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17 Best LinkedIn Summary & Bio Examples [+ How to Write Your Own]
Published: September 27, 2022
Writing a LinkedIn summary is incredibly difficult — especially without examples to look at.
What should you put on your LinkedIn summary? A recounting of your prior roles? A list of your accomplishments? Should you write it in first person? Or in third?
Or should you forge ahead using the cookie-cutter bio LinkedIn wrote for you? ( The answer to that question is no, but not to worry: You’ll soon have a LinkedIn summary you’ll be proud to publish.)
In this blog post, we'll dig into what to include in your LinkedIn about section to make it stand out, as well as some examples to give you inspiration. Let’s get started.
LinkedIn Summary
The LinkedIn summary, also referred to as the LinkedIn bio or LinkedIn about section, is a few paragraphs of text that appears right before a LinkedIn user’s list of current and prior roles. LinkedIn gives a limit of up to 2,000 words, but only the first three lines are visible before a visitor has to click ‘See More.’
Writing LinkedIn summaries is especially hard for salespeople, marketers, and other professionals whose work relies on networking. You're not targeting recruiters and hiring managers; you're appealing to potential buyers and clients.
Plus, on top of finding an interesting and genuine way to describe your professional background, you must also come across as a subject matter expert.
Regardless, whether you’re a job seeker starting your search on LinkedIn or a tenured professional, your summary should speak to your skills, experience, and professional interests — think of it as your digital elevator pitch .
Free LinkedIn Summary Templates
Access 80+ professional bio templates and examples for linkedin, speaker bios, and more., why a good linkedin summary is important.
Writing a LinkedIn summary may feel like an unnecessary step — especially if you keep your profile up to date. You might also see it as unnecessary if you don’t spend a lot of time on the platform or aren’t looking for a job.
But a good LinkedIn summary is crucial for career success. For salespeople, it can be a handy tool for social selling ; for other professionals, it could be the gateway to a new career opportunity.
Let’s go over the reasons you should most definitely write a LinkedIn summary.
1. You get to introduce yourself in your own words.
While your prior roles may be notable, they’re not the only things people should know about you. A LinkedIn summary will allow you to make a personable first impression and highlight your accomplishments and expertise in a succinct way.
2. You get to show your personality.
Add a little flair and humor, or keep it super professional. Either way, your LinkedIn summary will give recruiters and other users a taste of what they can expect if they reach out to you. It can also help recruiters gauge culture fit and help prospects and potential clients get a sense of whether they’d like to work with you.
3. You can rank higher in LinkedIn search results.
LinkedIn uses the about section in its algorithm, as well as your LinkedIn headline , current title, and other factors. By writing a keyword-rich LinkedIn summary, you can become more visible to potential prospects and recruiters in search results. If you include keywords such as “content,” “management,” and “analysis” in your bio, you may attract more views.
Ready to get started writing your LinkedIn summary?
How to Write a LinkedIn Summary
- Create a quick outline prior to writing your about section.
- Hook readers with a strong opener.
- Tell the reader why you do what you do.
- Speak to your industry expertise.
- Call out your specialties and skills.
- Provide data to back up your results and prove your expertise.
- Mention if your team is currently hiring and invite people to apply.
- Highlight your professional interests.
- Include a call-to-action with your contact information.
- Tip: Break up large blocks of text.
1. Create a quick outline prior to writing your About section.
While your LinkedIn profile isn't an academic essay, you should still outline the things you want to say and the order in which you want to say them.
The last thing your audience needs is long, rambling paragraphs with no clear progression from sentence to sentence.
Sticking to a predetermined structure will help you communicate clearly and concisely.
Consider following a format similar to this:
- Hook : A sentence that makes the reader want to keep reading. Remember: only the first 3 lines are visible when a user enters your profile. With a hook, you ensure they click ‘See more.’
- Mission : Tell the reader why you do what you do.
- Expertise and Skills : Tell the reader what you’re good at.
- Accomplishments: Show the reader how your expertise delivered results in the past.
- Call to Action : Tell the reader what you want them to do after they’re done reading your summary.
If you’re not sure how to get started, use our free professional bio templates, which you can use to write your LinkedIn bio.
Featured Resource: Free Professional Bio Templates
Use HubSpot's free professional bio templates to write a standout LinkedIn summary for your profile.
2. Hook readers with a strong opener.
The goal of the first sentence of your LinkedIn summary is to get your audience to continue reading. That's why it's important to pique their interest early and compel them to keep reading.
This tactic is called a hook.
You can hook readers with your LinkedIn summary by opening a loop that can only be closed with further explanation or making a claim so outlandish that it needs further justification.
Hook Example
"It took me more than X sales demos to learn the secret about Y, but since then, something unexpected has happened."
3. Tell the reader why you do what you do.
People connect with stories and values more than the straightforward "what you do.'' While the "what" is important, consider also including the "why."
Understand what has attracted you to your profession and what your mission is in your role. These will make your LinkedIn profile more emotionally resonant.
Mission Example
"I grew up on the Mississippi River and watched it get clearer over time as manufacturing standards improved. Since then, I knew I wanted to spread the word about sustainability in business environments."
4. Speak to your industry expertise.
Next, it’s time to bolster your mission with your industry expertise. Describe your background and qualifications in two-to-three sentences.
For example, are you a salesperson using LinkedIn to connect with prospects? Your summary should speak to your expertise in your industry, and your interest in helping people achieve results. Maybe you're a customer success manager using LinkedIn to connect with customers. Your summary should speak to your expertise in your industry and your availability for consulting.
Industry Expertise Example
"I have 7+ years of sales experience in both SDR and account manager roles."
5. Call out your specialties and skills.
After highlighting your expertise, tell us what you focus on in 1-2 sentences. For instance, if you’re a digital marketer, do you focus on SEO or social media?
If you recently graduated from college, did you study something specifically within your field?
Calling out your specialties is especially critical in sales. There are many types of sales jobs out there in a vast number of industries with an infinite number of buyer personas and markets. Whether your goal is to appeal to employers or prospects, be sure to call out the things you do well to attract the opportunities best aligned with your goals.
Specialties and Skills Example
"I’m a mid-market sales executive with experience in direct sales and SAAS product demonstrations."
6. Provide data to back up your results and prove your expertise.
It’s time to prove that you’re actually an expert by sharing important data points. No need to give prospective employers a laundry list of your accomplishments — that's what the section below is for — but it can be impactful to weave a few of your most impressive data points into your summary paragraph.
Proof Example
"Over the past five years, I've made it into the President's Club three times and my closed-won business has seen less than 10% churn during the first 12 months."
7. Mention if your team is currently hiring and invite people to apply.
This is optional, but it will serve you in several ways. First, it will show that you’re a team player, and second, it will show that you’re committed to both your professional growth and your current company’s growth.
It’s a must-have if you’re in the business of recruiting, as this can serve as an excellent recruiting tool. For example, are you a team manager using LinkedIn to recruit for job openings? Your summary should speak to the fact that you have openings, the type of work you do, and why a candidate would want to work at your company.
Team is Hiring Example
"We're currently hiring account managers for our Pacific Northwest territory. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of sales experience and a demonstrated familiarity with the region. We're a fast-growing team with no cap on commission. Click here to learn more and apply."
8. Highlight your professional interests.
Next, it’s time to highlight your professional interests. What do you help others do? What’s your goal in doing so? This is different from your skills in that it’s not necessarily as quantifiable or fact-driven. Because these are your interests, you don’t have to provide data to prove them.
Show that you’re committed to pursuing them and be sure to sound passionate about them.
Professional Interests Example
“I'm a sales coach that’s interested in assisting small teams (five-10 people) optimize their time and workflows so businesses can grow without adding more headcount and reps can advance their careers.”
9. Include a call-to-action with your contact information.
Last but certainly not least, include a call-to-action and potentially share your contact information. Are you a freelance or contract worker hoping to find more work on LinkedIn? Your summary should end with how to get in contact with you. If you want to seal the deal, include a list of your most impressive clients.
CTA Example
"Reach me at [email protected] or book time on my calendar here: [Calendar link]. Previous clients include [Your most impressive client], [Your second most impressive client], and [Your third most impressive client]."
If you’re not looking for more work, you can also simply end with, “Feel free to message me — I’d love to chat.”
10. Tip: Break up large blocks of text.
If you find your summary is on the longer side (which isn’t a problem as long as it’s compelling), try breaking up large blocks of text to make it easier to read. When initially viewing a profile, many people are scanning for high-level context. If you are posting long paragraphs, some of your notable highlights can get lost.
Try keeping your text blocks to two or three sentences max, making your summary easier to read and digest.
What to Put in a LinkedIn Summary
Depending on the goal of your LinkedIn profile, your LinkedIn summary should include 3-5 sentences that describe: your years of experience in your industry, your area of expertise, the types of organizations you've worked with, your skills, and what you're most known for professionally.
