Trying to decide how “open” to be on LinkedIn, or attempting to tone down your job search activity? A major consideration for you is your employment status.
Those who have jobs to protect have different concerns than those who are unemployed.
Employment Status Considerations
If you currently have a job, you probably want to be toned down in making your LinkedIn activites public because your current employer may notice and be very concerned – perhaps even terminating you.
On the other hand, if you are unemployed, you probably want to be more open, once your Profile is set up, so that you can attract the attention of recruiters and employers.
Types of LinkedIn Broadcasting
LinkedIn offers 2 types of broadcast or networking messages that can be issued on a mass distribution basis to other users, informing them of your activity (and basically prompting them to look at your Profile to interpret your actions).
These message types, called Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed, are sometimes confused with each other. In order to manage your job search effectively, you must understand these messages. including the decisions behind how to use them.
Here’s a look at the type of information you can control with Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed settings — with some key points on maximizing these messages during your job search:
1 – Activity Broadcasts
Activity Broadcasts are the dead-giveaways sent out when you change your Profile. So, if you’re tweaking your Headline to arrive at the best fit, or finally populating your Profile with a ton of new data, this is the one to turn off first.
You can view your Activity Broadcast options by going to Settings, then “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.” Here, you only have On (“Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies”) and Off.
As you can see, this setting also gives your Connections a heads-up that you’ve written a Recommendation or are following Companies. These are rarely considered high-profile activities, but they’re included in LinkedIn’s definition of a Broadcast.
Overall, turning your Activity Broadcasts off during a job search is a good idea (even recommended by LinkedIn), since Profile updates are usually the first sign that you’re preparing for flight.
Another bonus: if you’re trying out new Headlines or continually adding keywords, turning off Activity Broadcasts will prevent your contacts from being hammered during each iteration.
2 – Activity Feed
Your Activity Feed is more confusing for most people. This setting is for Status Updates (all those newly posted articles, Likes, Comments, etc. that scroll by on your Home page).
To see your Activity Feed options, go to Settings, then “Select who can see your activity feed.” You have 4 choices here (Everyone, Your network, Your connections, or Only you).
If you turn off your Activity Feed completely (Only You), then why bother issuing any updates? Most people post articles or comments to either initiate or participate in a conversation. Only You stops this activity cold.
If you choose any of the other options, you’ll need to decide just how open you’d like to be. Your Connections, for example, refers to all those users directly connected on LinkedIn, where you’ve either issued or accepted an Invitation request.
While an avid user may have thousands of Connections, this number will probably fall between 100 to 600 for many other LinkedIn accounts. Therefore, Your Connections will broadcast your status to a relatively small pool of users.
Your Network, on the other hand, is the HUGE number of people LinkedIn says you’re linked to (posted to the right on your Home page). For many users, this represents a network in the tens of thousands. Everyone means all 200+ million LinkedIn members!
So, if you’re interested in letting others know about your expertise, promoting yourself as a thought leader, or otherwise keeping employers in the loop on your great expertise and ROI, you might want to consider Your Network or Everyone as good options for the Activity feed.
The Bottom Line
Understanding just how LinkedIn relays your activity to other users – and the control you have over these messages – can make the difference between being notable and open in your job search, or more private in your online activity.
About the author…
Job-Hunt’s LinkedIn for Job Search Expert Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Director of An Expert Resume, is an award-winning executive resume writer, national columnist, author, LinkedIn and SEO enthusiast, and past recruiter. Laura is author of How to Get Hired Faster: 60+ Proven Tips and Strategies to Access the Hidden Job Market. Follow Laura on Twitter at @ResumeExpert and on LinkedIn.
More about this author…
Don't forget to share this article with friends!
