If you are a college senior, a recent graduate, or just looking for a new gig, you need to know these 11 social media mistakes to avoid. These poor posting behaviors could cost you your first job.
70% of recruiters and hiring managers look for lousy behavior on social media channels when researching your background. Whether or not you think it’s fair, it happens.
Managing your burgeoning digital brand is likely not discussed in any of your classes. So, it would be best if you started to do a little extra credit to understand how you can make the grade with your future employer.
11 Social Media Mistakes To Avoid When You Are Looking for a Job
The primary reasons employers did not extend a job offer after researching a candidate on social media are varied. You are likely committing them.
Provocative Posts. 40% of future employers look for provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos, or information. Even if you use a secondary account, you must be careful.
Drugs & Drinking. 36% of hiring managers won’t hire you if you post drinking or drug use on social media. A social toast is OK. Smoking from a bong is something else.
Discriminatory Comments. 31% of hiring companies search for discriminatory comments about race, gender, religion, etc. This behavior can manifest in a like of a political candidate who has made similar discriminatory posts. Also, sharing others’ not-so-smart posts informs potential employers about your judgment or lack thereof.
Criminal Behavior. 30% of companies won’t hire you if you look linked to any criminal behavior on social media. You know, the type that has you jumping on cars after your team wins the world championship.
Embellished Job Qualifications. If you say one thing about your job qualifications, but your LinkedIn profile says another, that’s a recipe for disaster. 27% of hiring company check for that type of thing.
Poor Grammar and Punctuation. You’ve heard the saying that poor punctuation kills (e.g., Let’s eat Grandma vs. Let’s eat, Grandma.)! 27% of hiring organizations also will think twice about hiring you if you exhibit poor communication skills.
Badmouthing. If you badmouth your past company, coworker, or professor on social media, you will likely badmouth your current one. 25% of hiring brands will not consider you if you exhibit this behavior.
Unprofessional Screen Names. We’ve all seen funny and unprofessional screen names. If you have one, 22% of hiring managers will probably pass on interviewing or hiring you.
Sharing Confidential Information. Spreading confidential client or company information is a ‘no-no.’ Even if it’s not nefarious. 20% of employers will confidently say no to hiring you if you’ve done this on social media.
Lying. Playing hooky and talking about it on social media can land you without a job offer, says 16% of hiring companies.
Overposting. If you post too much on social media, 12% of potential employers will likely not provide you with a job offer; however, if you under-post or don’t have any social media footprint at all, then that behavior may also cost you your gig, especially if you are applying for a social media role.
Let Us Help You or Your Student/New Graduate Secure That Job
We don’t know what we don’t know. And if a young job seeker doesn’t have a social-media-experience-support network, they may be hurting themselves without even knowing it. So, we’re here to help. Here are a few blog posts from marketingthink.com to jumpstart your job hunt correctly.
Your Next Move to Help Avoid Social Media Mistakes
So, now you know eleven social media mistakes hiring managers will notice when checking your background. If you avoid these bumps in the road, you will increase your chances of getting hired.
With over 51% of people like you who want to improve their personal brand on social media, a better LinkedIn profile will help you get that promotion and improve your chances for that dream job. What are you waiting for?
Marketingthink Consulting, LLC has years of hands-on leadership experience helping individuals and teams improve their brands. We want to show you what we can do for you. Make your next move by reading about our LinkedIn Profile Makeover Service, or start with a LinkedIn Profile Audit.
P.S. LinkedIn regularly makes changes to its platform, including character counts. If you see a difference we have not noted, please let us know by commenting below or emailing gerry@marketingthink.com.
This year is winding down, and we don’t yet know of any updates to the 2022 LinkedIn character limits. But it’s still important to know your limits when it comes to your LinkedIn profile!
As you think about updating your profile to get a jump on your 2023 personal branding, here’s everything you need to know about every customizable LinkedIn profile touchpoint.
Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” This quote applies to how you should develop your brand on LinkedIn. Less is more, as long as you tell your story. This LinkedIn character count list provides the box where you can be as creative as you’d like within the platform’s limits.
I’ve outlined all of the profile sections and their character limits for your personal LinkedIn account: the profile, contact information, and message and content posting. Each unit includes a link to show you how to edit your customized information.
While some of these profile changes can be made from your mobile device, it’s best to use the Desktop experience to make your updates. It’s just safer that way. Bigger working space. Fewer mistakes.
The Biggest Opportunity to Consider With LinkedIn Character Counts
By working with thousands of professionals in personal branding workshops when I ran the social media programs at SAP and Cognizant for ten years, I’ve found the biggest issue with LinkedIn character counts is knowing how to best use the space. For example, if you give an architect, a Realtor, and a homeowner a blank space to remodel, each will have a different approach. I would bet that the professional architect would achieve the best results. The same goes for using LinkedIn character limits to build a personal brand.
So, before we move right into a review of all the LinkedIn character counts, let’s define them.
What are LinkedIn Character Limits?
LinkedIn character counts are the limits created by the platform to ensure your branding information and messaging are neither too short nor too long. It ensures their ecosystem thrives with hundreds of millions of users. The character limits present a box where you can be as communicative or creative as possible to leverage LinkedIn as your reputation’s destination.
You are forced to color inside these lines. Now you know what the lines are!
47 LinkedIn Character Counts for Your Profile
Use these character counts to guide you through your LinkedIn profile and messaging strategy. Please note that this list contains video, image, and photo limits. While not truly character counts, you still need to pay attention to these limits!
LinkedIn Profile Character Limits
First and last name:20 characters for your first name and 40 characters for your last name. Here’s how to change the way your name appears on your profile.
Industry: LinkedIn predetermines all industry selections, which cannot be changed. Here’s how to edit your Industry (click here) choice.
Public-facing Business Website URL. 262 characters. Here’s how to edit the Website URL in your Introduction (click here) section.
Public-facing Business Website URL Description. 30 characters. Here’s how to edit the Website URL description in your Introduction (click here) section.
Headline Hashtags: 140 characters. Here’s how to access the Creator Mode to add or edit your Headline Hashtags (click here).
Featured — title: 100 characters per title. Here’s how to edit your profile’s Featured (click here) section.
Featured — description. 500 characters per description. Here’s how to edit your profile’s Featured (click here) section.
Experience — job title: 100 characters per job title. Here’s how to add or edit a job title in your Experience (click here) section.
Experience — description. 2,000 characters per job title. Here’s how to add or edit a job description in your Experience (click here) section.
Experience — skills. 80 characters. This link will help you add Skills (click here) to each of your job titles. Please note that these additions also show up in your Skills section.
Education: 150 characters per school name. Here’s how to add, remove, or edit an Education (click here) entry.
Website URL: 256 characters. You can now display up to three website links in your profile. Here’s how to add Website URLs (click here) to your LinkedIn profile’s Contact section.
Website Anchor Text: 30 characters. Anchor text describes your actual website (e.g., “Schedule time with me.” Here’s how to edit your Website Anchor Text (click here) in your Contact section.
Article — title: 100 characters. Here’s how to post Articles on the LinkedIn Publishing Platform.
Article — copy: 110,000 characters. Here’s how to post Articles on the LinkedIn Publishing Platform.
Article — comment: 1,250 characters.
Article — photo credit: 250 characters. Here’s how to post Articles on the LinkedIn Publishing Platform.
Let Us Help You Develop Your Personal Branding Plan Using LinkedIn
Too much of a good thing isn’t always good, which is why there are limits. And this counts for LinkedIn, too. If you’re looking for how to develop your LinkedIn profile, then we’re here to help. Here are a few blog posts from marketingthink.com to jumpstart your LinkedIn profile update:
15 LinkedIn Profile Photo Tips. A great picture humanizes your profile and makes others think they want to do business with you. Since we all don’t all look like Ken or Barbie, that’s a good thing, since we are all different. Smile and let your community look into your inviting eyes. CLICK HERE for tips to make the best first impression and not scare your community away.
