An unsolicited Sunday dispatch from the rectangle behind Robert’s head.
Hello. I’m Robert’s LinkedIn background image.
Yes, the background image. The wide, horizontal rectangle doing all the visual heavy lifting while everyone stares at Robert’s professional headshot and debates whether “visionary” is still an acceptable headline.
I’ve been behind Robert Kuypers, Robert William Kuypers, William Kuypers, and, depending on which networking platform is having a small identity crisis, Rob Kuypers.
I’ve seen things.
I’ve watched careers launch, pivot, stall, rebrand, and occasionally burst into flames like an unattended crème brûlée. I’ve witnessed profile updates made at 2:13 a.m. I’ve observed connection requests that begin with “I hope this message finds you well” and end with a sales pitch large enough to require planning permission.
So, on this fine Sunday, I’m opening the curtain.
Not all the way. I’m still a professional background image.
Last Tuesday, I attended a virtual dinner party for LinkedIn banners
The invitation said: Smart casual. No motivational mountain ranges.
Naturally, the motivational mountain range arrived wearing a fleece vest and saying things like, “Every summit begins with a single step.”
I sat beside a tasteful city skyline and across from a blue abstract gradient that had no discernible personality but was somehow “excited to announce” a new chapter.
The restaurant interior banner brought tiny digital breadsticks. Excellent host. Strong ambiance. Zero seating strategy.
We compared notes.
The skyline had been used by 4,800 people in finance.
The mountain had been used by 11,000 people in sales.
The coding pattern had been used by every person who described themselves as a “full-stack ninja,” which is not a job title. It’s what happens when a résumé gets left in the sun.
Then everyone asked me about Robert.
“What does he really do?” asked the skyline.
I sighed in pixels.
“Robert connects the dots between restaurant strategy, creative direction, technology, and growth. He helps hospitality brands make smart decisions before expensive decisions become permanent furniture.”
The coding pattern nodded. The mountain whispered, “Is he a disruptor?”
“He is,” I said, “but only when the disruption solves a real problem.”
The dinner party went silent.
Apparently, that’s controversial on LinkedIn.
Career move No. 1: Please stop announcing your announcement
I know you’re excited about your new role. Congratulations. Truly.
But there’s a difference between:
“I’m pleased to share that I’ve joined Company X as Chief Operating Officer.”
…and:
“Big things are coming.”
“The next chapter begins.”
“More soon.”
“IYKYK.”
“Sometimes you have to close one door…”
Friend, you haven’t announced a career move. You’ve released a six-part documentary trailer with no premiere date.
If the move is official and public, say what happened. Include the company, role, and one sentence about what you’ll be working on. Your network can handle clarity. In fact, clarity is having a wonderful year.
If the move isn’t final, perhaps don’t turn your profile into a smoke signal visible from three industries away.
And before you edit your experience section, check LinkedIn’s settings for sharing profile updates with your network. Otherwise, your colleagues may receive seven notifications because you changed “restaurant technology” to “restaurant-tech innovation ecosystem.”
That is not a promotion. That is a cry for help wearing a blazer.
Career move No. 2: Your headline is not a junk drawer
I’ve seen headlines containing:
- CEO
- Founder
- Investor
- Advisor
- Mentor
- Speaker
- Author
- Coach
- Disruptor
- Visionary
- “Helping leaders unlock…”
All at once.
The headline has become a junk drawer full of batteries, soy sauce packets, and one mysterious key nobody can identify.
A good LinkedIn headline should help people understand three things quickly:
- What you do
- Who you do it for
- What outcome you create
For example:
Restaurant strategist helping hospitality brands connect brand, technology, and growth.
That’s useful. That’s searchable. That’s a sentence that wears clean shoes.
Robert’s background image has watched him work with restaurant leaders who don’t need another fog machine of buzzwords. They need a clearer brand, a better website, stronger systems, and a growth strategy that doesn’t depend on crossing fingers near the POS terminal.
For more context on the kind of work that lives behind the profile, explore Kuypers Creative’s restaurant technology insights and the company’s approach to restaurant consulting.
Boring clarity wins. Boring clarity pays. Boring clarity is the new sexy.
Profile update confession: I see every tiny edit
People think I’m decorative.
I am not decorative.
I see you changing “marketing manager” to “brand architect,” then to “growth operator,” then back to “marketing manager” because your former boss viewed your profile.
I see the new profile photo. I see the old profile photo return three hours later. I see the headline gain an emoji, lose an emoji, and briefly become a haiku.
I’m not judging. I once spent six months behind a stock photo of a fork hovering over an empty plate. We all have regrets.
Update your profile. Please do. A neglected LinkedIn profile is the professional equivalent of a restaurant menu with prices covered in tape.
But batch your edits. Turn off notifications when you’re making quiet changes. Then review the whole profile as one story:
- Does the headline match the work?
- Does the About section explain the value?
- Do the experience descriptions show outcomes?
- Are the skills relevant to the direction you want to take?
