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How specific are you about your achievements in your LinkedIn profile?
You want to demonstrate the value you have to provide without breaching any confidentiality agreements or looking tacky, right? So how far do you go on your LinkedIn profile? Would you list specific dollar amounts and percentages as you might in your resume, or do you keep it vaguer?
17 Comments
Barb HansenAsk me anything about Startups
3.32k
11/30/20 at 3:58PM UTC
How does talking about your achievements make anyone look tacky? My question is not meant to sound pointed, because I'm honestly asking why you said "looking tacky" in reference to women and their achievements.
To answer your question:
I use facts when talking about my achievements in my resume.
If I lead a project that increased the companies bottom line by 12M, then I say "I lead the XYZ project team for Company ABC that launched a new search engine, auto-created long-tail landing pages and decreased abandoned shopping carts that lead to improved findability across a product line of 15M skews which lead to an increase in revenue of 12M over 2 quarters post launch."
On LinkedIn, I tend to not use facts as often and I don't know why I don't. I'm very open and factual about my value [and I never feel like I'm being tacky :) ] so I wonder why I use less facts/numbers on LinkedIn. hmm... You asked a very good question.
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2 Replies
Kyla DuffyYour PERSONAL Coach & Writer
155
11/30/20 at 4:44PM UTC
I'm sorry if my words offended you. I work with men and women and wasn't specifically referring to women, but as I'm in a women's forum, I can see my mistake! Thanks for pointing that out.
I'm just asking the question because I don't want to put my clients in a position where they look "unsavory" (maybe that's a better word?) by over-sharing dollar amounts. I've had clients ask how to share that information on LinkedIn, which is so public, without being in breach of contract where some of those numbers might be confidential. The breach of contract part seems very straight-forward (don't do it!), but what about just general etiquette? I'd love to hear people's opinions because I'm really on the fence about what to tell people.
Thanks again for your feedback and ideas!
1 Reply
Barb HansenAsk me anything about Startups
3.32k
11/30/20 at 5:21PM UTC
You didn't offend me at all. :-) I just wanted to get your take on the "tacky/offensive" nature of talking about your achievements, as it's something that many of us have had to deal with over the years (don't brag) and I'm always interested in hearing other sides to questions. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This is a great conversation.
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Jill SweivenLet's Reach your Greatest Potential Together!
41
11/30/20 at 5:47PM UTC
Specific and measureable accomplishments show achievement. Be crisp and unapologetic. It's not tacky - it's business.
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Ann McDonald Polk Human Resources Director
34
11/30/20 at 4:30PM UTC
In my professional opinion, being as specific as you can without divulging any proprietary information from your company is very important. Referencing specific achievements; whether it be the percentage of efficiency, sales results or employee retention that improved under your leadership, the $$$ you contributed to the bottom line or projects you led should be showcased.
You have to keep in mind that most employers prefer passive jobseekers and leverage LinkedIn as a tool to find great candidates. Therefore, you have to ensure that your profile stands out from others for prospective employers because you don’t know who is looking at your profile for a potential job opportunity. This is your time to shine!!
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1 Reply
Kyla DuffyYour PERSONAL Coach & Writer
155
11/30/20 at 4:46PM UTC
Thanks, Ann, for pointing out how employers prefer passive job-seekers and that using numbers is a great tool to make yourself attractive to them. Great insights.
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Ann McDonald Polk Human Resources Director
34
11/30/20 at 4:52PM UTC
Thanks Kyla
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Farah BajwaManager | Mentor | Consultant | Coach
215
11/30/20 at 10:22PM UTC
I've seen everything across the spectrum from as little as the job title to the full life story. I think a good rule of thumb is think of your profile as marketing; you want something eye catching but leave the reader wanting more - so much so that they reach out and contact you. Good luck!
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Katrina HonerCareer Contessa Coach
102
12/01/20 at 3:52AM UTC
+1 to this! Your Linkedin is the place to reallllyy go in-depth about your accomplishments.
Think if of your resume as a snapshot and your Linkedin as the book/story. MARKET your story!
You go ahead and talk about all the numbers! But focus on the story you are trying tell as stories have a bigger impact
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Tanika (Nika) Vasquez - (she/her)Dynamic, forward-thinking business professional
351
12/01/20 at 1:27AM UTC
On my LinkedIn I try to showcase what type of person I am and my working style and on my resume I am all about outcomes. As women we are prone to talk more about what we do instead of talking about the value we bring. Business is all about increasing value and customer satisfaction.
