Preview LinkedIn Profile: View Your Profile As Others See it - Tips on Editing Profiles and Account Privacy

Preview LinkedIn Profile: View Your Profile As Others See it - Tips on Editing Profiles and Account Privacy

You’ve heard the phrase “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Well, that is just as true on Linkedin. Your profile is your introduction to others and you want it to be perfect.

Managing your LinkedIn presence is crucial to creating a professional image and making a lasting impression on potential employers, leads, collaborators, and connections.

There are many things about your profile that people see when they view it for the first time. Here are some tips on editing your profile’s public visibility so you can View Your Linkedin Profile As Others See It!

Michael Myers Halloween  - This is how you look When you view a linkedin profile 43 days in a row
search engines / linkedin members / linkedin homepage / me icon

To view your LinkedIn profile as others see it

  • Go to the top right corner of your screen and select “Me 🔻.
  • Select the “Settings & Privacy” option from the dropdown menu (a new page will load).
  • In the left sidebar click on the tab “Visibility”
  • Click the “Edit your public profile” button once you’ve finished making changes.
  • This time you see a preview of your profile. (Shortcut: this is the page you are looking for https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings). You can also use the browser's address bar to copy the profile URL.
public profile / press enter / third person / search bar
public profile / press enter / third person / search bar

Another option would be to copy the Link of your Profile (eg. https://www.linkedin.com/in/publicIdentifier) and paste it inside of an incognito tab in chrome. This simulates the perspective of an external visitor.

The result would be the same - you see your profile from the viewpoint of a Google visitor.

When someone visits your LinkedIn profile without being logged in, this is how it will appear. It’s a little different for someone who is signed in.

LinkedIn Account Privacy, Visibility Settings, and Features

Here we answer some important questions about LinkedIn account privacy and visibility settings.

To edit your profile's public visibility on LinkedIn, navigate to your profile preview and use the toggles to enable or disable specific elements, or turn off public visibility entirely.

How to control what's displayed on your public LinkedIn profiles

On your public settings page ( https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings ) you will be able to manage your profile page and control all the information that’s displayed on your public profiles, including:

  • Your name and headline (eg. “A marketer at ABC Company”)
  • Your profile photo
  • The companies you work for or worked for in the past
public linkedin profile / drop down menu / contact info / view profile
public linkedin profile / drop down menu / contact info / view profile

You can click on your profile picture to access certain features or settings, such as viewing your profile, adjusting privacy settings, or editing your public profile URL.

Turning off the Public visibility option, will make your Linkedin Profile to not appear on search engines.

Unless you have a compelling reason not to do so, I strongly urge making all information public. People will be more inclined to contact you if they can find out about you and your actions through your profile.

How to deactivate the "viewers of this profile also viewed" function

Have you ever seen an Amazon function like "Customers who bought xy also bought"?On your profile, LinkedIn has a similar function in that it links you to other users' profiles.

This is probably a less appealing feature for most individuals since the longer your profile stays on their view, the more interaction it will receive and is thus potentially helpful to your efforts.

So, here is how to disable this feature in LinkedIn:

  • Navigate to the right side and click "Me 🔻"
  • In the dropdown menu click on "Settings & Privacy" (a new page opens)
  • Navigate in the left sidebar to "Account Preferences"
  • Click the link "Viewers of this profile also viewed"
  • Switch the toggle to "off" (grey state)
public profile / press enter / third person / search bar
public profile / press enter / third person / search bar

How do I create a custom Linkedin Url?

Having a custom URL on LinkedIn is crucial for enhancing your profile's visibility and making it easily searchable by others. It strengthens your personal brand and makes your profile stand out. Imagine the difference between /in/profile-3dha4lfr and /in/yourname. A custom URL not only looks professional but also makes your profile memorable.

To create a custom LinkedIn profile URL:

  • Log in to your LinkedIn account and click on the “profile” tab
  • Click on “Edit public profile & URL” (top right corner)
  • In the URL box, add /in/YourNameHere

How can I see who viewed my Linkedin profile?

With a basic free LinkedIn account, you can see up to five results of who has viewed your profile.

view profile linkedin
view profile linkedin

This is available in your "Who viewed your profile" option, where you can also see the number of visits from people to your profile and the number of times you've appeared in search results. For more in-depth results, you can sign up for a free premium Linkedin account 1-month trial.

With a premium LinkedIn account, you may see an infinite number of people who have read your profile as well as other useful information like trends in viewership and industry or network representation.

How to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously

It makes perfect sense that you may want to view someone’s LinkedIn profile without being identified.

One method to achieve this is to use tools that allow you to view a LinkedIn profile as someone else, which can help you see how your profile appears to an outsider.

Unfortunately, you can’t access someone’s profile in full private mode as a free member. If you have a free account, however, you may still read in semi-private mode.

This means your profile characteristics such as job title, company, school and industry will still be shown to the member you are viewing. However, with no further information than that.

To update or change your browsing mode, simply head to the ‘Me’ icon in the top right-hand corner again and click on ‘Settings & Privacy.’ Click on ‘Visibility,’ then locate ‘Profile viewing options’ within the ‘Visibility of your profile & network’ section. Here, you’ll have different options of browsing mode to choose from.

Before you go

You can attract lots of new connections and increase job opportunities if you post regularly on Linkedin. We advise you to share your knowledge and value with your connections. Sometimes, it can be a little hard to attract connections and other users to engage with your content!

Making your information publicly available can also help others reach out to you via Google search.

Linkboost

If you’re ready to start getting a huge engagement on your LinkedIn profile, then go and get Linkboost