3 Key Questions to Ask About Using Optimal Character Counts on LinkedIn
During my ten years at SAP and Cognizant, and the additional time running Marketingthink Consulting, I’ve spent time looking under the hood of all key social media channels. You have to understand the specs of a machine before you use it to work for you. Understanding the character counts for each LinkedIn feature enables you to create the best message for the container. My hands-on leadership experience taught me to make sure you ask these questions when building and evolving your filling in those blanks of your LinkedIn Profile Page:
Because you have the space, should you use all of the space? Like the familiarized Spiderman quote, with great power comes great responsibility. And you have an obligation, not to bore or over-inform your audience. Make sure you use the correct number of characters to convey the message. The LinkedIn platform and community will thank you for it.
Are you staying up to date on the character counts? Like the LinkedIn algorithm, their character limits often change. Stay on top of the changes to ensure you use the platform to its full capability.
Do you socialize the character counts with your internal stakeholders? Everyone uses LinkedIn differently. The C-suite, thought leaders, subject matter experts, and event marketers, to name a few, all create content. Whether or not your company provides a shared-service model, everyone’s creating content to support themselves and the brand. These groups are likely not paying attention to character-count changes, so you must build a process to ensure everyone is educated.
Your Next Move to Make You Improve Your LinkedIn Profile with the Optimal Character Counts
So, now you have a few ideas for optimizing your character counts with your LinkedIn profile and activity. It would be best if you also understood why character counts are essential. If you want to make that next move to enhance your LinkedIn strategy by using the optimal character count in the right areas but need a partner to get you there, we’d love to help.
Over 51% of people like you who want to improve their personal brand have incomplete profiles, let alone high-performing ones. A better LinkedIn profile will help you get that promotion, improve your chances for that dream job, and get you noticed by clients. What are you waiting for?
Marketingthink Consulting, LLC has years of hands-on leadership experience helping individuals and teams improve their personal brands. We want to show you what we can do for you. Make your next move by reading about our LinkedIn Profile Makeover Service, or start with a LinkedIn Profile Audit.
Again, “With great power, there must also come great responsibility,” says the Peter Parker principle. This recommendation suggests that even with all the space you can fill with characters and words on LinkedIn, be responsible, and use only what you need. This way, you’ll make a better impression on the web.
P.S. LinkedIn regularly makes changes to its platform, including character counts. If you see a change we have not noted, please let us know by commenting below or emailing gerry@marketingthink.com.
How active on LinkedIn are you? The active you are, the more you offer to your network.
Keeping your LinkedIn profile active is a lot like owning a baseball glove. And keeping it worn-in and ready to use. Or any piece of sports gear, for that matter.
You’ve filled out your LinkedIn profile. You’ve uploaded your smiling picture, and you posted a few updates. However, you are not getting the LinkedIn profile views that you had hoped for?
You can’t develop a complete and useful LinkedIn profile unless you have a plan. A blueprint helps you think through the step-by-step considerations, process, and personal branding decisions.
We all know someone who could use some LinkedIn profile photo tips, right?
If you do not have a LinkedIn profile photo, it will look as if your account will not belong to a real person.
You have only 33 milliseconds to make an excellent first impression, says a Social Psychological and Personality Science study. You won’t be making any impression without a LinkedIn profile photo! It’s critical for your credibility. A photo inclusion enables more profile views, increased conversations, and more direct messages.
Do you have a personal branding LinkedIn strategy? One that keeps your brand relevant?
My great-grandmother used to tell me a story. She’d said you need to take advantage of every opportunity to reach out and touch your network. Build and nurture solid relationships by paying attention to the relationship triggers. Send authentic messages, share meaningful content, and pay attention to the little things.
