Turn Your LinkedIn Summary into Your Story

Make sure you have a LinkedIn summary, also known as the About section.

It’s amazing how many people leave this field blank when creating their LinkedIn profile. Your summary is your chance to tell your own story; so, don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had. Try to bring to life why those skills matter and the difference they can make to the people you work with. Do not be afraid to invest some time, try a few drafts, and run your summary past people you know. This is your most personal piece of content marketing and it’s worth the effort.

Steps to a Great Story:

1. What Drives You

Passion is the heart of the best summaries. Sharing what you love to do adds context to your career and helps make you memorable. Think about what excites you most professionally and what drives you besides your paycheck, I call it “Psychic Salary”. This is your “Big Why”.

2. Your Current Role

Put your job title aside and describe what you do in the simplest terms. Sharing the problems you solve, for whom, and how, is a great way to demonstrate your skills, industry knowledge, and/or work style.

3. Select Past Experience

You have the freedom to focus on what’s important in your job history and limit or avoid what’s not. If you’ve made career changes or have held seemingly unrelated roles, connect the dots so they make sense. Better yet, frame it as an advantage and explain why it sets you apart.

4. Highlight Your Wins

Point to the biggest takeaway from your experience section. Look across roles and combine accomplishments if you can. This is especially applicable if you are in your mid- to late- career.

5. Point Out Your Character

Choose stories and words that show who you are as a person, not just a professional. Great summaries hint at traits such as gratitude, humility, and humor. Authenticity is key, so be honest and transparent. Think of the one trait you’re most known for, and work it in.

6. Share Outside Interests

Round out your identity by sharing a hobby, interest, or volunteer role. Relate your outside passions to your work if you can. If you share a personal story, be sure it serves to reinforce your professional strengths.

7. Add Media

Sometimes it’s easier to explain your impact or achievement using an image, graph, video, or an article. Do not be afraid to add media to your profile and refer to it in your summary.

8. Make Your Opening Count

Every word matters in your summary, but your first words matter most. If you don’t hook your audience immediately, you’ll lose them. So, no “Hey, I’m Joe Harris and I’m happy to meet you.” or “Thanks for visiting!” Do not waste precious characters on filler. Go right to the point to pull your audience in.

9. Use Keywords - But Select Carefully

To improve your search rank on LinkedIn and Google, include keywords that highlight your top skills. Listing ‘Specialties’ at the end of your summary is one way to get them in. Which words should you use? Job descriptions and other relevant profiles are great keyword sources but avoid the overused ones:

Overused Words & Remedy

• Specialize - Describe what you specialize in; that’s what people care about.

• Experienced - Pinpoint what makes you experienced.

• Skilled - List what you can do and how long you’ve been doing it.

• Leadership - Highlight and quantify the specific impact you’ve had on your reports.

• Passionate - Write about why you’re passionate.

• Expert - Delete it if it appears as an adjective. Write about your typical results.

• Motivated - Leave it out entirely. Motivation is a trait you want to show, not tell.

• Creative - Call out a creative strategy or game plan you’ve used.

• Strategic - Share your decision-making process.

• Focused - Come up with a time you met or exceeded an ambitious goal.

10. Avoid Jargon & Acronyms

Not everyone will know what Green Belt, EBIDTA, CQI or DOD mean, so explain it or spell it out.

11. Write the Way You Talk

Think about how you would speak to someone you met at a networking event and write that way. Read your summary out loud so you can check your voice. If you wouldn’t say it, don’t write it. That also means using the first-person “I” not “Rick has 15 years of experience”. Also avoid special characters and emojis.

12. Tell Stories

People remember stories. Leading with “I never dreamed I would be an accountant…” or “My mentor called me in to his office and told me ‘you’re an idiot’…” will grab attention. Keep the story short and the make the take away fairly obvious. For example, “This is a person who doesn’t give up easily” or, “Her passion for supporting her team really came through”.

13. Use Bullet Points or Lists

Most business people and recruiters are busy and will skim summaries, so avoid long paragraphs. Do not use a multi-syllable word when a one-syllable word will do the job. Bullet points or numbered lists are good if they flow well.

14. State the Call to Action

What is it you want the reader to do after reading your summary? An invitation to connect is a great way to end, but depending on your goal, you may want to ask for something specific. That way you’ll be more likely to get precisely what you want.

Frank Manfre

Job Search Sherpa & Career Coach

www.frankmanfre.com