Think of your LinkedIn summary as your digital elevator pitch: In just a few sentences, it should give the reader a clear idea of who you are, what sets you apart, and what you're looking for from the viewer.
Here’s an example:
"I'm a sales rep dedicated to helping local Oklahoma City services businesses grow their customer base and decrease customer churn. I have 6 years of experience in local sales and I've consistently met and exceeded my quota throughout my career. Within the last year, I've topped our leaderboard six out of 10 months. On average, I close business 10% faster than my peers."
Now, let's discuss what to avoid when crafting your LinkedIn summary.
What (Not) to Put in a LinkedIn Summary
Cheesy or cliché terminology.
Your profile should be free of terms such as "guru" or "master." These terms are highly subjective, and don’t speak to your actual skills or abilities. Instead of trying to be a self-proclaimed “guru,” share a tangible piece of work you’ve done that demonstrates your expertise, or describe a specific initiative where your work drove business results.
Your Resume
Avoid copying and pasting points from your resume to your LinkedIn summary. Not only is it redundant because your work history should be up-to-date on your profile, but recruiters and potential connections are looking for a brief introduction to who you are, not a regurgitation of your resume.
Spelling or Grammatical Errors
We’re all human, and spelling mistakes happen. Before publishing your profile, make sure you review it a few times to catch any misspellings or grammatical errors. Having typos on your profile can challenge your credibility, and can be a distraction from your positive attributes.
Your Full Life Story
LinkedIn summaries are not the place to publish your autobiography (though I’m sure your autobiography is lovely). If users are scanning your profile looking for relevant information pertaining to a role or opportunity, you want those points to be front and center.
When you update your LinkedIn summary, aim to include information that’s relevant to the jobs and opportunities you’re open to, and keep things clear and concise.
LinkedIn Summary Examples
If you need some inspiration, good news. These LinkedIn summary examples will help you find the right words.
1. This salesperson effectively demonstrates his passions and top competencies in the field.
This sales professional draws potential customers in by describing his enthusiasm for "building thriving organizations in the education ecosystem" — a goal he clearly cares highly about, too.
His next line tells prospects he's interested in learning their needs, not just selling them. Then he establishes his expertise.
Our Favorite Lines
- “I have leveraged technology and innovative pedagogy to improve literacy in K-12 education.” Why we love it: This line shows his experience in the field without fluff or unneeded material.
- “This marriage allows us to curate the largest library of audio and video for education in the world, deepening impact for learners globally.” Why we love it: We leave the bio with a deeper of understanding the product he sells and its potential benefits.
Why This Summary Works
This LinkedIn user effectively but succinctly cites a personal experience to show his reasons for supporting others who are going through the challenges he’s gone through. He also shows the breadth of his expertise and research by building upon why his product is needed in the industry.
Try It Yourself
Describe the most rewarding aspect of your job, whether that's helping small businesses go mobile or making corporations more efficient. Next, highlight why you're qualified. How many people or companies have you worked with? What are their average results? Which high-level problems are you well-equipped to solve?
2. This digital marketing expert speaks to his prospect's pain and showcases his strong copywriting skills.
When actively connecting with prospects on LinkedIn, speak directly to them with your LinkedIn profile, but do so in a way that says you understand their struggles.
In essence, position yourself as a solution provider rather than a product seller.
This digital marketing and sales expert does this well for his marketing agency by calling out the problem. He does this before introducing himself or his solution.
- “If you're tired of wasting money on digital marketing only to end up frustrated with little to no results, perhaps I and my team can help.” Why we love it: This is a strong opener that’s bound to get qualified leads’ attention.
- “My team and I help growth-driven service providers, entrepreneurs, and experts add their next $1M-$10M/yr in revenue predictably and profitably.” Why we love it: Not only does this line directly identify who prospects are, but also speaks to who they want to become (“successful,” “add their next $1-$10M/yr in revenue”).
This summary effectively hooks readers, walks them through whom the LinkedIn profile owner is, and shows them how they can benefit from reaching out to the bio owner. The writer effectively shows the ROI of working with his firm while showcasing his copywriting skills.
Write a whole introductory paragraph appealing to your customer's pains and emotions without mentioning yourself. You can offer a piece of advice or ask a question.
3. This HubSpot employee uses humor to show his fun personality.
This HubSpot inbound marketing specialist shows his personality in his summary. The detail about his previous life as a standup comedian is intriguing, and the line about "realizing his children didn't like starving" is funny and relatable.
Sally gets more serious in the second section, highlighting his impressive track record at HubSpot.
- “Spent 8 years pursuing a career in stand up comedy, appearing on Comedy Central and in the Boston Comedy Festival, before realizing my children liked seeing their father and not starving.” Why we love it: Maybe he should have stayed in standup, because this is a hilarious opening line. It’s guaranteed to get a chuckle from the reader and keep them engaged.
- “10+ years experience in SaaS Sales with an average of over 125% of goal in my 10+ years at HubSpot.” Why we love it: With this line, the writer effectively demonstrates that he can use humor when needed but also get to business.
This short but hilarious summary showcases the writer’s personality and top accomplishments without winding on for a long while. It exemplifies what a LinkedIn bio should achieve and how to do it using the minimum amount of words.
Begin your summary with an unexpected, interesting fact about yourself. In your next paragraph, tie it into your sales career.
For example, you might write, "I was the third runner-up of the National Spelling Bee in 1997. (You better believe the spelling of ‘euonym' is now etched into my memory.) These days, I use my innate desire to learn to help customers."
4. This career consultant indicates to prospects that they’re in the right place.
By calling out the audience you're targeting, you can get them to self-identify with your message. Specifying who you're talking to indicates to the audience that they're in the right place.
This sales consultant and career coach does this in her first sentence when she says, "[I] love being an early stage employee at fast growing and innovative companies where I can make an impact." If readers relate, they’re bound to keep reading all the way to her call-to-action at the end.
- “I love change management, turnarounds, and strategically fixing problems and fueling growth.” Why we love it: This line effectively highlights the writer’s problem-solving mindset, which makes her a desirable candidate to work with.
- “I can play a CRO role or a VP of Sales role. I have extensive experience with creating aggressive finance strategy, managing cashflow, and optimizing pricing, costs and revenues.” Why we love it: While these are technically two lines, they work well together to demonstrate the range of skills she offers her potential employers.
This summary takes us through the various roles the consultant has taken on, all the way to her career coaching role now. Most notably, she ends with a prompt to book time on her calendar and includes a link right then and there.
Identify your buyer persona and then include a description of them in your summary. Don’t be afraid of expressing the types of roles you could play at a company, and be clear with what you want readers to do once they reach the end of the bio.
5. This salesperson uses his hobbies to look more personable and approachable.
Although it might be a bit untraditional to mention your personal hobbies on your LinkedIn profile, it's a good way to make yourself more human off the bat. A prospect reading this summary might think, "Oh, I also love to travel." They'll immediately feel more connected to you.
- “A city dweller who love to travel and find new adventures along the way.” Why we love it: In this line, the writer summarizes who they are outside of work, reeling in the reader.
- “I have found that nothing satisfies me more than meeting new people, developing new relationships, solving problems, and contributing to the growth of businesses.” Why we love it: It shows the LinkedIn user’s passions at work while hinting at how he can help a potential employer or client.
This LinkedIn summary keeps it short while incorporating the key parts of a bio: the writer’s personality, professional experience, and most desirable attributes.
List a few of the things you like to do in your free time (steering clear of anything controversial, of course). Then explain why you chose your current role and how your customers derive value.
6. This sales leader demonstrates vulnerability and communicates her passion for her mission.
It's worth re-mentioning that stories resonate with people. While your LinkedIn profile includes where you've worked and the skills you have, your summary is prime real estate for revealing the real you behind your job history.
This leader in the B2B sales and marketing space does this by sharing her difficulty being a Black woman in sales. Being told this short story about her, we get to know her mission and values as a professional.
- “In a sales career that spans more than a decade, I’ve been the only Black woman on the team 99% of the time.” Why we love it: What a fantastic hook — one that’s bound to make you sit straighter in your seat and want to keep reading about her experience in sales.
- “I’d started publishing content and building communities around the deeply held belief that attracting, supporting, and retaining diverse talent is a professional and personal imperative.” Why we love it: We get to see her personal mission in a succinct and effective way, made all the more impactful by her opening line.
The writer opens with one of the challenges she faces while working in sales, setting the stage for why she does what she does, then takes us all the way down to her mission. She closes with a call-to-action that’s impactful and welcoming.
Be vulnerable. Isolate a single moment that encapsulates you as a professional or embodies your values. Then briefly write it as if you were telling this story verbally.
7. This sales executive keeps it short and engages prospects.
This LinkedIn bio opens with his mission: Enabling businesses to become more personable using video. His next two sentences help you get to know him on a personal level.
The summary is short enough that readers are guaranteed to finish it — but he makes every line count. He makes you interested in learning more about him.
