Your LinkedIn profile shouldn’t be stagnant. As you go about your business career, things happen: promotions, successes, new opportunities, business deals, etc… As your career unfolds, your LinkedIn profile should reflect these changes. Case in point: I recently wrote a book and it was published. My profile referenced that I was writing a book but now it was time to announce that the book is published and available. I opened up my profile and began editing when suddenly I was faced with that dreaded error message:
You have exceeded the maximum length by 15 characters.
OH NO! I reviewed my profile, trying to figure out what to cut… but there was nothing I was willing to sacrifice. What to do!?!
And then it hit me. I am one of those people who took a typing class (on a typewriter!?!) back 25 years ago and learned that after every period you hit the space bar TWICE. Two spaces were considered compulsory back in the world of monospaced type. Monospaced means that every character, even an M, takes up the same amount of space on the page as the skinny letter I. Two spaces after the period made it easier to see the end of the sentence and the beginning of the next. Nowadays, we use proportionally spaced fonts. Proportionally spaced fonts means the space is adjusted depending on the letter. The itty bitty letter I takes up less space than big momma M. This adjustment makes the double space unnecessary after periods.
In order to get my text squeezed into 15 less character slots, I simply removed all my double spaces!
Voilà ! My update fit!
I really am trying to stop adding two spaces after periods… but my typing teacher from 5th grade, that darn Mrs Falconella, drilled two spaces into me so deeply that I don’t know if I will ever be able to stop doing it completely.
Do you add two spaces after periods? Do you have any tips as to how to reclaim space on your profile?
In addition to performing LinkedIn Makeovers for clients, I’ve also written a book! Learn the secrets I use to create a POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile! This easy to read and fun book walks you through building, step by step, an amazing LinkedIn profile. Chock full of LinkedIn Summary and Headline Examples, Professional Secrets to a POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile is your one stop resource to learn how to create an AMAZING LinkedIn profile This book is currently available on CreateSpace and will be arriving at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in April 2011.
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