photo courtesy of Pixabay
You already know that LinkedIn is a great networking tool, but you may still need to learn how to utilize it properly. The professional networking site has many privacy setting options that need to be adjusted to your own specific needs in order to have an effective profile.
It’s likely that you’ve already managed your account settings, customizing your public profile and accessibility to fit your professional purposes, but your LinkedIn account may still need some fine-tuning. Here are three privacy setting options that you may have missed but need to apply to your account:
The New Job Announcement
A small profile edit, like changing your headline or professional title, can set off notifications about a new job position. Your contacts will get emails stating “Congratulate [your name here] on the new job!” If you haven’t actually gotten a new job or promotion, and were just re-phrasing your job title, then the exciting announcements will just be embarrassing mistakes that you’ll have to correct.
To avoid having to explain the mistake to your entire LinkedIn network, adjust your Activity Broadcasts under the Privacy Settings. By turning off the “Let people know when you change your profile…” option, you’ll be able to make minor or insignificant edits without setting off a huge broadcast. Disabling this option will allow you to update your profile and search for new jobs freely without having a potential employer wrongly assume you’ve just been hired.
Twitter Optimization
Your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts can be seamlessly connected, allowing you to post your tweets on LinkedIn and tweet your LinkedIn profiles on Twitter. While it’s convenient to connect your social media accounts automatically, it’s not always wise to share everything across all your different platforms.
If you look under Twitter Settings in your Profile Settings, you can modify your Twitter tie-in options. My suggestion is to disable your tweets completely; this way you can continue to remain professional on this very professional network.
photo courtesy of Pixabay
Viewing Other Profiles
You’re able to keep track of how many times your profile has been visited, and by whom, with the Who’s Viewed My Profile tool located on your LinkedIn homepage. When you click on that option, you can see who’s been checking out your profile depending on the visitor’s own privacy setting. For example, you may be able to see the person’s full information or just their industry and job title.
It’s important to adjust your own settings in order to control your visibility when visiting other people’s profiles. Under the Profile View settings, you’ll find three options for how much of your information is revealed: you can have your full name, headline, and photo appear, you can choose to display only your industry and title, or you can be completely invisible if you don’t want anyone knowing you’ve been looking at their profile.
There are many choices to make and settings to edit when building your LinkedIn profile and visibility. Don’t overlook some of the more specific or hidden privacy setting options, as they can have major effects on your professional networking potential.