Do’s and Don’ts Of LinkedIn Privacy Settings For Your Job Search

When we hear the phrase “privacy settings”, it usually brings about images of boring, fine print and opting out of spam. But, on LinkedIn your privacy settings are strategic tools for your job search. They control what activities and information you share with your connections, your network and the general public. Have you checked yours recently?

Every day I speak with job seekers who either think they are sharing information with the general public that they’re not OR don’t realize they can hide some of their activities.

Here are my recommendations for what you do or don’t share, as it relates to a successful job search using LinkedIn as a tool.

Do:

• Show your connections when you make major changes and enhancements to your profile
• Show your connections AND the general public status messages and status updates
• Show your connections AND the general public your profile photo
• Show your best recommendations, hiding those that may be too vague or do not support your job search goals
• Publish your LinkedIn Profile to the web via, “Profile Public View”. You have the flexibility to show some or all of your profile details

Don’t:

• Notify your connections when you make minor tweaks to your profile
• Make too many status updates. One every few days keeps you on your connections mind, but does not overwhelm them with information  (This could change with the new Twitter- LinkedIn integration. Status updates may take on a new form. Stay tuned.)

It Depends:

Member Feed: Your “Member Feed” is a “bulletin board” type box that displays on the right side of your profile that shows all of the actions you have performed on LinkedIn. From new connections, to LinkedIn Group activities to status updates. You can make this visible to just your connections, your extended network, the general public or you may hide it.

I use LinkedIn for both business marketing and personal/business networking and prefer not to share my “marketing promotion” type activities with the public. Plus, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn (a self-proclaimed LinkedIn nerd) and I prefer that everyone not know that!  So, I choose to hide my member feed bulletin board to everyone on my profile. It’s a little too “big brother” for me.   But, you may want to share all of your LinkedIn activities..

Profile Views: Being able to see who’s viewed our own profile is a great feature of LinkedIn. I look at the list every day!  But, I recommend you think about views in the other direction. As a job seeker, I would bet that you are doing lots of research about companies, connections etc. Do you want them to know that you are doing that research or would you prefer some anonymity?

Whatever you decide, know the options exist and choose the setting that’s right for you

How To Check Your Key Settings

You can adjust your profile and privacy settings with just a few clicks. At the top right of your LinkedIn Home Page, click on the “accounts & settings” link.   It’s a good idea to check all of your settings, but the ones I think are most important are:

• Privacy Settings: Profile Views, Profile & Status Updates
• Profile Settings: My Profile Photo, Manage Recommendations, Status Visibility, Member Feed Visibility, Public Profile

One of the great things about LinkedIn settings is that you can change them at any time!  If your career situation changes and/or you begin using LinkedIn for business, you may want to revisit all of the settings and adjust based on your new goals.

Did I miss any key settings? Do you agree with my recommendations? Please add your comments.

Copyright November 2009, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved