How much information should I share on LinkedIn

Ok, this week’s post is another one of my “guest ideas”...this one from Clayton Pritchard. Clayton is my boy, long story but really appreciate him sending this topic my way. Frankly, how we know each other is probably a great blog post. ANYWAY....

The topic...”How much information should I put on my LinkedIn profile?”

The easy answer is, as much as possible...but it’s not quite that simple as you want a profile that accurately reflects your background but also isn’t overwhelming to someone who’s looking to find someone with your skillset.

Here are a few tips that might help:

1) LinkedIn knows what they are doing - They recommend you fill out your profile “completely”.  They do this for a reason, because it works.  Take the time, fill out the profile as much as they recommend and you’re well on your way.

2) Don’t over communicate - You want to spell out your experience, but know go crazy.  Don’t put a thousand words in your summary.  Short, sweet and descriptive.

3) Recommend some folks...and get a few of your own - Recommendations are great...but they are a two way street.  You want people saying nice things about you but you want to contribute as well.  I LOVE seeing who people recommend...if they go crazy, it probably doesn’t mean anything but if they only recommend a few people that means a lot.  Now, go recommend someone.

4)  Join some groups - LinkedIn literally has groups for everything, and you should join them.  You’ll meet great people and even learn a bit.  I really like networking w/ folks in similar groups as I know we have shared interests.

Ok, that’s it, but this should get you started.  I’d also recommend following @LinkedInQueen on Twitter who offers a ton of great advice on this topic as well.

More soon, hope this helps!!