How To Write A Great LinkedIn Summary

Did you know every 10 seconds a hire is made using LinkedIn? This powerful networking platform can be extremely helpful in navigating a crowded job market. However, you will never be able to deploy LinkedIn to its full capacity unless you are maximizing your opportunities via the thing you have most control over: your profile.

While there are many parts to your LinkedIn profile, perhaps the most underestimated tool is writing a powerful LinkedIn summary. Taking the time to write an exceptional summary will be well worth your time. Under your profile picture and tagline, the LinkedIn Summary section will display right under your tagline when someone views your profile. By default, the first ~300 characters (approximately 3 lines) will be view-able when someone looks at your profile. However, the version of LinkedIn that recruiters utilize will display your entire summary.

Key Attributes of a Strong Summary

• Write your summary from the first-person perspective. The summary should be your elevator speech for people you are meeting on LinkedIn.
• You’re opening line should be catchy and make the reader want to click “show more”. A great summary will never be read if the opening line isn’t compelling.
• Keep it concise, yet complete. You have 2000 characters to use, so decide what you want to include very carefully. It may be helpful to start with a longer summary and pare it down to the most important attributes.
• Your summary should contribute to your overall professional brand. Bring your personality into your writing and include statements that will help contribute to your overall brand.

What should go in your summary?

While there are many ways to approach writing your summary, you should generally include:

• Major accomplishments from your work history
• A few personal things about you
• Skills and interests that match up with the job(s) you are looking for (see: keywords below)
• Convey your values and personal mission

What keywords should I add into my summary to get noticed?

Look at 5-10 job descriptions in the area you are seeking out. Using keywords that show up within the job descriptions will make your profile more visible to recruiters. Also, this blog suggests looking at the LinkedIn profiles of individuals who are in positions that you are seeking out to evaluate what keywords they are using in their profiles.  Also, when LinkedIn sends you those weekly notifications of how many times your profile appeared in search results, click the link to find out what keywords your searchers used.