You’re still overwhelmed by the changes to the LinkedIn desktop user interface and now I’m going to make you think about the mobile app?! And of course, there are the different views using different browsers, tablets, and other devices.
Have you been thinking about how you can improve the appearance of your LinkedIn profile in the new desktop version? If so, you might as well be thinking about the view of your profile in the mobile app at the same time. Increasingly people are looking at your profile on their phones. What does yours look like? Does it still represent you effectively? Take a look at both versions of your own profile to at least be aware of the first impression you’re giving and whether there are changes you might want to make?
Desktop view versus mobile app view
Photo – It appears on both so make sure you have one! If it’s bad and blurry on your desktop, it’s still going to be bad and blurry on the mobile app. On both desktop and mobile, you can click on it to enlarge it.
Headline
Both desktop and mobile show the full 220 characters when people are on your profile BUT only the first line or so when you comment on someone’s post or how you show up in searches. The line will break at different points. Make sure what shows communicates the right message. What’s a good headline? See (Do Just One Thing – Add a Good Headline)
Your current company
It doesn’t show on the mobile app in the header. If you’ve followed previous advice that I and other LinkedIn Experts have given to not waste your headline area, that could be something you want to look at. The company name does appear lower down under experience. If this is a concern to you, let’s talk.
Summary
The mobile view of your LinkedIn profile shows fewer words than the already abbreviated desktop view of your summary. You’ll need to see what works for you. This reminds me of an exercise I did in grad school where we instructed to condense a ten-page paper to one paragraph, then one sentence and finally to one word. If you’re really clear about your personal brand you should be able to condense your message into approximately five to ten words. Don’t obsess about it but at least check you’ve included your key words and that you’re not showing something that doesn’t serve you well at all. (See “Do Just One Thing – Your Summary”)
Skills
Both show three skills unless you click on “see more…” Make sure you’ve put your top three skills at the top (you can change the order.) Your skills on both the mobile app and desktop mention who you’ve been endorsed by that have expertise in this area and who are mutual connections and therefore their endorsements theoretically have more credibility.
Experience
The desktop version shows a couple of sentences before you have to click on “see more” for the full description for all your positions. The mobile app shows the titles and company for all and about half a sentence before you you click on “see more”.
Recommendations
(*Updated 2022) Desktop and mobile shows first three. You can’t change the order of your recommendations so that you lead with your strongest two recommendations. There is a way to “hide” a recommendation if the most recent one at the top is rather weak. You can then show it again when you get other stronger recommendations that will show above it.
Highlights
Both give you a quick overview of what connections and groups you have in common if you are a first or second-degree connection. It doesn’t show for third-degree connections. These give you great opportunities to personalize an invitation to connect and/or start a conversation.
Review how your profile looks on your phone and have a friend take a look too. It’s probably fine if you’ve created a profile that looks good on the desktop version of LinkedIn, but it’s worth checking.
I would love to talk with you about taking control of your profile on LinkedIn® and how I could help you with your professional goals. Please schedule a free 30-minute strategy consultation to see how I might be able to assist you.