- “Helping businesses make their marketing & sales more human with video.” Why we love it: This line gets to the point quickly, showing the author’s mission, professional expertise, and experience.
- “Always grilling.” Why we love it: We love hobbies in LinkedIn bios — this is one excellent example that’s witty and flavorful.
It’s brief, personable, and professional — all while showing the LinkedIn user’s personality. Plus, the mention of his parents is a unique touch, showing his background without much elaboration or fanfare.
In the simplest words possible, state how your company makes its customers' lives easier, better, more enjoyable, etc. Then reveal something about your background ("I was born in Spain and raised in Texas," "I've lived in Chicago my entire life," "My hometown boasts the largest Beanie Babies museum in the world") and end with "Always," "Constantly," or "Frequently" followed by your favorite thing to do ("Always reading," "Constantly cracking dad jokes," "Frequently juggling.").
8. This retired professional intrigues readers with his work history.
This LinkedIn user uses the same formula as the previous — but in reverse. He begins with his former jobs, which immediately tells you he's (already) had an interesting career. He then tells you what he's currently up to.
- “Ex-corporate lawyer, ex-non-profit founder, ex-round-the-world cyclist, ex-SaaS sales leader, ex-Nigerian federal gov’t employee.” Why we love it: This opener shows how interesting the author’s career has been up until this point, making you wonder what he might be doing now (a question he answers in the last line).
This LinkedIn bio flips expectations and delights with its one-line run-through of the author’s work history. The variety of the roles demonstrates that he can thrive at any employer if he were to ever come out of retirement. We love that he ends with his current status.
List your former jobs. If you've always been in sales, get creative. Did you ever have a lemonade stand as a child? Were you a camp counselor as a teenager? What was your college gig?
For example, you might write, "Ex-lemonade stand CEO, CMO, and COO; ex-juggler; ex-college tour guide. Currently helping prospective homeowners in Arizona find their next dream place to live. (And still juggling when asked nicely.)"
9. This sales leader gives a 360-degree view of her, her role, and her company.
This LinkedIn summary showcases the user’s passion and enthusiasm for the role. She highlights her main responsibilities and values, tells the reader why she's proud to work at The Muse and what sets the business apart, and lists some fun facts about herself.
- “My Muse team is brilliant, driven, and obsessed with what we are building.” Why we love it: Aside from describing herself and her role, the author gives a nod to her team — something we don’t see often in LinkedIn bios.
- “I love the challenge of being told ‘no’ and turning it to a ‘yes’.” Why we love it: In this line, the author showcases one of the most desirable features of her personality.
This LinkedIn bio provides an in-depth look at the author’s current professional endeavors and her reasons for loving what she does. It ends on a personal note by describing her hobbies and her personality.
Explain why you're so fired up about coming into work each day. What excites you? Why do you love your company? What makes your product, culture, and/or team different from your competitors? Conclude with four or five personal tidbits about yourself.
10. This MBA graduate creates immediate credibility and lists her specialties.
This user earns instant credibility with her LinkedIn summary.
She starts with a bold statement: "I like to solve problems." She proves it with multiple examples from her career, then spotlights her specialties. Finally, she describes a few of her interests.
- “Whether it’s finding a perfect song for a film or finding a rare product for a rocket, I’ve been able to quickly uncover a customer’s pain point and identify a strategic solution.” Why we love it: This line shows her diversity of skills, high level of professionality, and key strengths.
- “I have since taken everything I’ve learned and started my own business in the cottage food industry, selling decorated sugar cookies.” Why we love it: The author demonstrates what she’s doing now and how her experiences led to her current endeavor.
We love the bulleted list of specialties, but especially love how the author demonstrates how she’s using those skills now at her startup. She also remains personable by closing with her hobbies and an invitation to reach out to her.
Use a short, impactful one-liner to highlight why you're successful or what you're best at. Give two to four examples of how this skill or desire has manifested itself throughout your life. Discuss your areas of expertise, then wrap it up with your favorite topics of discussion.
11. This leadership consultant highlights her passions and shares how it fuels her work.
This Boise-based consultant and business owner displays her sources of expertise. She concisely shares what inspired her work, and gives potential clients a preview of the benefits they can expect from working with her.
- “I believe that the strongest organizations are those in which employees feel connected — to each other and their work.” Why we love it: We get to see the core belief that drives the author’s current work in a succinct and clear way.
- “Along with my consulting work, I’m the founder of The Management Essentials, a comprehensive leadership development program for new managers.” Why we love it: While readers could potentially look at her work history to see her founder role, we love seeing it in her own words.
The summary is connected to the author’s mission from top to bottom — you never feel like her points are disjointed or disconnected. She then leads into her current work as a founder and instructor, and ends with a list of specialties for readers to scan.
Do you have an origin story related to your career path? Share a brief description of what has inspired your work, and what makes you want to do the work you do.
12. This career consultant speaks directly to who she wants to serve.
For consultants, business owners, and sales reps, speaking directly to who you want to serve in your LinkedIn summary is a smart approach to take. This career strategist and author does this masterfully in the first few sentences of her LinkedIn summary. By immediately calling in who she aims to serve, she can hook the right readers, increasing her chances of connecting with the right people.
- “I am on a mission to get all women of color–and people of color– the money, power, and respect we deserve in the workplace.” Why we love it: The natural response to a line such as this is ‘Sign me up,’ encouraging visitors to continue reading and reach out to the author.
- “I regularly partner with organizations to support BIPOC employees and leaders to success – through coaching, consulting, and workshops.” Why we love it: This line effectively summarizes what the author can do for organizations that work with her.
The author opens with an effective and visionary hook, then describes her mission and how she works to fulfill that mission every day. She then describes what organizations and clients stand to gain from working with her.
In the first few sentences of your summary, try writing a hook that would appeal to your ideal customer or client and keep their attention.
13. This business development professional highlights her wins.
Have you received any notable awards, or had exciting features highlighting your work? Include them in your summary to build credibility. This Senior Business Development Manager shares relevant awards and accolades in her LinkedIn summary to provide valuable context around her skills and abilities.
- “In 2018, I was selected by Jeff Bezos and his leadership team to be a recipient of Amazon’s Just Do It Award.” Why we love it: We love how this user explicitly shares her major accolades, and how she opens with the most impressive one.
- “It is important for me to serve my community through non-profit work, community organizing, mentoring, and planning events.” Why we love it: Not only does this line showcase the author’s key strengths, it shows the roles an organization could hire her for.
Your LinkedIn bio isn’t the space to be shy — and this summary exemplifies that down to the last sentence. It showcases the author’s key accomplishments without sounding arrogant, and mentions her non-profit work at length.
Highlight accolades and wins specifically related to roles you would like to be considered for.
14. This SEO professional demonstrates her friendly personality while showcasing her strong content writing skills.
You don’t have to be rigid and cold in your LinkedIn summary, and this bio is proof. It’s professional, succinct, and well-written — not to mention friendly, which is a breath of fresh air on a platform like LinkedIn. She effectively shares her expertise and invites users to engage with an attention-grabbing call-to-action.
- “How many content writing, video producing, graphic designing, SEO white hats who can’t whistle do you know? No guesses?” Why we love it: This is a fantastic opener that lists the author’s key areas of expertise while showcasing her sense of humor.
- “Tell me your least favorite through a private message.” Why we love it: One of the most creative calls-to-action we’ve seen, this line effectively asks users to engage with an icebreaker built in.
This LinkedIn bio effectively subverts expectations, engages readers, and describes the author’s specialties in content creation. The bio remains professional while still communicating a high level of openness and friendliness.
Strike a different sort of tone in your LinkedIn bio that shows the fun side of your personality, while still communicating your value proposition and what you can offer potential employers and clients.
15. This healthcare professional describes her educational background and key specialities.
For more formal fields such as healthcare, using third-person may be warranted, and this family physician takes advantage of that opportunity. She first describes her education, which is critical in medical fields, and then ends with her key mission. Still, she shows her personality by sharing her passion for her alma mater and her nickname (“The Community Doctor”).
- “Dr. Mooreland received her Doctorate from The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) where she was inducted into the Gold Humanist Honor Society and selected as a National Health Service Corp Scholar.” Why we love it: In this line, the author effectively shares her educational background, her personality, and her key accolades.
- “Dubbed the ‘The Community Doctor,’ Dr. Mooreland founded Life Cycle DPC to be fully committed to serving well, free from meaningless boundaries and unrelenting paperwork, to engage and be fully present in the community with you and your family.” Why we love it: This line shows Dr. Mooreland’s pivotal role in her community and addresses the reader directly.
This formal LinkedIn bio front-loads the author’s educational background, which is key in industries such as healthcare, and adds a personal touch by emphasizing the importance of her work in the community.
Play with the structure of your LinkedIn bio, depending on your industry. If you’re an entrepreneur, you might start with your most recent startup; if you’re a lawyer, you might begin with your most important practice areas and your case record.
