Be More Reachable When You Flip These LinkedIn Switches

One thing that always puzzles me is when people lock down their LinkedIn profiles, making them hard or even impossible to find. Isn’t the point of being on LinkedIn to build relationships? That’s pretty difficult to do if no one can reach you. 

Now, what I do understand is that some folks accidentally obscure their profiles. Maybe they haven’t changed the default settings or mistakenly switched on something in their privacy settings. I can’t tell you how many times a client had no idea their last name wasn’t even visible to non-connections or their profile photo wasn’t public. 

If you’re interested in developing connections on LinkedIn and making yourself more accessible to prospects, colleagues, or job candidates, read on to discover how to configure your settings for maximum reachability. 

Public Profile 

LinkedIn and Google love each other. If your profile is public, it will likely be one of the first results in Google when you search your name. Take advantage of this highly visible space but making sure your profile—and the well-crafted narrative it tells—is public. 

1. From the homepage of the desktop version of LinkedIn, select the “Me” icon with your profile picture and click “View my profile” in the dropdown menu. 
2. From your profile page, find the “Public profile & URL”section to the far right and select the pencil icon.
3. Under the “Edit Visibility” section in the far right column, I recommend updating your settings to the following: 

Your profile’s public visibility - On

Profile photo - Public 

All items* in the list beneath profile photo - On
*Including: Background Photo, Headline, Websites, Summary, Articles & Activity, Current Experience & Details, Past Experience and Details, Education and Details, Volunteer Experiences, Certifications, Publications, Honors and Awards, Languages, Recommendations

Visibility Settings 

In addition to your public profile settings, you’ll want to take a look at your visibility settings. Having, for example, just your last name initial instead of your full last name visible will make it difficult for people to find you. 

1. From the homepage of the desktop version of LinkedIn, select the “Me” icon with your profile picture and click “Settings & Privacy” in the dropdown menu. 
2. From the menu on the left, select “Visibility.” 
3. I recommend updating your settings to the following:

Who can see your last name - First and Last Name 

Profile discovery and visibility off LinkedIn - On

Profile discovery using email address - Anyone

Profile discovery using phone number - Everyone 

Open Profile 

LinkedIn allows you to control who has access to your inbox. You can learn all about what it means to have an Open Profile and why you might want one in this LinkedInsider article. Here’s how to update your Open Profile settings. 

1. From the homepage of the desktop version of LinkedIn, select the “Me” icon with your profile picture and click “Settings & Privacy” in the dropdown menu. 
2. From the menu on the left, select “Data privacy.” 
3. Under the “Who can reach you” heading, select “Messages.” 
4. I recommend updating your settings to the following:

Message requests - On 

InMail messages - On 

Open Profile messages - On

Creator Mode

Creator Mode deserves an article of its own (you can read more here), but one feature of the setting is what I call the featured URL. If you have a website, contact form, or booking tool like Calendly, the featured URL is a great place to put it—and make yourself more reachable on LinkedIn. 

To turn on Creator Mode and set a featured URL, follow these steps: 

1. From the homepage of the desktop version of LinkedIn, select the “Me” icon with your profile picture and click “View my profile” in the dropdown menu. 
2. Scroll down to the “Resources” section of your profile. 
3. Click “Creator Mode” and fill out the required information to turn it on.
4. Now, select the pencil at the top of your profile. 
5. Scroll to the bottom of the popup menu and add a Custom button. Select “Link” and customize the link and title.
   
   

Audio 

Audio is consistently one of the most forgotten LinkedIn features, but it’s so powerful! And it can support your efforts to be open to connection. I recommend using the name pronunciation feature to direct people to a way to get in touch. Follow the steps below to try it for yourself. 

1. In the LinkedIn mobile app, navigate to your profile page. 
2. Tap the pencil icon at the top your profile. 
3. In the “Basic info” section, tap “Add name pronunciation.” 
4. Allow LinkedIn to access your phone microphone. 
5. Hold to record your name pronunciation and include a way to reach you in your recording. Listen to the name pronunciation recording on my profile for an example of what I mean. 

If you want to take advantage of LinkedIn’s incredible community of professionals—and beyond—consider retooling your settings. When you flip these switches, you’ll open yourself up to a world of possible connections. Who knows what opportunities await?

If you’re a little stuck when it comes to your profile, I’d love to help. The Profile Transformer™ engagement takes away the guesswork and heavy lifting for you, delivering a LinkedIn presence you can feel confident is putting your best foot forward. This proven process is straightforward to systematically revamp your profile the right way.