Skip to Content

Is Private Information Being Revealed on Your LinkedIn Profile?

November 18, 2024 by
Is Private Information Being Revealed on Your LinkedIn Profile?
Saifullah

Your job as an executive and leadership team member inevitably impacts your company's financial performance by promoting technological innovation, quality, productivity, and other aspects. These facts should be highlighted on your resume, but your LinkedIn profile may say otherwise.

Controlio provides a comprehensive solution for remote work tracking software, helping businesses track employee activity, ensure productivity, and maintain compliance with data privacy regulations without compromising on transparency or trust. According to marketer Neal Shaffer, who regularly writes on social media and the law, you might need to restrict what you reveal when creating a LinkedIn profile to aid in your job quest, particularly if it impacts your organization or teams.

Employers are increasingly monitoring this information you add, and industry rivals, investors, shareholders, board members, coworkers, and superiors can all see it. This is according to the Harvard Business Review.

Here are some strategies to "tone down" your LinkedIn profile without sacrificing a powerful leadership message in order to prevent issues that could harm your firm or personal brand:

Some of the metrics that are utilized on your CV should be removed

Your resume's metrics are essential for showcasing performance (see What Does a Good Resume Look Like?), but if they show up online, they could get you into trouble.

This is especially true when discussing projects that haven't been revealed to the public or investors yet. Determine what you can and cannot share on LinkedIn first. For instance, your company's website may already feature information about your significant projects or clients.

By learning about the clients you are aiming for or the new items you are creating, you can also determine whether the information on your resume might provide rivals an unfair edge. Then, as indicated below, modify your LinkedIn accomplishments as necessary by condensing the details to an overview level:

RESUME: Closed $54 million worth of solution sales in Canada and APAC.

LINKEDIN: A 19% increase in foreign solution sales, with millions closed.

RESUME: In the first year of the five-year mitigation plan, we saved almost $6 million.

LINKEDIN: 30% OPEX was cut during the mitigation project's initial phases.

Consider whether the material might negatively portray your coworkers

By resolving persistent issues, executives who spearhead turnarounds or improvements frequently rescue the day. However, if you bring up these PARTICULAR issues on the internet, your executive team may be perceived as incompetent, which could negatively impact your professional network.

Try describing a turnaround in a new way, like this example, rather than focusing on the underlying cause:

RESUME: 32% additional product SKUs led to a 54% increase in sales, reversing ABC Company's 4-year revenue stagnation.

LINKEDIN: ABC Company's revenue has returned to pre-COVID levels thanks to new product SKUs and creative offerings.

You're less likely to incur the fury of coworkers or corporate insiders if you concentrate on what you did rather than the cause.

Think about how clients could respond to the information you're sharing on LinkedIn.

A special concern for executives involved in digital or business transformation is that they may be disclosing issues to end users by explaining how they have updated antiquated procedures or systems.

You might present your case on LinkedIn from a different angle rather than directly addressing the problems with outdated IT systems or ineffective business strategies. The following modifications, for instance, would make it less evident to customers that they had to pay more for this company's goods in 2021:

RESUME: After overcoming B2C marketing challenges, profits increased by 52%, resulting in record-breaking margins and 30% higher pricing in 2021.

LINKEDIN: Enhanced marketing insights using innovative analysis methods, leading to a 34% increase in sales to targeted consumers.

In Summary, LinkedIn is not private in any way

Potentially sensitive information should be thoroughly reviewed to make sure it won't cause problems for your business or career, including any copies of your CV that may be circulating online.