16. This t alent acquisition professional harnesses the power of storytelling .
- "One of my first memories is going to a parent-teacher conference in kindergarten and having my teacher tell my parents, “Desiree is definitely my most talkative, no matter where I move her in class she communicates with everyone!" Why we love it: We're not sure where the story is going at this point, but the hook is intriguing enough to continue reading.
- "I have developed a passion for not only being a voice of those that cannot communicate themselves, but also teaching people to communicate effectively." Why we love it: She weaves a common theme throughout her bio: effective communication. This ties the entire bio together.
This bio is far from cold or stuffy. The writer adds warmth by presenting personal tales that explain her journey to present day. Further, the same theme echos throughout the entire story (the importance of communication).
Weave a common thread through your academic and professional experiences (if one exists). Leverage the power of storytelling to bring your bio to life and add a touch of warmth.
17. This sales leader intrigues readers with her local know-how.
Katie does a great job underscoring her knowledge of Cape Cod with a compelling story about her community. She positions herself as the "go to" person for recommendations in the area, from oysters to suits. It's her passion and enthusiasm that lets real estate buyers and sellers know she's deeply connected to the local area.
- "When I want the freshest oysters, I don''t go to the fish counter at the grocery store; I go to John, the East Dennis oyster guy." Why we love it: From the first sentence, the author is flexing her local knowledge, which is important in real estate. We also love this intriguing hook.
- "A Cope Codder since I was a kid, I can find you the right house, bank, builder, school, auto mechanic, and yes, even the right oyster guy." Why we love it: Sometimes it's uncomfortable to tout our expertise. This author uses storytelling to boast her authority without it being the main focus.
Let's face it: it's hard to write about yourself and your accomplishments. The author hits the right note by folding her local expertise and know-how into a delightful story about her community in Cape Cod.
If you're in real estate, it's important to flex your knowledge about the area. After all, real estate is a local game. Make sure to identify yourself as an expert and enthusiastic fan of where you live and work.
LinkedIn Summary Template
Below is a basic template you can use to customize with your own details for a succinct and effective LinkedIn summary. Make sure to add personal details to make it memorable for readers:
LinkedIn Summary Sample Templates
Stand out with an exceptional linkedin summary.
With these LinkedIn summaries to draw on, you should have plenty of ideas and inspiration for your own description. Make it personal, unique, and engaging — and prospects and potential employers will feel like they know you already.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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Create a compelling professional narrative for your summary, bio, or introduction.
How to Write a Powerful LinkedIn Summary: Examples and Tips
You might not realize it, but your LinkedIn summary section is one of the most important parts of your profile.
Why? Because after the headline, the summary is the first thing visitors read when they check out your profile on LinkedIn.
Think of your summary as an elevator pitch – you only have a few seconds to present yourself, so you need to make it count!
In this article, we will unpack everything you need to know about the LinkedIn summary section.
We’ll also provide you with tips, strategies, and examples to help you create a powerful summary that will land you more job interviews.
In this article
What is a linkedin summary, how to write a linkedin summary that will get you noticed, why is your linkedin summary so important, linkedin summary examples, linkedin summary vs resume summary, linkedin summary faqs, key takeaways.
The LinkedIn summary, which is also called the “LinkedIn Bio” or “About Me” section, appears right underneath your photo on your profile page.
The goal of your summary is to present a concise, yet compelling, snapshot of your professional identity.
With its 2,600 character limit , the summary gives you approximately 370 words to explain who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique.
Your summary is your best opportunity to make a good first impression on anyone who visits your LinkedIn profile , so don’t waste it!
A great LinkedIn summary can help you get noticed by potential employers and clients. Here are some tips for writing a summary that will help you stand out.
1. Tell your story
Before you start writing your summary, remember that you want it to read more like a story than a resume.
This means you should try to avoid excessive bullet points and detailed work history and instead try to craft an engaging narrative that grabs the reader’s attention.
2. Be conversational
Your writing style in your summary should be conversational. A conversational writing style is one that mimics the way people speak to each other in everyday life.
Conversational writing is meant to be easy to read and understand, as well as interesting and entertaining.
3. Hook the reader right away
Visitors to your profile page will only see the first 3 lines of your summary. Then they have to click “read more” to see the rest.
This means the first 3 lines are the most important part of your summary!
If you can hook readers with your first three lines, it’s much more likely they’ll want to read the rest of your summary and profile.
“ Hook readers with the first 3 lines of your summary and they’ll want to read more .”
How do you hook your reader? Generally speaking, your opening should convey the number one thing you want your readers to know about you.
What sets you apart from everyone else? What combinations of skills help you achieve results? Why do you love your work? What outstanding accomplishments do you have?
Answering these questions can help you uncover a compelling opening statement.
4. Be concise
Hiring managers and recruiters are busy people; they don’t have time to read a long, rambling essay.
Keep your summary short and to the point. Try to focus on the most important information and leave out any fluff.
5. Write in the first person
When you write in the first person, you use pronouns such as “I,” “me,” and “my.” This gives your writing a more personal, authentic feel.
For example, instead of saying “John Smith is a marketing professional with 10 years of experience,” you would say, “I am a marketing professional with 10 years of experience.”
Writing in the first person allows you to share your story in your own words.
This can be especially powerful if you have a unique or inspiring story to share about your career journey.
6. Use the right keywords
As mentioned before, when recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn, they type in certain job-related keywords.
These keywords can be skills, job titles, or industry jargon. You should really try to include as many of these keywords in your summary as possible!
Using the right keywords will ensure that your profile comes up more often when recruiters type those keywords into the LinkedIn search bar.
How do you find the right keywords to use? Simply scan the descriptions of the jobs you’re applying to and see what words appear most frequently.
The quickest and easiest way to find relevant keywords is to use Jobscan’s LinkedIn Optimization Tool .
This tool uses intelligent technology to analyze your LinkedIn profile against jobs you’re interested in.
It will show you exactly which keywords you should include in your LinkedIn summary and profile, and where.
7. Focus on your strengths
When writing your summary, focus on your strengths and accomplishments.
What are the initiatives that you’ve taken charge of? What have you done that you’re proud of? What accomplishments can you share that will impress others?
When you talk about your accomplishments, weave in how your strengths helped you achieve them. This will show people how you can help them and why they should choose you.
If you’re not sure what your strengths are, try asking other people what they think your strengths are. This can be done informally by asking friends, family, and colleagues for their input.
You can also take a free personality test to find your true strengths.
Learn more about how to discover your strengths and accomplishments:
- 39 Accomplishment Examples
- Simple Formula for Identifying Key Achievements
8. Discuss your background
While the LinkedIn summary is not the place to publish your autobiography, you do want to include enough information to give readers a good sense of your professional background.
If you have an extensive work history, you may want to focus on your most recent positions and highlight your key responsibilities in each role.
If you’re just starting out in your career, you can use your summary to discuss your educational background and any relevant internships or work experience you have.
94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet job candidates. Optimize your LinkedIn profile and show that you’re a recruiter’s perfect candidate.
Click here to start optimizing your LinkedIn profile
9. Describe your current position
The simplest way to describe your current position in your LinkedIn summary is to just state your title and company. For example: “I am currently a software engineer at Google.”
If you want to elaborate further, you can include a brief description of your role or responsibilities. For example…
“My current position is as a Communications Strategist at an ad agency. I help develop and execute communications plans for our clients that help them achieve their business goals. I also manage a team of communication specialists who work on various accounts. In my role, I often collaborate with account managers, creatives, and media teams to ensure that our clients’ messages are effectively communicated to their target audiences.”
10. Detail your accomplishments
Don’t just list your accomplishments in the summary. There’s a separate section in LinkedIn for doing that.
Remember, your LinkedIn summary should be an engaging narrative that tells the story of your professional life. So do your best to make it interesting and exciting to read!
When writing about your accomplishments, highlight those that are most relevant to the type of job or industry you are targeting.
If you have a long and impressive list of accomplishments, mention only those that demonstrate your skills and abilities in the most positive light.
11. Include numbers and data
Whenever possible, try to include numbers and data in your summary.
Numbers not only attract attention, but they can give your readers a more concrete understanding of your skills and experience.
You might tell readers how many years you’ve been working in your field, or highlight specific projects you’ve worked on that were particularly successful.
For example, you could say “Managed a team of 12 people” or “Increased sales by 20%”.
Whatever numbers and data you choose to include, make sure they’re relevant and interesting – otherwise, you risk boring your reader!
12. Highlight relevant skills and talents
Try to add as many relevant skills and talents to your summary as possible, while still keeping it interesting and readable.
This is important because skills and talents serve as the primary source of keywords that recruiters are searching for.
You can incorporate these keywords into your summary with examples of how you utilized your skills and talents to excel in your current role, as well as in previous roles.
However, try to avoid skills that are too basic for your current professional level. For example, if you’re an IT specialist, mentioning MS Office would be strange.
One way to find the most relevant keywords for your summary is to use Jobscan’s LinkedIn Optimization Tool.
