Trustworthiness of LinkedIn Profiles [Infographic]

Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 2m 442 #linkedin

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

LinkedIn has been a great tool to establish yourself as a professional since 2004. Over the years, it has progressed and become a trustworthy tool. It allows for the ability to easily build a resume in minutes and has plenty of applications to make your profile look great.

Completing your profile on LinkedIn is the most important thing you can do once you have established an account. Being truthful is also important since a LinkedIn profile is equivalent to a resume. Whether you are truthful or not, the truth will eventually show in your work. Once you have a fully detailed profile, make some connections. LinkedIn may do this automatically for you by looking into your address book and sending out an email that you are a member of LinkedIn to existing LinkedIn members. Once you have established connections and you know who your connections are, whether they are friends, co-workers, a boss, or someone you are well acquainted with, you should write a review for them and ask them to return the favor, as they are most likely to tell the truth about your performance and add to the trust factor of your LinkedIn profile.

If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. LinkedIn displays the reviews you have written and the reviews you have received. Of course, they will only be displayed upon approval and whether they are allowed to be publicly displayed is up to the one who has received the review. The review is just as strong and important to your profile as everything else, as it will help visitors to determine the type of professional you are and back the truthfulness and trustworthiness of your LinkedIn profile.

This infographic surveyed 200 CFOs, who question the trustworthiness and accuracy of LinkedIn profiles.

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The Trustworthiness of LinkedIn Profiles

Perception

Eight In Ten
(82%) finance directors question the trustworthiness and accuracy of a potential candidate’s LinkedIn profile

More Than Two Thirds
(68%) say they find the information ‘sometimes’ and ‘never’ (14%) reliable

Four In Five (82%)
Finance Directors find directly received applications for employment more trustworthy and accurate than LinkedIn profiles

Why do you feel that the information is not trustworthy and/or accurate?

39% Opportunity to exaggerate experience and skills

37% Lack of system to quality information

15% Relative anonymity of social media

8% Not regularly updated

Which of the following elements do you consider important when reviewing profiles on LinkedIn?

65% Experience
38% References
37% Education Background
31% Recommendation
30% Updated Profile Information
29% Endorsed Skills
22% Number of Connections
10% Status Updates
2% Groups

roberthalf.co.uk

Matthew Gates is a freelance web designer and currently runs Confessions of the Professions.

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