And probably should.

While doing a LinkedIn critique with a client, I asked him if he’s taking advantage of his See contact info area. His reaction was typical. He didn’t know it existed. Sadly, he’s not atypical of most LinkedIn users.

My reason for this assertion is because when I ask my workshop attendees if they know about their See contact info area is, their reaction is the same as my client’s. They have no clue.

If you aren’t aware of See contact info, you’re missing out on information you can provide for your visitors.

Where is See contact info?

Herein lies the problem; many LinkedIn users don’t know where this area on the LinkedIn profile is. Perhaps this is because of the location, where it’s mixed in with current employment, most recent education, and number of connections. (See below for where it’s located in the Snapshot area.)

It’s unfortunate that many LinkedIn users don’t know where See contact info is located, as there is important information that can be discovered in this area, not least of which is a user’s email address. To add value to this area on your profile, read below.

Information you can provide in See contact info?

LinkedIn profile URL

At the bare minimum your LinkedIn public profile URL is revealed. Here’s where visitors can see if your URL has been customized (there are no numbers or letters after your name). Make sure it’s customized by going to Edit public profile & URL (top right-hand corner of your profile) select Public URL and type only your name into the field.

When I see a public profile URL that is customized, I know the LinkedIn user understands it makes them look more savvy with LinkedIn. Only when it’s customized should it be included on your resume, personal business cards, professional networking profile, and other job-search documents.

Email address

You have the option of allowing all LinkedIn users to see your email address, first degree connections, first and second degree connections, or only you. If you want recruiters and other hiring authorities to contact you, allow everyone to see your email address.

To set your email view, go to Settings & Privacy and select Who can see your email address.

Websites (three)

I provide websites for my blog; book; and since there’s no designated space for Facebook, my Facebook page. If you have a company website, a website for your job search, or want to draw visitors to a page on your former/ current employer’s site, this is a great place to do it.

Links to websites can go a long way toward branding you, especially if you’re in an artistic industry and want recruiters to see your online portfolio. You can also provide links in your rich media areas, but why not cover all your bases?

Phone

Not many job seekers list their telephone number, but the smart ones do because it’s easier for recruiters to call or text them. I tell my clients it’s their prerogative, and secretly think I wouldn’t do it. However, if I were job searching, I’d follow my own advice.

If you own a business or have a side hustle, you should list your phone number. Some people prefer immediate satisfaction. You don’t want to miss that phone call that could be a potential client.

Address

Do not. I repeat, do not list your home address. I don’t know what LinkedIn was thinking when it created this field. I, for one, don’t want people to know where I live, but that’s just me.

This is where you should list a second email address. Perhaps you want only your first degree connections to be privy to your primary email address, but will allow everyone to see a different email address. It could be a business email address, separating pleasure from business.

Twitter

Some of my connections have a larger presence on Twitter. It’s their platform of choice. While others are more present on Facebook, Instagram, etc. If you’re on Twitter, you should include your handle. I’m on Twitter but don’t use it as effectively as I do LinkedIn. I guess I could say, “I don’t get it.”

An important reason for including your Twitter handle would be if you want what you post on LinkedIn to also be tweeted on Twitter. Another reason for including your handle is so visitors to your profile can follow you on Twitter.

You have the ability to include more than one Twitter handle. To set your Twitter accounts, you’ll need to do this in Privacy & Settings.

Not enough

As I say, many LinkedIn members are not aware of the See contact info area. How then do you make sure they see your contact information, or at least some of it? One of my valued colleagues and executive resume writer, Laura Smith-Proulx, says it nicely:

“The See contact Info area does seem neglected by many people who might otherwise welcome a recruiter’s call. I hope your post convinces them to include more information. I also advocate putting at least an email address in the Summary at the end, which is designed to make the recruiter’s job easier and build more Connections.”

Yes, include your call to action in your Summary. I often see my clients fail to do this. Often many of them didn’t think of it, or in some rare instances they don’t want to reveal this personal information. This, according to Laura, makes it more difficult for recruiters to find you. Perhaps they’ll simply give up.

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As you can see, there’s a great deal of information in See contact info. At the very least LinkedIn users should include a customized LinkedIn public profile URL and an email address visible to everyone. Going beyond this with websites and a Twitter handle helps in your branding.

Two sources of information I didn’t mention above are Instant messenger (three) and Birthday. The reason for this is IM is not used often, and I’m not a fan of giving out my birthday.

Photo: Flickr, irving robledo