It works by analyzing your LinkedIn profile against jobs you’re interested in. This tool is super easy to use and will help you land more job interviews!
13. Show some personality
As mentioned earlier, your LinkedIn summary is one of the most important aspects of your profile because it’s an opportunity for you to show off your personality.
To do this, make sure you write conversationally, which means using language that sounds natural and human.
In addition, try to feature some personal details and interests so that people can get to know you better and decide whether you’d fit within a company’s culture.
Most importantly, be yourself! Don’t try to copy someone else’s style or tone.
“ Be yourself! Don’t try to copy someone else .”
However, it’s important to strike the right balance. You want to come across as genuine and likable, but you also don’t want to overshare or seem unprofessional.
A little bit of personality goes a long way on LinkedIn!
14. State your future ambitions
Sharing your professional ambitions on your LinkedIn summary can help recruiters decide whether you’d be a good fit for their organization.
First, be clear and concise about what you want to achieve. Second, make sure your goals are realistic and achievable. Finally, connect your ambitions to your overall career strategy.
Stating your future ambitions like this will help you to stand out from the competition and increase your chances of being hired for the role.
15. Include a call to action
The final lines of your summary should include a call to action (CTA). The purpose of the CTA is to urge readers to connect with you in some way.
Here’s an example of a CTA: “If you’re interested in learning more about my professional journey, connect with me on LinkedIn!”
Pretty simple, isn’t it?
Your CTA can also prompt readers to visit your website or contact you for more information.
Including a call to action in your LinkedIn summary is a great way to encourage readers to take a specific, desired action that will help you achieve your objectives.
16. Make use of whitespace
Your LinkedIn summary should NOT be one big block of text. That’s visually unappealing and hard to read.
Instead, use whitespace to break up your text.
You can do this by using short paragraphs. Breaking your text up into small chunks like this makes it easier for readers to digest.
“ Break up your text into small chunks to make it easier to digest .”
Another way to use whitespace effectively is by including relevant images and videos. This can help break up your text and add visual interest.
Just make sure that any images or videos you include are high-quality and relevant to your content.
Overall, using whitespace effectively can help make your LinkedIn summary more engaging and easier to read. So don’t be afraid to use it!
17. Add relevant attachments
Adding attachments to your LinkedIn summary can help you stand out and showcase your work in a more professional light.
By including links to PDFs, slideshows, or even video clips, you can give potential employers or clients a more well-rounded view of your skills and experience.
Plus, it can help demonstrate your ability to use technology to your advantage, which is helpful for most jobs these days.
LinkedIn is one of the first places recruiters and hiring managers go to learn about and find prospective employees.
In fact, studies show that 6 people are hired on LinkedIn every minute !
That’s why it’s so important to create a strong, compelling LinkedIn summary that highlights your professional accomplishments and skills.
“ Six people are hired on LinkedIn every minute, so try to create a strong, compelling summary. “
But your LinkedIn summary is important for another reason – it’s a great way to set yourself apart from everyone else.
LinkedIn has over 800 million users. That’s a lot of competition! A compelling summary can help you stand out from the crowd.
The summary section is also important because it allows you to inject a little personality into your profile. It’s where you can truly express yourself and tell your story.
What motivates you? What kind of experiences have you had? What are you passionate about?
Adding some non-professional details about yourself can breathe life into your summary, making you more attractive to prospective employers.
Finally, your LinkedIn summary is important because you can include keywords that recruiters are searching for.
These keywords are usually related to:
- Hard skills
- Soft skills
- Industry keywords
Having these keywords in your summary strengthens the searchability of your profile, giving you a leg up on the competition.
As you can see, it’s definitely worth spending some time and effort creating a strong, compelling LinkedIn summary.
Even if you’ve uploaded a great profile photo , customized your LinkedIn headline , created a cover story video , and listed all your work and education history , leaving the summary section blank or just typing a short tagline that’s better suited for a headline is a huge missed opportunity .
If you need help fully optimizing your LinkedIn summary and profile for searchability, try Jobscan’s LinkedIn Optimization Tool .
This tool will analyze your LinkedIn profile against jobs you’re interested in to show you exactly which keywords you should be including in your profile.
We just went over some important tips and strategies that can help you create a powerful LinkedIn summary.
Now let’s look at some actual real-life LinkedIn bio examples!
Note: Take inspiration from these sample LinkedIn summaries but DO NOT copy them.
LinkedIn summary examples for students
Linkedin summary examples for recent graduates, linkedin summary examples for career changers, linkedin summary examples for entrepreneurs, linkedin summary examples for professionals and job seekers.
A good LinkedIn summary is not only important for experienced professionals, it’s also important for students who are not yet in the workforce, still working on a college degree, or applying for internships.
Here are three examples of how to “work with what you’ve got” and make a great first impression on LinkedIn.
Daniel R., Public Policy Analysis Student
Why this works: This summary is clear and concise, easy to read, and outlines both the skills gained from classwork and an internship.
Sarah T., Arts and Culture Management Student
Why this works: This is an excellent example of leaning on your personal character qualities and providing clear examples of how they will enhance your ability to do the job well.
At the internship level, you don’t have to provide a ton of experience to be well-suited for the roles. Sharing about your personality and values can be equally important.
Kelly L., Digital Arts & Sciences Student
Why this works: Another clever strategy is to expound on the unique learning opportunities you’ve experienced in college.
Study abroad experiences, volunteer work, and personal passion projects can all be useful ways to express the value you have to offer.
As a recent graduate, you should focus on your academic achievements, internships or other relevant experience, and extracurricular activities that demonstrate your skills and interests.
Keep your summary concise and clear, and try to convey your personality. The goal is to present yourself as someone people would want to connect with.
Tiffinni S., International Finance and International Economics
Why this works: This is a very concise, yet detailed, summary. Tiffinni starts off by injecting some personality, then quickly outlines her academic career, her skills and talents, and her work experience.
Megan M., Criminal Justice
Why this works: While this summary could have used whitespace more effectively, Megan does a great job conveying her passion and focusing on the strengths that will make her an excellent asset for any organization.
Anthony F, Accounting and Finance
Why this works: Anthony does a great job of expressing his personality in the first couple of lines. He then discusses his academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and his ambitions for the future.
He not only tells his story, but he makes it appealing to read by breaking up the text and keeping things concise.
If you’re changing your career, your LinkedIn profile summary should highlight any transferable skills, relevant coursework, or volunteer experiences that show you have what it takes to succeed in your new chosen profession.
You can also include a sentence or two about your professional goals to give your profile some direction.
Jacob H., Airline Pilot to Aviation Technical Writer
Why this works: The first 3 lines of this summary tell the reader exactly who Jacob is and what his career change involves. It’s a perfect elevator pitch!
He also provides specific examples of how his previous experience is relevant to his new dream job, and the efforts he’s making to close any gaps in his education or training.
Michael R., Staffing/Recruiting Account Manager to Software Sales Account Executive
Why this works: This is a good LinkedIn summary outline to follow for a career change, particularly if you’re looking to stay in the same general line of work but shifting industries or niches.
Michael also does a great job of highlighting his experience and skills that are relevant to his new career direction.
Every entrepreneur is unique, but there are a couple of things that all great LinkedIn summaries for entrepreneurs have in common.
First, it’s important for entrepreneurs to show off their personality in their summary and give readers a sense of what it would be like to work with them.
Second, the summary should demonstrate why the entrepreneur is an expert in their field and why someone should consider doing business with them.
Cassandra C., Online Business & Marketing Mentor
Why this works: Cassandra’s summary clearly conveys two things – her passion for helping people grow their business and her many years of experience.
Her summary brims with energy and confidence, and clearly demonstrates why she is an expert in her field.
Gillian H., Content And Copywriting Strategist
Why this works: Entrepreneurs can also craft a summary that reads more like a sales pitch.
This type of summary should clearly explain what you do and how you can help people. Make sure you’re not being overly sales-y!
Michelle G., Photographer And Graphic Designer
Why this works: It’s especially important for entrepreneurs to stand out from the crowd, and a good way to do this is to write a summary with a unique voice.
In this summary, Michelle showcases her playful personality while still providing evidence of her expertise.
If you decide to create a summary like this, make sure that you don’t forget to include important keywords and that your style aligns with your audience’s sensibilities.
If you’re a professional, the LinkedIn summary is a great opportunity to showcase your unique value proposition, which shows prospective employers what you can bring to the table and what sets you apart from everyone else.
Daniel C., Customer Experience Specialist
Why this works: Daniel’s personality shines through his summary, but most importantly he demonstrates his process, which allows prospective employers to see exactly how he would approach the work.
Jessica L., Software Engineer
Why this works: Not everyone is a writer and not every job will care if you can craft a narrative in your summary.
If you’re not sure what else to do, use the summary to clearly lay out your skills, tech proficiencies, and certifications.
