7 Signs Your LinkedIn Profile is Out-of-date: Take the first steps to prepare for an AI-driven world! (First in a series)

LinkedIn is changing. It has become an AI-driven system like many other business Web and software platforms. The AI technology that now underlies the LinkedIn platform is known as 360Brew. Reportedly “360” is intended to suggest a key function of the system—it takes a 360 degree, or holistic, view of your LinkedIn presence.

The “AI takeover” of LinkedIn changes the rules for being found. But, if you have just been downsized after spending a decade or more at a public agency, university, or major corporation you may want to start by assessing your old profile.

Here are just a few indications your existing LinkedIn profile has not been keeping up with the times:

1. There is no headshot,
2. Your profile has no background image,
3. LinkedIn created a default headline for you,
4. The number of connections shown is in the double-digits,
5. You have no recent and relevant posts,
6. There is no current job in your Experience section, and
7. The content reads like your resume,

Open your profile in another tab or window as you read this. As you go, you will probably find even more things to change than those on our list.

There is no headshot.

One of the first things I do when speaking with a jobseeker is open their profile. Frequently, I find no headshot on the profile. It’s understandable because we have been taught for years never to include a photo on a resume to avoid potential conscious or unconscious hiring bias.

The reality is that, according to LinkedIn, your profile is at least 20 times more likely to be found (and I’ve seen even higher numbers) if you include a profile photo.

A headshot you have someone snap with your smartphone—not a selfie—will do. You do not need a professionally produced headshot unless you are in an industry where this is expected.

Your profile has no background image.

The profiles I find with headshots often lack background images. Background images grab attention although they do not improve traditional search results according to experts I have spoken with. A common social media strategy to “stop the scroll” is adding wording to the image. One client has a background image that describes his product as “scanning text with 99% accuracy.” That got my attention! Even better, he got promoted.

 Take the time to add a background image. 360Brew will notice that you have a background image, even if the system does not scan its embedded text. It will also help stop the recruiter’s scroll through search results.

LinkedIn has added a default headline to your profile.

Another common issue I see on profiles is that the headline reads something like one of my early headlines— “Work Readiness Specialist at Arbor E&T.” LinkedIn created that headline by using my job title and the name of the company I worked for at the time.

You should not accept LinkedIn’s default headline. LinkedIn allows 220 characters for your headline, so you can include a personal brand tag line and keywords. For example, I collaborated with an engineer to write a headline that reads:

Senior Software Engineer at TerraSmart ★ Embedded Software Engineering ★ Aerospace ★ Renewable Energy ★ Wireless & Cloud ★ Robotics ►IoT | Connect Hardware to the Net ★ Make Drones Fly!

It says a lot more than his default headline that read “Senior Software Engineer at TerraSmart”.

The number of LinkedIn connections listed is in the double digits.

LinkedIn is a social media platform, so the number of connections—LinkedIn’s equivalent of Facebook friends—matters.

Quality matters, too, according to recruiters. Try connecting with people on LinkedIn that you have worked with, went to school with, done business with, or are at places where you would like to work. These can be helpful. (LinkedIn allows you to have followers, too, but connecting with other members is the most beneficial.)

Social media works when you connect with people. You should have at least 50 connections to be noticed. The goal is to have more than 500 relevant connections for best results.

Experts say LinkedIn’s 360Brew notices the quality and relevance of your connections so the social media practice of randomly connecting with anyone will not increase your profile’s value in recruiter search results.

You do not have recent and relevant posts.

Frequently, profiles I look at on LinkedIn show “no recent posts.” This tells me, your network, AI systems, and prospective hiring managers that you are not active on the platform. So, will you respond when they contact you? And if your posts are not relevant to business, they may wonder why you are there. The 360Brew system is also thought to reduce the value of a profile with irrelevant posts because the platform takes a holistic view of you and your career.

You do not have a current job in your LinkedIn experience section.

Those of you who are looking for work after downsizing may not have a current job in your experience section. Recruiters have told me they search on “current job title”.

Chances are, you have not been watching Netflix all day and have been doing something relevant even if it was not salaried work. You can add freelance work, volunteer work, and even projects you have been doing for friends and family as your current job. The LinkedIn 360Brew AI should also make your profile more visible with a relevant “current job.”

We’ve addressed ways to do this in more detail elsewhere in our blog.

The content reads like your resume.

A number of LinkedIn profiles I see started life ten or 15 years ago with copy-and-paste content from the member’s resume. This was a “quick-and-dirty” way to populate the profile’s dialog boxes. It is likely to be ineffective in the age of 360Brew generative AI on LinkedIn.

Resume content should, at a minimum, be rewritten in a first-person social media style instead of “telegraphic” resume style. This approach helps ensure that your resume and LinkedIn profile communicate a consistent message to prospective employers and other readers, including the 360Brew AI reader. Whether you rewrite resume content or write entirely new content, make certain it communicates the benefits and value of hiring you for the job you want.

These are just a few of the things that can scream “out-of-date” or “inactive” at those that review your profile. They may even result in your profile not being seen by people who matter.

Additionally, watch this space and our Navigate What’s Next LinkedIn newsletter for more information optimizing your profile and LinkedIn presence for LinkedIn’s 360Brew holistic profile review.