LinkedIn is the social media extension of your professional self. If you identify as transgender, here are some tips to help you update your profile to match your authentic identity and enhance your personal brand.
Note that these instructions are for the desktop version of LinkedIn. While you can do many of these things on the mobile app, I find it easier to sit at a computer when I’m editing my profile.
Should I create a new LinkedIn profile?
If you’re early in your career, or you’ve barely used LinkedIn, it might be easier to start fresh. However, if you’ve spent years building your network and accumulating contacts, you don’t need to give that up because of your transition. You did the work, you built those relationships, and you’ve been the same person the whole time, even if colleagues knew you with a different name and observed gender.
Before you start: check your privacy
Click your photo at the upper right, and choose the Settings & Privacy menu. Verify that you’re comfortable with each of the privacy settings. You can customize many of the details on a granular level, from who can see your email address to whether people are allowed to tag you in posts.
If you don’t want to call attention to the fact that you’ve made updates to your profile, set Share job changes, education changes, and work anniversaries from profile to No.
Your name and contact info
If your transition includes a name change, take heart that it’s easier on LinkedIn than it is at the DMV. From the Settings & Privacy menu, choose Account, Site Preferences, and Name, Location and Industry. You can also get there by viewing your profile and clicking the pencil icon next to your name to edit.
LinkedIn has an optional field for Former Name. It’s up to you whether to use this field. It will make it easier for former coworkers to recognize you, but if that name is emotionally loaded, you are under no obligation to include it on your shiny new profile.
If your email address has changed, update that in the Login and Security section of the Settings and Privacy menu. You can have multiple email addresses associated with your LinkedIn account. I recommend always having at least two: one business and one personal.
Your photo
If you don’t have a professional headshot that matches your gender expression, now is the time to get one. A good photo goes a long way toward establishing your personal brand online, and it’s a great confidence boost. Look for photographers who specialize in portraits and lifestyle photography.
If you are medically transitioning, you may want to update your picture throughout the process. It can help you celebrate and (if you choose to) share the incremental physical changes that you’re excited to see.
Your recommendations
Written recommendations from your former peers and managers are valuable, even if they’re from several years ago. They improve your ranking in LinkedIn algorithms and can be especially helpful if you’re looking for a new job – but what if they’re loaded with references to your former name and pronouns? Even though they’re full of compliments, they might be painful for you to read – and they’ll either confuse people or out you as transgender to anyone who’s reading your profile.
LinkedIn does not allow you to edit recommendations that people wrote for you, but they do allow you to ask those people for revisions in just a few clicks. In the Recommendations section of your profile, click the pencil at the upper right. Next to each recommendation you’ve received, there’s an Ask for revision button. When you click it, a window will appear for you to write a personalized message. I suggest something along these lines:
Hi Monica, I was just reading the kind words you wrote about me when we worked together at ABC Company. Since then, I’ve changed my name to [name] and am using [male/female] pronouns. Would you be willing to revise your recommendation for me to reflect my name and gender? I hope that you’re well and would love to catch up.
If they respond poorly, or don’t respond, you may choose to delete or hide their recommendation from your profile.
Writing a “coming out” message
It’s entirely up to you whether you announce your transition directly to LinkedIn. You have two options for sharing your words with LinkedIn: Start a post or Write an article.
A post is similar to a Facebook status update. It’s visible to the people in your network, and they can comment or respond with one of the LinkedIn emotions (Like, Celebrate, Love, Insightful, or Curious). Posts quickly get buried by newer posts, so this is ideal for short and timely updates. You can customize the privacy to make posts visible to anyone on LinkedIn, or only to your connections.
An article is what you’re reading right now. It’s a longer-form format, with the opportunity to add multiple images and section headings, and it remains visible and prominent on your profile indefinitely. Articles are visible to anyone on LinkedIn, and anyone can post a comment. This is great for reaching a larger audience, but can also make you vulnerable to negative comments from strangers.
LinkedIn is your space to shine as your authentic, professional self. I hope that you’ve found these tips helpful. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.