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Kyla DuffyYour PERSONAL Coach & Writer
155
12/05/20 at 2:17PM UTC
I like your style!
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Tanika (Nika) Vasquez - (she/her)Dynamic, forward-thinking business professional
351
12/19/20 at 8:24PM UTC
Thank you
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Pat Roque, Rock Star Executive Leadership & Career Strategist Clarity, confidence, and connections to thrive!
87
12/01/20 at 11:45PM UTC
@Nikd147 while I agree with increasing value and customer satisfaction, I'd politely suggest that you add more outcomes to your LinkedIn profile, too.
LinkedIn offers the largest pool of potential hiring managers/decision makers/recruiters on the planet. Period. So please DON'T shy away from concise, impactful storytelling that showcases your success and best FUTURE version of you.
It's your responsibility to share quantifiable achievements (even if you must blind the client name, etc to protect any brand's confidential info). But TELL the story, eg: "Saved $1.5 Million for a Fortune 50 Financial institution..." you don't have to name specific names but you'd better shine the light on your genius by showing that you're an agile leader who's brought quantifiable wins to your team(s). Share how this win can impact the industry, community...make the hiring manager hunger for your genius on their team!
Publish /share case studies and other industry accolades with quantifiable wins where you've helped your team shine, eg: "Grateful to my team at XYX for stellar X% growth and winning Agency of the year at the XYZ awards. " Then tag everyone you can to ensure you gain more eyeballs on the wins and share in the celebration.
Remember your profile allows for sharing highlights/favorites, videos, posts, and more. In fact, why not let your colleagues or clients brag about you, quantify where they can, and help you gain even more attention on your genius? I just added a new client's big win video to let HIM tell the story for me. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/patroque_careerpivot-careerstrategy-careergoals-activity-6739324563269791744-A3OB
And please remember to add a call to action that you are happy to network with others interested in perpetuating industry growth. That's thought leadership. And I'm betting they'll want to know more about how you can drive stellar results for THEM, too.
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Kyla DuffyYour PERSONAL Coach & Writer
155
12/05/20 at 2:18PM UTC
You make some great points, but sometimes you can't blind the name because it's the company you're working for. Seems like that would be a time to use percentages instead of dollar amounts.
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Gargi BiswasAward Winning Business Leader(Digital Solutions)
58
12/03/20 at 3:08PM UTC
Women can deliver results and that should be reflective in the LinkedIn summary. The profile should contain crisp and concise description of tasks and their impact ( may be dollar savings, time savings, resource optimization).
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Gwyn GaubatzUser-Obsessed Product Manager
43
12/05/20 at 9:14PM UTC
I completely understand your concerns about whether/how much detail to provide. I tend to be a lot more explicit in my resume than on LinkedIn, but I acknowledge that I could probably include more detail than I currently do. I have a few rules of thumb: (1) For clients, I generally don't use names, especially when it's not publicly known they are a client/NDA is in place (some clients approve companies listing them as clients, while others don't want that information public) - I had a customer like this that a number of my resume achievements were tied to, so as a workaround, I cited the relative value to my company (I think it was 10% LOB revenues or similar). Or, you may be able to cite that you won business from x number of Fortune 500 clients, or something to that effect. (2) For performance metrics, I'm more likely to use percentages than specific dollar amounts, especially if it touches on an entire line of business/market share, and/or if you work for a private company that doesn't report out their earnings in any public way. One way to think about it is, if a competitor of my employer saw this, would they have meaningful information about my company that they wouldn't be otherwise have access to - or, is this the kind of information we would be trying to find out about competitors when building our own strategy? Those considerations may not apply if you don't have a certain amount of seniority/scope of influence in the business at large, but can be helpful lens to use in determining when to be more circumspect. But aside from that, definitely be bold in claiming your accomplishments and illustrating the impact you have had!
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Chre M. Davis, M.S.Ed.Administrator | Educator | Intrapreneur
602
12/09/20 at 4:23AM UTC
I tend to keep details on my individual work experience limited, but tell more of my overall professional life story in the summary section. I save the details for the resume, which I tailor to fit the needs of the situation.
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