Stories

Your LinkedIn summary plays an important role in setting the tone for your profile. Within the limit of 2,000 characters, you have the opportunity to communicate your story to readers and highlight your experience, your skills and accomplishments, what makes you different, and your personal brand. Here are some tips to help you write a good summary:

1. Write to your target audience.
2. Use first-person.

Make sure that you are writing in a way that will make an impression on the decision makers that will be viewing your profile. Consider the specific things that you want them to know about you and how you want them to feel.

When you write in first person, your summary becomes more personable. You will be able to connect with the reader on a deeper level and overall, sound more genuine and real than if you were to write in third person.

1. Focus on the first two lines .
2. Communicate your values and who you are.

This is what readers will see first, and what will convince them to either keep reading or move on to the next profile. So, make sure that your first two sentences are compelling and highlight the things that differentiate you from others.

Don’t forget to write about values that are important to you and contribute to who you are as a person, and include those in your summary. Whoever is reading your profile doesn’t just want to know your experience and technical skills. They also want to know your passions, interests, and overall character and persona.

1. Share your experience.
2. Include keywords.

Give your readers background on your relevant experience – what you’ve done in the past, your accomplishments, talents, and transferable skills. Highlight important things that you want readers to know, but don’t go into too much detail as this is what the other sections of your profile is for.

Using keywords in your summary that recruiters are likely to search for increases the chances of your profile being seen. Make sure to use well-known terms and any specific skills you may have.

1. Keep it concise.
2. Proofread!

Just because you have 2,000 characters to use, doesn’t mean you have to use them all. A really long summary can come off as a bad sign and dissuade a person from reading it all the way through. Make sure that everything included is relevant and has significance. Be selective and efficient with your words.

Always reread your summary to ensure that it is free from typos and grammatical errors. Also confirm that your writing flows nicely and that your reader will be able to read your summary without issue. To get a fresh and different perspective/opinion, you could ask someone else to read your summary.