I used LinkedIn every day. It’s a fantastic anti-Facebook professional networking tool. It allows me to become friendlier with literally hundreds of people I meet at my jobs and networking events without giving them access to the embarrassing college photos of Facebook and vice versa.
But LinkedIn is so, bloody, imperfect.
Every time I log in, I think of something I want to change about the way LinkedIn looks, feels and operates. Here are 10:
1. Instant Resume
Seriously. “Printable version” please! I spent all this time typing my experience, awards, jobs, and expansive skillset into LinkedIn. So, why can’t I press a button and get a beautiful, printer-friendly, images included, business logos added, RESUME that I can actually use when someone asks for it? No mistakes. No confusion. Nothing left out. One stop shopping.
2. Birthdays
I really, really want to be able to wish people who I’m hoping to do business with a very, very happy birthday.
3. Anniversaries
Ditto.
4. Family/Husband/Wife/Kids
I don’t know about you, but my current day job is inside a City Hall. I’d love a handy guide to “who’s married to whom.”
Also, once you get to a certain threshold of friends on a social network, it would be helpful to see the real relationships as they meld with the business and virtual ones.
5. Status
Facebook always nailed this just right. LinkedIn has a “headline” for your profile, but most people use that to list their current job. It would be nice to have a “sub-headline” to say what I’m currently doing, projects I’m working on, or that I’m looking for something.
6. More photos
It would be nice to host some more photos on LinkedIn. Not party pics, but event photos, professional pictures, logos, portfolio pieces, etc.
7. Fewer Groups
Facebook went way off the reservation with groups and pages. LinkedIn should keep it professional and limit the number of groups so that they are more meaningful and useful.
8. Verified Profiles
There are a ton of CEOs, politicians, and mini-celebrities being impersonated on LinkedIn, and only by paying to join LinkedIn Premium can your profile be reasonably trusted as “you.” It would be nice to have a little verification on LinkedIn.
9. Fewer paid options or fewer differences between paid options
Seriously. Having a free LinkedIn account results in LinkedIn essentially telling everyone that you’re a deadbeat who doesn’t deserve to network or send messages to anyone. OK not entirely, but there’s no reason why LinkedIn needs TEN levels of accounts — Free, Personal Plus, Sales Basic, Sales Plus, Job Seeker Basic, Job Seeker, Talent Talent Basic, Recruiter Lite, Business, and Business Plus. That is insane.
$10 a month. Business, Personal. Business = Job postings, recruiters business pages. Personal = People, job seekers.
I’d even go as far as to eliminate free accounts. Would that be insane of me?
10. A real, filtered, moderated job board for paid members
Last, I’d give people a reason to hover on the site all day. Get more job listings on the site and give more people access.
Benash Frazier liked this on Facebook.