Put your contact information to work for you in LinkedIn.
Dear Interview Doctor,
My friend and I are having a debate. Do I include my contact information visibly in my LinkedIn profile or only have it listed in the contact section visible to my first level connections? Which is better?
Foggy about Visibility in Cleveland
Dear Foggy,
It depends. Do you want to be found or not?
If you are in a job search or even just want to grow your career, what is the downside to giving recruiters and networkers a way to contact you? Make it easy and people will reach out with opportunities. Make it hard and they will move on to the next person. Your choice.
You are not obligated to share your contact information. Some people are very concerned about their privacy. The default is that your email address and phone number are visible in the Contact section, visible to your first level connections.
There are several places you can put your contact information so it can be visible.
- In the body of your LinkedIn Profile Summary. I like to say something like, “Connect with me at Katherine@Interviewdoc.com to continue the conversation.”
- In the top of the LinkedIn Profile Summary. Some folks recommend putting it at the top of your summary so your email address can be visible in the first 3 lines of the summary on the mobile app. The first line of the summary could sound like this, “I am passionate about improving the job search process so you can make a better career match. Let’s talk about your career needs at Katherine@Interviewdoc.com.”
Be sure to include your personal website (if you have one), your consulting website, your personal portfolio or other social media sites in your Contact section found in the top section of your LinkedIn profile. Access the edit function by clicking on the little blue pencil in the upper right hand corner of that top section next to your picture.