Alaina C., Social Media Director
Why this works: Short, easy-to-read sentences keep this summary moving while still providing important information about who the writer is beyond just a description of their job.
This is an excellent example of providing a holistic viewpoint of an individual, beyond just the hard skills.
Alison H., SEO Content Writer
Why this works: Alison’s summary uses numbers in the opening line, which is a great way to grab the reader’s attention and entice them to learn more.
Presenting the results of her personality test provides a different perspective to not only her skills, but how she might approach different situations in the workplace.
Many job seekers make the mistake of writing their LinkedIn summary the same way they write their resume summary.
A resume summary is a short, clear statement at the top of your resume that highlights your most relevant qualifications and experiences.
Resume summaries should be formal and AVOID using casual and overly personal language.
LinkedIn summaries, on the other hand, should be informal and INCLUDE casual and personal language (while still remaining professional).
LinkedIn summaries give you a chance to and tell your story in a personal way. Your story is what makes you unique and interesting, so don’t be afraid to share it!
How long should a LinkedIn summary be?
Most recruiters and hiring managers agree that a LinkedIn summary should be around three paragraphs, or approximately 300 words.
This length allows you to provide enough information to give readers a good sense of who you are and what you do, without overwhelming them or causing them to lose interest.
Can your LinkedIn summary be the same as your resume summary?
No, your LinkedIn summary should NOT be the same as your resume summary.
Both summaries should feature your skills, qualifications, and experience, but your LinkedIn summary should be more informal in tone and style than your resume summary.
Remember, your LinkedIn summary should offer a taste of your personality while telling your story. It should also show businesses how you can help them achieve their goals.
How do I write a LinkedIn summary if I have no experience?
If you have no experience, your best bet is to focus on what skills and qualities you DO possess that could make you a valuable asset to a potential employer.
In your summary, highlight any relevant coursework, volunteer work, internships, or extracurricular activities that demonstrate your ability to perform well in a professional setting.
Be sure to include any skills that could be transferable to a new job, such as excellent communication or writing abilities.
Also mention anything else that makes you stand out, such as foreign language fluency or computer proficiency.
What should I write in my LinkedIn summary if I am unemployed?
If you’re unemployed, your LinkedIn summary should focus on what kind of job you’re looking for and what kinds of skills and experience you have that make you a good fit for that type of job.
You don’t need to include the fact that you’re unemployed on your LinkedIn summary. You could just say you’re currently looking for new opportunities.
You can also use your summary to highlight any volunteer work or other activities you’ve been involved in that show you’re still active and engaged, even if you’re not currently employed.
What do most people put in their LinkedIn summary?
Most people include their current and previous job titles, as well as a brief overview of their work experience and skills. Some also choose to include their education, volunteer work, or other relevant information.
In general, your LinkedIn summary should give potential employers or business connections a snapshot of who you are professionally and what you have to offer.
- The summary is also called the “LinkedIn Bio” or “About Me” section.
- It’s a concise, yet compelling, snapshot of your professional identity.
- Open with the number one thing you want your readers to know about you.
- Your summary should read more like a story than a resume.
- Try to inject a little of your personality into your summary.
- Include keywords that recruiters are searching for.
- Be concise and write in the first person.
- Focus on your strengths – if you’re not sure, ask people you know.
- Highlight relevant accomplishments and experience.
- Whenever possible, try to include numbers and data.
- Include a simple call to action at the end of your summary.
- Use whitespace to make your summary more inviting and easier to read.
Finally, try to use a little creativity and have fun when creating your LinkedIn summary!
Not only will your summary help you network and connect with potential employers, but it will also give you a chance to show off your personality and highlight your unique skills and experience.
For more information about writing a strong LinkedIn profile check out our LinkedIn Profile Writing Guide .
And if you really want to take your LinkedIn profile to the next level, try Jobscan’s LinkedIn Optimization Tool .
This tool is easy to use and will increase the searchability of your profile so that recruiters and hiring managers are more likely to find it – resulting in more job opportunities!
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How To Write A Crazy Effective LinkedIn Summary [10+ Examples & Tips]
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What if there was an easy way to boost the visibility of your LinkedIn profile, land more job interviews, and have more prospects reaching out to you ?
There is. And you can do all of the above with the right LinkedIn Summary.
Your Summary is one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn Profile . It's the place where you get to tell your story, share your value, and get other people excited to reach out!
But crafting a great Summary is easier said than done.
Where do you even start? What exactly makes a LinkedIn Summary great? How does that differ for job seekers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders?
That's exactly what we're going to break down in this post. Here's a summary of what we'll cover:
- Why Your LinkedIn Summary Matters
- LinkedIn Summaries For Job Seekers: Templates & Examples
- LinkedIn Summaries For Entrepreneurs: Templates & Examples
- 4 Tips To Maximize Your LinkedIn Summary Results
But first, I think it's important to share a bit about me and why I'm qualified to share this advice…
Who Am I To Give LinkedIn Advice?
Great question!
There are a LOT of LinkedIn “experts” out there with all kinds of opinions. Why should you care about what I have to say?
This article is focused on everyone who might be using LinkedIn — job seekers, professionals, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs — so let's cover them all:
If you're a job seeker , I've coached thousands of other people (just like you) to leverage LinkedIn in their job search. My systems have helped them go on to land jobs at places like Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and thousands of other companies.
If you're a professional , I've leveraged LinkedIn to help drive tens of millions of dollars in new business as a Director of Partner Development for Microsoft.
If you're an entrepreneur or thought leader , I've used LinkedIn to create a profitable business with a pipeline that's bursting at the seams. I don't do outbound promotion, all of my leads reach out to me (typically after reading my LinkedIn Summary)!
On top of that, I grew my LinkedIn following from 3,000 people to over 100,000 in 12 months and continued to go from 100,000 to 850,000+ in the past two years. Here's a quick look at my profile views for the past 90 days:
My goal with this article is to teach you the same LinkedIn Summary tactics that have helped me (and thousands of my clients) achieve those results!
Why Does Your LinkedIn Summary (a.k.a LinkedIn About Section) Matter?
Your LinkedIn summary is the largest freeform text area on your profile.
If your LinkedIn Headline is your hook, your LinkedIn Summary is where you expand on your story, your value, and where you drive your reader to take action.
It's one of the most important sections of your profile, but it's also one of the most intimidating. When you click “edit” on your Summary for the first time, all you get is a blank box with a blinking cursor. You can say anything! Which leads to all kinds of questions:
- “What do I talk about?”
- “How long should this be?”
- “Should this be polish and professional or casual and personal?”
It's super overwhelming!
But when you get it right, a great LinkedIn Summary can completely change the game.
It can differentiate you from the competition and compel your target audience (recruiters, followers, prospects, etc.) to reach out to you. You'll turn your LinkedIn profile into an inbound lead generating machine, no matter what your goals are.
How To Edit Your LinkedIn Summary
Easy! All you need to do is go to LinkedIn and head to your profile.
On your profile, scroll down until you see the About section. When you're there, click on the pencil icon in the upper right of that section:
That will open up the text editor where you can add or update your Summary / About.
LinkedIn Summary Limits: LinkedIn recently expanded the limit for the Summary / About section to 2,000 characters. I recommend writing your Summary wherever you're most comfortable, then paste it into a tool like WordCounter to make sure you're within LinkedIn's limits.
LinkedIn Summary For Job Seekers
As a job seeker, how awesome would it be to have recruiters and employers constantly reaching out to you? That's the dream, right?
That's exactly what can happen when you tailor your LinkedIn Summary the right way. This is your chance to focus on your story, your skills, and the value you bring to the table!
After coaching thousands of job seekers through this process, here's the LinkedIn Summary template that I've found works best for job seekers:
My LinkedIn Summary Template For Job Seekers [Compelling Action Word] [Insert Job Title Keyword] with X+ years of experience in [Insert Field / Job Title] . I help companies do [Insert Pitch Or Value Proposition With Metrics Or Social Proof] . Some examples include: Case Study Bullet #1 Case Study Bullet #2 Case Study Bullet #3 Case Study Bullet #4 Cultural Fit / Extracurricular Bullet #1 Cultural Fit / Extracurricular Bullet #1 I get excited about opportunities where I [Insert Specifics About What You’re Looking For In A New Role] . I love connecting with new people, you can reach me at [email protected]
Let's break down each of those sections!
Intro Line – You're leading off with a line that tells the reader what field you're in, how many years of experience you have, and the specific value you bring / have brought to other companies.
For example, you might say, “Award-Winning Sales Manager with 11+ Years Experience Helping Early Stage SaaS Companies Grow From <$5M to $30M+ ARR.”
Case Study Bullets – Next, you're cherry picking specific examples and results that support the sentence above. These bullets should including compelling language and measurable results (check out our free tool ResyBullet.io to score and improve your bullets).
For example, here are a few case study bullets that supports the opening example above:
- Sold $10M in new business in 12 months for [Company], a cloud-based SaaS payment system
- Won OneTeam Award for largest annual deal ($7.75M) at [Company] a marketing SaaS platform
These bullets provide the specific, supporting evidence for your value.
