You’ve been working your tail off for months or years and yet you don’t seem to be getting that promotion you so desperately need (and seriously deserve). What could be the reason, you wonder to yourself. What could be the cause?
Have you ever considered that it might be down to the fact that your LinkedIn is saying things it really shouldn’t? It happens, you know. Bosses are always looking on that infernal service to find out things about us and sometimes they don’t like what they see.
There are a lot of ways that what it says on there is holding you back. Here are a couple of things you’ll really want to look out for.
You’re badmouthing your current employer (or boss!)
Perhaps when you first started at the job you thought it would only be a temporary thing. Perhaps you already had plans of getting out of there a few months later. Then plans changed. But what you didn’t do is update your LinkedIn profile. And now it says that you don’t really like what you’re doing, are looking for alternatives and – even worse – your boss is a jerk.
Piece of advice. Never, ever, ever say that your boss is a jerk on social media. It doesn’t matter what service we’re talking about. Be it Facebook, Twitter or even Snapchat. You never know when that comes around to somebody who has some kind of reason to tell your boss about it.
But even worse than all those things is leaving negative feedback about a person or a position on LinkedIn. It doesn’t just show your boss what you think of them, it also shows every other potential employer that you’re not really the type of person they want to work with. After all, who wants an employee who’d air their dirty laundry in public?
It’s the amateur hour
If your profile is full of spelling and grammar mistakes and doesn’t in anyway look like you’re serious about things, then that’s going to hold you back. So take a look at polishing things up. Note, it’s a lot harder than you may think to write a convincing LinkedIn text. So consider getting a friend involved to make sure it looks like you want it to.
If you have no friends who excel at English language, then consider using a writing service. There are plenty out there, but if you don’t know where to start then here is a writing service list that you can check out. You’ll probably find somebody good on there!
It says you’re looking for other work
Another really bad idea is to put up on your LinkedIn how you’re actively looking for a different job. Why would you current employer promote you if they think you’re going to make a beeline for the exit the moment the opportunity arises? No, in that case they’re going to go with Steve, down the hall. Sure, he might not be as bright as you, but at least he has no plans to go anywhere and he’s happy doing what he does.
So, check it out and make sure that you’ve not indicated in any way that you’re looking for another place to work. Maybe even update your current profile to more clearly state how happy you are where you are. That is, unless you want to be headhunted of course. Boy, do you have a fine balancing act to pull off then!
It doesn’t say you have the skills you need
If your bosses are going to promote you they need to know you’ve got what it takes to fill the next position. Now, obviously they’ll look at your current performance to decide if you’ve got what it takes. But they’ll also look at your previous experiences as well as the skills you mention on LinkedIn.
So get the right ones up there. Even better, get them endorsed by people. There are plenty of groups online that are all about endorsing specific skills for you. You do it for them. They do it for you. Hey presto, you’re looking better already.
Don’t know what skills you’ll need? Well, how about looking at what your current boss has up there. Those are probably the skills you’d need if you want to fill their shoes. So why not start listing a few of those? Of course, you don’t want to list all of them, just be a better version of yourself.
Last words
Social media is the bee’s knees for getting your information out there and sharing your experiences. And of those, it has to be LinkedIn that’s the most important for your professional career. So make sure you have it looking spick and span, so that when they consider you for a promotion that won’t be the thing holding you back.
Of course, don’t expect it to be the reason you get promoted. You’ll still have to do the hard work of convincing them that it’s you who should be the next team manager all by your lonesome. No social media platform can do that for you!
