LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 800 million members worldwide. On LinkedIn, members create profiles that highlight their work experiences, skills, education and other credentials. One feature on LinkedIn is the ability for members to share their profile with others. When you share your LinkedIn profile, you allow other users on the platform to view your full profile even if they are not directly connected to you on LinkedIn. Sharing your profile makes it visible to a wider audience and can help expand your professional network.
What Does It Mean to Share Your LinkedIn Profile?
When you share your LinkedIn profile, you are making the full content of your profile visible to all LinkedIn members rather than just your direct connections. This means that anyone on LinkedIn can view your profile background including:
– Your work experience – current and past jobs, titles, companies worked for, employment dates.
– Your education – degrees, schools attended, dates attended.
– Your skills and endorsements – skills listed on your profile and endorsements you may have received from others for those skills.
– Your accomplishments – publications, certifications, honors and awards.
– Your summary and background – any summary or background information you have included on your profile.
– Your connections – your full list of LinkedIn connections.
Essentially, sharing your profile makes all the information on your profile open and accessible to the entire LinkedIn community rather than just the limited network of your direct connections.
Why Would You Share Your LinkedIn Profile?
There are several reasons why sharing your LinkedIn profile can be beneficial:
Expand your reach
Sharing your profile allows you to extend your professional network beyond just your 1st-degree connections. Recruiters, hiring managers and other professionals can find you more easily and connect with you about job opportunities.
Showcase your brand
Sharing your profile gives you an opportunity to showcase your personal brand to a wider audience. It allows you to highlight your background, skills and accomplishments.
Increase discoverability
Making your profile public increases your visibility in LinkedIn search as well as to 3rd party apps and services that integrate with LinkedIn’s API. This makes you more discoverable for relevant opportunities.
Establish trust and credibility
Allowing the public view of your full background builds trust and credibility. It shows you have nothing to hide and are confident in your professional credentials.
Support your business/services
If you are an entrepreneur or independent professional, sharing your profile can help attract new customers and clients by showcasing your capabilities.
How to Share Your LinkedIn Profile
Sharing your LinkedIn profile is simple to do:
1. Login to your LinkedIn account and go to your profile page.
2. Click on the ‘Edit public profile & URL’ button on your intro card.
3. This will open your public profile settings. Under the ‘Profile Visibility’ section, click on the dropdown next to your current setting.
4. Choose the option ‘Public – anyone on or off of LinkedIn can see your profile.’
5. Click Save.
Your profile is now fully visible to all LinkedIn members as well as anyone searching on Google or other search engines.
Who Can See Your Shared Profile?
Once you share your profile publicly, it can be viewed by:
– All LinkedIn members, regardless if they are in your network or followers.
– Non-members who come across your profile via search engines like Google.
– Individuals who directly land on your public profile URL.
– Third-party apps and services accessing LinkedIn’s API.
Essentially anyone on the internet can discover and view your shared public profile on LinkedIn.
Limiting Profile Views
You can limit profile views to just your 1st-degree connections by adjusting your settings:
1. Go back to your ‘Edit public profile & URL’ section.
2. Under ‘Profile Visibility’, select ‘Your connections’.
3. Click Save.
Now only people directly connected to you can view your full profile. This limits visibility but maintains privacy.
Customizing Your Public Profile
When you share your profile publicly, you want to ensure your profile is optimized for external visibility:
– Use a professional profile photo – no casual or personal photos.
– Craft an engaging headline and summary – tailor it to your target audience.
– Showcase your best credentials, skills and experience.
– Customize your profile URL – use your name to make it easy to remember.
– Remove or limit personal details like birthday, home address etc.
– Enable visitor analytics to see who is viewing your profile.
Pros of a Public Profile
Here are some of the pros of making your LinkedIn profile public:
– Increased discoverability by recruiters and hiring managers.
– Ability to showcase your capabilities to a wider audience.
– Allows you to build your personal brand beyond just your connections.
– Makes you searchable by name via search engines.
– Enables opportunities that come via your public profile.
Cons of a Public Profile
Some potential cons to weigh:
– Loss of privacy – your info becomes openly available.
– Current employer may not want your details shared publicly.
– Anyone can message you directly without a connection.
– May receive unwanted messages or contact from strangers.
– Details like job changes or location become publicly visible.
Who Views Your Profile
LinkedIn provides data on who has viewed your public profile in the last 90 days, grouped into categories:
Category | Percentage |
---|---|
Your connections | 43% |
2nd-degree connections | 22% |
Recruiters | 18% |
Public profile visitors | 9% |
3rd-degree connections | 8% |
As you can see, while your own connections tend to view your profile the most, a shared public profile also allows visibility to recruiters and other LinkedIn members outside your network.
Best Practices for a Public Profile
To maximize the benefits of a public profile, focus on these best practices:
Showcase your professional brand
Focus your profile content, messaging and tone for a professional audience looking to hire or do business with you.
Make your profile 100% complete
Fill out all sections fully – incomplete profiles appear disorganized.
Highlight relevant skills, achievements & recommendations
Pull out the most important details you want hiring managers to see.
Customize your profile URL
Include your name so its easy for people to remember and find your profile.
Update regularly
Keep your profile updated as you take on new roles and responsibilities. This shows activeness.
Conclusion
Sharing your LinkedIn profile publicly allows you to take control of your professional brand and make your background visible beyond just your direct connections. While this involves some loss of privacy, the increased discoverability, credibility and brand visibility is invaluable. Focus on showcasing your best credentials and maintaining an up-to-date profile. The expanded reach can lead to exciting career opportunities and establish you as an authority in your field. Use your public profile strategically as part of your larger professional brand and presence.