Closing With Opportunities – The last section of your summary should speak directly to the opportunities you're looking for…without specifically saying you're looking for new opportunities.
Picture this. You're at a bar having a drink with both your current manager and a recruiter at your dream company. You want to tip off the recruiter without your manager getting suspicious.
How do you do that?
You talk about the opportunities you're excited about!
If you say, “I love applying my SaaS-experience to help new companies with products that specifically impact the finances of SMBs” then any recruiter looking at your profile will know exactly what you want without you actually saying it.
LinkedIn Summary Examples For Job Seekers
Now that you have the overarching template, let's take a look at a few examples of that template in action for job seekers in different roles. I'll use the same color coding as above so you can see how to fill in specific aspects of the template.
First up, we have Amari who works as a marketer in the fintech SaaS space and also edits a marketing-focused publication on Medium:
LinkedIn Summary Example #1 – Fintech SaaS Marketing Innovative Marketing Manager with 7+ years in the fintech SaaS space . I help early-to-mid stage companies like BitFloss and Profitly add 50,000 users per year. Some examples of my results include: Spearheaded new referral-based growth system at BitFloss, resulting in 87k+ new users in 8 months (without spending a dime on ads) Led content management overhaul for Profitly, boosting site traffic from 8k users / month to 100k+ users / month in 12 months Editor at Better Marketing, a Medium.com publication with 10,000+ monthly readers where marketers share and discuss innovative strategies Fluent in English and Spanish, currently learning Italian I get excited about opportunities where I'm able to work with highly creative people to develop innovative marketing solutions in the fintech space. I love connecting with new people, give me a shout at [email protected] or here on LinkedIn!
Next, let's look at Taylor who is a data analyst in the healthcare space who has also combined their passion for basketball and analytics on the side. Given the technical nature of their role, we added a line for “Technical Skills & Tools” at the top so future employers can see they are proficient with those tools:
LinkedIn Summary Example #2 – Data Analytics in Healthcare Award-Winning Data Analyst with 3+ years in the healthcare space . I help healthcare systems like HCA Healthcare and New York Presbyterian Hospitals use data to lower readmission rates by 30%+. Technical Skills & Tools: Python, R, SQL, mongodb, Tableau, & PowerBI Here are a few examples of my work: Analyzed 100,000+ patient records to identify specific procedures with the highest readmission rate, resulting in 15% decrease in patient readmission for the following calendar year Developed visualization of readmission rates and total costs per procedure for HCA health system, enabling executives to report out and act on rising readmission rates and costs Additionally, I am a big college basketball fan (go Georgetown!). In that vein, I created a site called AnalyzedMadness.com where I build predictive models for the annual NCAA Basketball Tournament based on current and historical stats. I get excited about opportunities where I'm able to leverage big data to discovery insights and identify patterns that have real human impact. I love connecting with new people, give me a shout at [email protected] or here on LinkedIn!
Those are just two examples for job seekers in different industries.
Keep in mind that a template is simply something to work off of. If you're following our foundational principles and focusing on value, you can structure your information in whatever way feels best to you!
LinkedIn Summaries For Thought Leaders & Entrepreneurs
If you're an entrepreneur and / or thought leader on LinkedIn, your goals are probably similar.
You want more people to find your profile, follow along, and then reach out about / find their way to your offerings. An endless funnel of inbound leads!
While your LinkedIn Headline can help ( here's how to write a great headline ), it's only the tip of the iceberg. Most people want to learn more about the person they might be spending money with.
That's where the Summary comes in.
I've spent years A/B testing my own Summary. I've also coached hundreds of entrepreneurs and thought leaders on LinkedIn Growth.
Here's the template that I've seen work best:
My LinkedIn Summary Template For Thought Leaders & Entrepreneurs [Website] // [Your Elevator Pitch] My strategies/products have been featured in [Insert Social Proof] and they’ve helped [Number] of people (just like you) [Insert Achievement Or Benefit] . Reach out to me for: [Insert Service #1] [Insert Service #2] [Insert Service #3] Here’s what a few of my clients/customers have to say about me / my products: [Insert Testimonial #1] [Insert Testimonial #2] [Insert Testimonial #3] For more information, feel free to send me a note at [email protected]
Let's break down each section here.
Website & Pitch – As an entrepreneur or thought leader, the basis on your LinkedIn presence should be creating content and the goal should be to capture those profile eyeballs somewhere. As a result, I like to put my website right up front so people can easily checked it out for more info.
Right after the website, you want to include a pitch that sums up who you are and what results you (or your product) help people achieve. Your audience wants to see what you can do for them so if this is front and center, it makes for a great hook.
Social Proof – Social proof is one of Robert Cialdini's Six Principles of Persuasion.
Cialdini says, “the principle of social proof says so: The greater the number of people who find any idea correct, the more the idea will be correct.” This is furthered by the type of people who are finding the thing “correct.” If the person or entity is highly reputable, their recommendation is more likely to be trusted.
That's why we might look at someone who is regularly published in the New York Times as “more reputable” than someone who is regularly published in Johnny's Weekly Blog.
Including the names of the places you've been featured, the companies you've worked with, or the # of people you've helped is a great way to add social proof to your LinkedIn Summary.
Services / Products – The goal is for us to convert profile views into something tangible like sales or clients. By including your services, you're showing people exactly what you offer so they know what to reach out to you for!
Testimonials – Adding to our social proof, testimonials at the bottom of your profile tell people two things. First, that you've worked with other folks and you're not just making this stuff up. Second, that your work or products are good enough for people to publicly praise them. That's powerful!
Contact Info / CTA – Finally, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact you or to find a way to convert. Including your info or a CTA at the bottom of your Summary is the best way to make that happen.
LinkedIn Summary Examples For Thought Leaders & Entrepreneurs
Now let's take a look at a few examples of that template in action! We'll be using my profile as well as my friend (and fellow entrepreneur) Miloney as examples in different spaces.
Again, the examples will be color coded to match the template above.
First, we'll start with the LinkedIn Summary from my profile . I operate in two spaces, the career coaching space and the SaaS space:
LinkedIn Summary Example #3 – Career Coaching & SaaS Apps CultivatedCulture.com // I teach people how to land jobs they love in today's market without traditional experience and without applying online. Want “insider” career advice? Text me here 👉 201-479-9511 My strategies have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc., Fast Company, & The USA Today . I've also helped thousands of job seekers (just like you!) land offers at Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Uber, Spotify, Deloitte, Accenture, Sequoia Capital, Tesla, SpaceX, ESPN, The NFL, & more. If you're ready to accelerate your job search, here are my best tools and resources (they’re all free!): ✅ CultivatedCulture.com/JobSearch/ – My super comprehensive guide on landing a job without applying online ✅ Mailscoop.io – My free email lookup tool to help you find anyone’s email address in seconds ✅ ResyBuild.io – My proven job-winning resume builder with free, super effective templates ✅ ResyMatch.io – My resume optimizer to help you identify keywords/skills for your resume & LinkedIn profile ✅ ResyBullet.io – My resume bullet analyzer to help you write crazy effective resume bullets that sell your value ✅ Get the 5 most effective strategies my clients use to land jobs without applying online (for FREE): CultivatedCulture.com/DreamJob/ Here's what a few of my clients have to say about my job search strategies: “I recently left a job with nothing else lined up. My visa was tied to that job so I had 60 days to get hired and land visa sponsorship. Then COVID-19 hit. Austin helped me land a Program Manager role at a leading tech company, a 30% raise, AND H1-B sponsorship during the pandemic.” – Jasleen “I was looking to get back into the workforce after taking 8 months off to pursue a startup idea. Austin helped me land multiple $100,000+ job offers within 3 months.” – Ben “Austin helped me make the jump from a VP role in finance to a Program Manager role at Amazon with a $300,000 compensation package – a 30% increase over my previous salary.” – Amish “I spent years struggling to take the transition from vendor to full time employee. Austin helped me land a job in Product Marketing at a Fortune 30 tech company with a $40,000+ raise.” – Amyr “Austin helped me make the transition from Minneapolis, MN to Europe. Making the transition from the US to Europe was not easy. But with Austin's help, I landed multiple six-figure roles and ended up accepting my dream job in Amsterdam.” – Anton For more free career tools, advice, and resources check out my Featured section (above 👆) or my website CultivatedCulture.com
Next, let's look at Miloney Thakrar's summary. Miloney is a consultant who helps companies use data storytelling to advance gender equity, diversity, & inclusion:
LinkedIn Summary Example #4 – Data-Driven D&I Consultant MindTheGenderGap.Org // I help companies ranging from non-profits to startups to Fortune 500s craft innovative and scalable solutions to advance gender equity. My work has been featured at the Society for Human Resource Management and the Forum on Workplace Inclusion . My clients include Accenture, Women Tech Founders, and UN Women, among others. Book a discovery call to learn more 👉🏽 https://mindthegendergap.as.me/discoverycall I f you’re ready to close the gender gap at your company, let’s talk! You can reach out to me for: •Strategy Consulting & Advising – I can help you navigate the complex aspects of advancing gender equity, diversity, and inclusion without having to invest in costly solutions that don't scale. •Data Storytelling & Research – Through propriety 5-step approach uniquely combines data feminism, compelling data storytelling, and cutting-edge technology, I can help you clearly assess your company's current state and where it needs to go to close the gender gap. •Facilitating & Keynoting – I customize my talks and workshops to meet the unique needs and interests of your audience. Popular topics include: Leveraging Technology to Advance Gender Equity, Effective Data Storytelling to Advance Gender Equity, & Gender Equity in Leadership. Here’s what my clients have to say about my work: “I had the pleasure of working with Miloney in collaboration for our International Women’s Day celebration at Accenture. Miloney offered immense knowledge and support as we consulted her in the creation of content and the structure for our Gender Advocacy Workshop. I would highly recommend her as a speaker, facilitator and consultant in creating conversations for change and educating one's organization on advocacy and gender equality.” Gabby – Management Consultant, Accenture “Miloney served as a guest speaker at Accenture's Gender Advocacy lunch event for International Women's Day, where she talked about the UN Women's HeForShe campaign…In preparation for her talk, Miloney coached the event organizers on how to create a safe space to allow for a candid conversation around gender equity in the workplace…What impressed me most was her nuanced understanding of issues related to gender equity and her ability to not only engage but also inspire the audience. I highly recommend her as a speaker and facilitator.” -Ola, Global Ethnicity Lead, Inclusion & Diversity, Accenture
Those two examples should give you a basis for drafting your own LinkedIn Summary as an entrepreneur or thought leader!
