Group of snippets or cohesive whole--how do you come across on #LinkedIn?

When I entered the men’s restroom at a new high-end restaurant the other evening, I saw this decorating the walls. Not the floor; the walls.

I am certain a brilliant designer thought this was a good use of various scraps of the elegant wood used elsewhere in the restaurant.

But my immediate reaction was, and it still is, this is really odd and not in keeping with the theme of the place. Looks like an afterthought, like they ran out of money, creativity, and time so they tacked this up.

Personal taste? Yes, but it’s my orientation. And likely that of many others. Just odd.

Metaphorically, look at your LinkedIn profile. Many of us are hired for a job/assignment by virtue of our ability to see the larger picture to completion as well as to keep an eye on the details. One or more slips could cause an incorrect impression and jeopardize a part of, or the whole, project.

Your job always on your LinkedIn profile: the first, immediate impression to a casual reader is to self-portray a cohesive, organized and detail-checked portrait.

• Not a paste job of different formats, different verb tenses.
• Not odd bullet points arranged illogically (from the reader’s POV, not necessarily yours!).
• Not a copy of your old resume. Ever.
• Not a place where the reader has to construct all the parts of your profile mentally to be convinced that despite a difficult-to-comprehend profile, you are the ONE to hire.

Honestly, no one spends that amount of time having to noodle out your persona. They move on. You lost.

Make the casual, attention-deprived reader of your profile “get” you immediately as a cohesive whole, matching details together, not a hodgepodge of scraps and snippets.

Make that impression smooth, with the grain, and lustrous.