By Alan Collins – http://successinhr.com

LinkedIn is the #1 online career advancement tool for HR professionals. Hands down. Nothing else even comes close.
Estimates of professional participation in LinkedIn range as high as 83%. So it’s the place to be.
But if you’re like a few HR folks, you may be making two very simple, but costly mistakes in using it.

Here they are…

1. You’re not findable.
Recruiters and headhunters get paid big bucks to find HR talent. And all of them use LinkedIn as their #1 source.
But you frustrate the crap out them by making it impossible for them to get in touch with you.
If they can’t find your phone number or e-mail address on your profile you are making their life a living hell.

They’re not mind readers. They like things simple, easy, and fast.
So get smart. Get your e-mail address at a minimum into your Linkedin profile. And preferably your cell phone number too.
If you someday want to land that dream HR job, make it easy for executive search professionals to reach you so that they can deliver it to you.
2. Your profile has job titles, but no story.

A bare-boned LinkedIn profile with just your past job titles does you no good and creates missed opportunities for you every day.
An incomplete profile like this doesn’t tell anyone anything other than you’ve had some jobs.
It doesn’t tell them what you can do.So today, right now, go back and flesh out a story for each of the jobs on your profile.By this I mean, along with those jobs you’ve listed, include a description of the results you achieved in the past. Three to four sentences for each job is ideal.
And, yes, quantify those accomplishments where possible. Numbers, not words speak volumes and help sell your value.You want your profile to grab people by the throat and clearly let them know why you’re remarkable and worthy of being in their network, contacted or referred.

In a nutshell…
These are two of the simplest mistakes you can make on Linkedin.
But they are also the most COSTLY…and EASIEST to correct!
So go get these two items taken care of right now, if you haven’t already.
Don’t wait until you’re on the prowl for your next HR gig to address these two simple issues.

It may be too late then.

Each day you neglect to make these simple corrections is a day in which you are getting overlooked for job leads, consulting opportunities, speaking engagements and important career contacts…any of which could lead to that ONE phenomenal HR job you’ve always aspired to have.
So act now.