How to Craft the Perfect LinkedIn Summary

Your LinkedIn profile is a great way to grow your professional network and an ideal arena to look for job openings. That being said, your LinkedIn profile summary is a game changer for most, if not all, recruiters.

Think of it as this: Your profile summary is like a resume. It is your elevator pitch and you have 30 seconds to market yourself to corporations and recruiters to see if you fit the bill. Knowing what to write on that portion of your profile could be a daunting task, but taking a few factors into consideration could help you create the perfect summary.

Set the goal for your profile summary.

Determining the ultimate objective is a must in writing your profile summary. If your goal is to hunt for a job, then your summary should attract HR people. On the other hand, if you are a recruiter looking for people to hire then the summary should catch job seekers.

Include a call-to-action at the end of your summary to reemphasize your goal and let your readers know how to reach you. Before you start writing this portion of your LinkedIn profile or availing yourself of a professional writing service provider to do it for you, start with thinking about your main selling features are and go forward from there.

Filter what to write.

LinkedIn’s summary section has a 2,000 character limit and, while some think maximizing this is a good idea, research shows it’s better to stay well under the cap. For job seekers, studies show that, just like an actual resume, HR managers are going to only skim through your profile opposed to fully reading it.

Try to make things specific and direct to the point to capture your target audience. A LinkedIn profile is generally much briefer than a resume. A great way is to use bulleted points and introduce yourself and your goal in brief sentences. Use ample spacing for readability purposes as well.

Further, consider the difference between LinkedIn’s desktop version and mobile version. LinkedIn redesigned its desktop view in 2017 with its summary element no longer shown in full. The desktop version will allow readers to see 220 characters, while the mobile version will give you a glimpse of the summary section with 92 characters only.

Be sure you highlight the most important thing people want to read upfront. Start strong but tease a bit so people will click that expand button and read it in full.

Get noticed through keywords.

Just like any other search engine site, the use of keywords is also vital in LinkedIn. Optimize your profile by adding related keywords inside your summary.

Data shows that, as of 2019, LinkedIn boasts of 660 million users worldwide—57% of whom are male, while 43% are female. These are a great number if you want to network to people and look for potential employees, but a huge number for job seekers to see as competition. In a vast ocean of LinkedIn profiles, utilize the platform’s reach by being reachable through a keyword search. This could lead you to the right people or could lead the right people to you.

If you need help in creating your LinkedIn profile or customizing your resume, avail yourself of our free resume evaluation now or email at info@jobs1111.com or call 716-649-6000.