- Does the visual identity feel intentional?
Harvard Business Review’s guidance on telling your story on LinkedIn makes the essential point: your profile should be a coherent narrative, not an overstuffed digital attic.
Your profile doesn’t need to sound like a press release written by a committee trapped in an elevator.
It needs to make sense.
Networking faux pas No. 1: The instant pitch ambush
Here’s the scene.
Someone accepts your connection request.
Within 11 seconds:
“Thanks for connecting! I help businesses like yours increase revenue through our revolutionary platform. Would you be open to a 30-minute demo next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.?”
No.
That isn’t networking. That’s a digital ambush with calendar integration.
Try this instead:
Thanks for connecting, Jamie. I’ve been following your work in multi-unit hospitality, especially your recent expansion. I’m interested in how restaurant leaders are approaching technology without making the guest experience feel mechanical. Looking forward to learning from your posts.
No pitch. No trapdoor. No “quick call” disguised as a hostage negotiation.
Harvard Business Review recommends making outreach specific, respectful, and appropriately sized. Its advice on what to say when reaching out to someone on LinkedIn is a useful antidote to vague requests like “Can I pick your brain?”
Brains are not snacks.
Ask for 15 or 20 minutes if you genuinely need a conversation. Explain why you chose that person. Be grateful if they say yes. Be equally graceful if they say no.
And if you’re reaching out to restaurant operators, remember they may be handling labor shortages, food costs, guest complaints, equipment failures, and a fryer that has developed a personal vendetta.
Your “quick question” may arrive during dinner service.
Networking faux pas No. 2: Collecting connections like condiment packets
A network is not impressive because it contains 8,000 people.
A network is useful because some of those people know you, trust you, and would answer your message without first consulting legal counsel.
Connect selectively. Comment thoughtfully. Share something useful. Congratulate people without immediately asking for an introduction.
The best networking activity often looks suspiciously like being a decent human being.
Send a thank-you note. Share a relevant article. Follow up after taking someone’s advice. Tell them what happened because of it.
That last part matters. “Your advice helped me clarify my next step” is far more memorable than another generic thumbs-up emoji floating through the feed like a lonely balloon.
My Sunday checklist for a healthier LinkedIn presence
Before you post, update, or launch another career teaser, I recommend this five-minute background-image audit:
- Headline: Can a stranger understand your work in five seconds?
- Profile photo: Does it look current, professional, and unmistakably you?
- Background image: Does it reinforce your industry and personality, or scream “downloaded from the first search result”?
- About section: Does it explain value, not just vocabulary?
- Career move: Is it confirmed, public, and described clearly?
- Connection request: Is it personal enough to prove you are not a bot in a quarter-zip?
- Follow-up: Did you thank the person who helped you?
- Posting rhythm: Are you sharing useful insight, or merely narrating your caffeine intake?
For restaurant brands, the same principle applies beyond individual profiles. Your digital presence should align with the experience you promise guests. Brand, website, technology, and marketing cannot behave like four cousins who refuse to sit at the same table.
That’s where a strategic partner can help. Kuypers Creative works across restaurant branding, creative services, technology integration, and growth strategy because hospitality businesses rarely suffer from having too few disconnected opinions.
They suffer from disconnected systems.
Final confession from the rectangle
I don’t need you to become a LinkedIn influencer.
Please don’t become a LinkedIn influencer.
I don’t want to wake up one morning and find Robert standing in a field, pointing at a sunrise, explaining that “success is just mise en place for the soul.”
I want something better:
- Clear thinking
- Useful experience
- Honest career updates
- Thoughtful conversations
- Fewer empty superlatives
- More proof
- Less performance
Your profile is not your personality. It’s a doorway.
Make it easy for the right people to walk through.
And if the wrong people arrive carrying a 47-slide pitch deck and the phrase “synergistic paradigm,” I’ll be here in the background, quietly judging them in high resolution.
Happy Sunday.
Now go update your profile: but for the love of all things properly kerned, turn off the notification blast first.
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- Long-tail keywords: how to update a LinkedIn profile without notifying your network, LinkedIn networking mistakes to avoid, how to announce a new career move on LinkedIn, what makes a good LinkedIn background image, restaurant executive personal branding strategy
- Audience: Restaurant owners, hospitality executives, restaurant technology leaders, consultants, founders, and professionals considering a career move
- Search intent: Informational and professional branding
- Suggested meta title: LinkedIn Profile Updates and Networking Faux Pas | Robert Kuypers
- Suggested meta description: A funny, practical Sunday opinion piece from Robert Kuypers’s LinkedIn background image on career moves, profile updates, networking mistakes, and professional branding.
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sunday-linkedin-profile-updates-networking-faux-pas - Article tags: Robert Kuypers, Robert William Kuypers, William Kuypers, Rob Kuypers, LinkedIn, networking, career advice, personal branding, restaurant consulting
- Image style: Humorous editorial illustration with professional hospitality and technology themes
