profile, you don’t want to be so active online that it looks like you’re never working. If I view a profile and the person seems to be sharing, tweeting, blogging and commenting on anything and everything, I might feel your time and attention is way too free to be allotted to just about everything.
Strategic move: Publish ridiculously useful content! Make sure you share content consistently and participate in the right conversations, that will make you the “go-to-person” for that niche. But the idea is to stay relevant and strategically restrictive while publishing content, and not over do it.
Conclusion: It’s crucial to understand how every version of you available on all platforms, must be the best representation of you. Next time you’re up for pitching to a VC firm, make sure to do a “background check” on yourself.
Mediocre entrepreneurs network like crazy. The smarter ones don’t have to because they’ve established a stellar LinkedIn profile !!
