Q: Roland, my client wants to add a lot of personal information to her website. What’s your recommendation?
A: The harsh reality is that your prospects primarily want to know whether ‘you’ can do the job well. And they don’t want to waste time sifting though irrelevant details. They need info that assures them of your competency (i.e., experience, certifications, testimonials, photos) and makes them feel confident about the decision to hire you.
I don’t think there’s a competitive advantage by revealing more than the minimum amount of personal details. Some people like to publish everything about their lives under the guise of “transparency” and “authentic self.” I seriously disagree. If anything, posting too much online — whether on your website or social media — makes you more vulnerable to identity theft and scams. Plus, the tendency to overshare might make people think you are narcissistic and negatively skew their impression of you.
I recommend to never post details about family, names/ages of family members, travel while traveling (hey come rob my house while I’m out of town!), etc. It’s dangerous and irrelevant to the selling process. Instead share information of value to the prospect or community you are cultivating.
I hope that’s helpful. Please add your opinion in the comments below. Thanks.
-Roland
The golden rule:
“Share less about you, and more about how you will help someone succeed.”
If we add too much personal information, it becomes non professional. For sure as you said, it is also more vulnerable to identity theft and scams.
Thank you for sharing.
I recommend to never post details about family, names of family members
I think that the only thing there can’t be too much info about is about the NYC Resume Services if you want to find a good writer and make your writing informative and persuasive.
Thank you Roland. I agree, posting a lot of private information on your website or social media accounts is not a good idea. Sharing private information will not affect your qualification rating, but can cause you troubles.