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LinkedIn Tips & Traps. Time to update. (Based on member discussions, research, and experimentation.)
If considering retirement, dealing with possible layoff, or recently left. Action to quietly take now even if not expecting to leave soon. Practical "What I wish I had known" advice from HP/HPE alumni who have gone through past cycles: Leaving HP or HPE (Public website. No password required.)
Check your LinkedIn profile. Even if not currently looking, you need a strong, credible LinkedIn profile. Reconnect with people who know you and your work. Be found for your specialty and background by AI bots, recruiters, and hiring managers. Many positions look fake -- HP was changed to HPE; many Agilent, Compaq, DXC, EDS, Keysight, Micro Focus, and Tandem positions look bogus. Member advice on settings, networking, emails.
LinkedIn is now feeding your info into Microsoft's AI to create content -- unless you turn it off. See below.
Why LinkedIn?
Even if not currently looking, you need a strong, credible LinkedIn profile.
- People you are dealing with will look you up -- and expect
to find at least a minimal profile.
- Recruiters and hiring managers search for skills and
background to find
people who aren't currently looking.
- You can search. Reconnect with people who know you and your work. Be found by recruiters.
LinkedIn's article on how to search
for people, jobs, and companies.
Comments from HPAlumni members:
"Got a call from a recruiter who found me on LinkedIn. Led
to a job with higher pay and rewards. My current job
description had the primary skill my new employer was
looking for."
"I'm
diligent about keeping my profile updated -- it attracts
inquiries about my consulting work. This often leads to a
great contract."
"We're all
in business today. There's very little job security -- and
we have to keep up with the network of people we know."
If you don't have a LinkedIn account, start here:
account settings
-- HPAA member advice on how to receive job leads and requests to
connect -- but have reasonable privacy.
LinkedIn is now feeding your
info into Microsoft AI to create content -- unless you turn it off.
Generative AI systems don't just aggregate information -- they can make
stuff up. (For example, ChatGPT said that Bill Hewlett and Steve Jobs
were close friends.)
Go directly to setting. Or click on your photo, select "Settings &
Privacy" from the pulldown under your photo. Then "Data privacy" on the
left. Then "Data for Generative AI Improvement" under the heading "How
LinkedIn uses your data." (While there, you may want to go through the
other settings.)
Note: LinkedIn is not private. What you join, follow, post,
comment on, or "like" is potentially available to recruiters, hiring
managers, prospective business partners, and your connections -- but
also potentially available to rivals, competing companies, scammers, and
identity thieves. In addition, LinkedIn has been breached in the past.
Recruiters search for skills and background using bots. Check your LinkedIn profile. It may have been modified without
your knowledge.
Click your photo, select "View Profile."
You may be surprised.
This matters: 1. You may not be found. 2. Recruiters view
illogical entries as fake.
For example:
- HPE changed many decades-old HP positions to HPE -- with the green logo.
- LinkedIn has been standardizing company names, with odd results.
Deleting inactive companies and eliminating organizational units
from their company database. No information on an employer and no
logo looks fake. (Instead, mention the old company, division, call
center, subsidiary, or HP Labs in the Title or Description for a
position.)
Trap: It is easy to wind up listing a position that looks like a fake,
such as employment at Hewlett Packard Enterprise before Nov 1, 2015 --
before that legal entity existed. We have instructions on how to get LinkedIn to properly display
positions at HP, HPE, Agilent, Compaq, DXC, EDS, Keysight, Micro
Focus, and Tandem.
Strengthen your LinkedIn profile to be found by bots
-- and to present you accurately to humans.
- You need to assume that the recruiters, clerks, and "AI" bots searching for
candidates know nothing about technology or the industry. They search
for specific words or phrases, based on the job req they are trying
to fill.
-
You need to cover your technical specialties, experience,
and skills; show that you are up-to-date; counter clichés
about HP -- and override some robotic LinkedIn features.
- You can emphasize or de-emphasize some of your background
and de-emphasize your age.
Before making changes, be sure to turn off the
share with network feature -- unless you want your
current managers and co-workers to find out that you are on the move
The quickest way to strengthen your LinkedIn presence is to follow
these steps in order:
1. LinkedIn tips and traps (you are here)
2. Check critical
LinkedIn account settings. Receive job leads and requests
to connect but have appropriate privacy.
3. Optimize your Profile.
So that recruiters, hiring managers, clerks, and bots can find you.
4. Optimize your Positions. Your profile displays your experience -- but doesn't
look fake -- so you can be found. Accurately list your HP, HPE, Agilent,
Compaq, DXC, EDS, Keysight, Micro Focus, Tandem, etc. positions.
5. Use LinkedIn's
networking features. Find former co-workers who know your work. And avoid letting promoters, scammers, and fakes use your network.
6. Notification settings. Get the LinkedIn emails and notifications you want. Easy to fix.
Next step -- Account Settings:
Question? Email: info@hpalumni.org (Updated Mar 6, 2025)
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