Again, templates are just that — something to work off of. Feel free to customize or adjust as you see fit as long as you're sticking to the core principles and the rationale behind them.
4 LinkedIn Summary Tips To Maximize Your Results
Now that you have an idea of which template to use and what examples you want to work from, let's take your Summary to the next level:
Tip #1: Leverage The Right Keywords
Most people don't realize that LinkedIn is a search engine like Google, Amazon, or YouTube.
Recruiters are constantly searching for candidates and prospects are looking for coaches and services to help them achieve their goals. If you know how the engine works under the hood, you can optimize your profile so you show up for more searches and win more clicks.
Keywords a big factor in achieving that goal.
When someone runs a search, LinkedIn looks at the keywords and filters in their search and they match them up with the keywords on thousands of profiles. Then they serve up the profiles they believe will be most relevant (that's a bit of an oversimplification, but that's the gist).
If your profile contains the keywords and right LinkedIn skills that your target audience is searching for, you'll show up for more searches and win more clicks. Your LinkedIn Summary is a great place to embed those keywords.
Here's a video walking through a 10 minute exercise to help you find the perfect keywords for your LinkedIn Summary (followed by written instructions for job seekers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders):
Finding Keywords For Job Seekers
If you're a job seeker, finding keywords is super easy.
They're sitting right in the job descriptions of the roles you're targeting! Here's how to identify them:
- Open a new document (Word or Google Doc) and have it handy
- Head to LinkedIn Jobs and run a search for a target roles as if you were going to apply for them
- When you find a job description that matches your target criteria, copy the entire job description and paste it into your doc
- Rinse and repeat until you have a total of 20+ job descriptions in your doc
Once you have your 20+ descriptions, head to ResyMatch.io and select the Job Description Scanner option:
Next, paste all of the content from all of your job descriptions into the field on the left. Then hit “Start Job Description Scan:”
ResyMatch will scrape all of the data from every job description you added and it will extract the top hard and soft skills based on frequency. These skills are prevalent across every role you're targeting so they're going to be the keywords and skills you want to target in your summary.
The keywords are:
76 – design
61 – product
41 – UI
31 – research
30 – UX
16 – user experience
16 – communication
These are the keywords we'll want to weave into our LinkedIn Summary.
Finding Keywords For Entrepreneurs & Thought Leaders
Finding keywords as an entrepreneur or thought leader uses a similar process with a different data source.
We're not lucky enough to have “job descriptions” for our purposes, so we'll have to find another source of data! The good news is that LinkedIn already tells us who's doing this well because they appear at the top of the existing search results. All we need to do is check out their profiles.
Here's the path for finding keywords as an Entrepreneur or Thought Leader:
- Open a new doc (Word or Google) and keep it on hand
- Head to LinkedIn
- Put yourself in your prospect's shoes and run a search (e.g. “career coach”)
- Click through the profiles of the first 5 pages
- When you find a profile that's aligned with your offerings, copy the profile and paste it into your document
- Rinse and repeat until you have 20+ profiles in your document
- Head to WordClouds.com and repeat the steps above
After editing for filler words and non-relevant terms, you should have a list of keywords that are aligned with your offerings that you can add into your LinkedIn Summary.
Tip #2: Grab Some Eyeballs With Formatting And Emojis
I'll start by saying that, for this tip, a little goes a long way. Both fancy formatting and emojis have their time and place. It's also easy to overuse them. But when used sparingly and intentionally, they can really make your summary pop.
How To Add Formatting To Your LinkedIn Summary (Bold, Italics, Etc.)
Many people don't realize that you can actually add bold , italicized , and other non-traditional font formatting into your LinkedIn profile. Here's an example of bolded font in one of my posts:
How'd that get in there?
Simple. I used a tool called Unicode Text Converter .
UTC takes the text you submit and it converts it to unicode which most any plain text editor can parse and visualize. Here are just a few of the font options UTC offers up:
How can you use this?
You can bold important points in your summary or you can bold different headings that you'd like to feature (e.g. Projects, Press, Interests) so they are easy to differentiate.
How To Add Emojis To Your LinkedIn Summary
Emojis are trickier than simply bolding some text in your Summary. You really need to know your audience here.
If you're targeting traditional companies (legacy law firms, financial institutions, or government roles) or your prospects tend to be more traditional, I'd pass on this.
But if you're targeting progressive, new-age companies or your demographic is younger, you might consider sprinkling them in to help specific areas of your Summary pop.
For example, my target demographic is younger job seekers looking for roles in tech. I use emojis in my profile to highlight a phone number that people can text me along with specific resources and tools that I want to draw attention to:
Compared to the amount of text in my Summary, I don't use a ton of emojis. I also use them in a consistent fashion (each one is at the start of a new tool / bullet).
Tip #3: Don't Be Afraid To Get Personal!
In today's digital world, a personal touch can go a long way.
As a job seeker, recruiters want to see that you're more than just bullets on a resume. As an entrepreneur or thought leader, people want to know you're more than just a talking head trying to sell them something.
When writing your resume , I recommend adding a unique, personalized Interests section . I also recommend doing the same for your LinkedIn profile!
Here's why…
Let's say that I add “Podcast Enthusiast (my daily Go To's are Up First, The Tim Ferriss Show, and Work Life with Adam Grant)” to my LinkedIn Summary.
I just added 3 potential layers of connection into my profile:
- If someone is a big fan of any of those podcasts, it's an immediate connection
- If someone is a big podcast fan, we have that in common (even if they haven't heard of those 3)
- If someone doesn't listen to podcasts, at least they know a bit more about me personally, which creates the opportunity for a talking point
Now multiply that by four or five different interests and you're cooking with gas!
What Interests Should You Focus On?
You don't want to list anything and everything in your Interests. For example, getting political can potentially cause more harm than good.
Instead, I like to focus on a few topics that are viewed as positive by pretty much everyone. They are:
If you stick with those, you'll be in great shape!
Template & Examples For Adding Your Personal Interests
I like to use a specific format for building out my personalized interests section:
General Interest #1 (Specific Detail), General Interest #2 (Specific Detail), General Interest #3 (Specific Detail), General Interest #4 (Specific Detail).
Let's say that I'm planning to add Travel, Sports, Reading, and Learning to my interests. It might look like this:
Interests: Traveling (Currently planning a trip to Mykonos – recommendations welcome!), Reading (Currently reading Eat A Peach by David Chang), Podcasts ( my daily Go To's are Up First, The Tim Ferriss Show, and Work Life with Adam Grant), & the New York Football Giants.
Look at all of those opportunities for common ground and points of connection! That's what we're aiming for.
Tip #4: Check (And Double Check) Your Grammar
Last but not least, we have an obvious tip. As obvious as it may be, I'm always blown away by how many people have typos and grammatical errors in their LinkedIn profiles.
Here's a trick I used to get rid of typos and improve my writing in less than 5 minutes.
First, go through everything else in this article. Choose your favorite Summary template, leverage one of the examples to help you get started, then add in your keywords and your formatting.
When you're done, head over to Hemingway App and paste in your entire LinkedIn Summary.
Hemingway will not only show you where you've misspelled some words, it'll also show you which sentences you could improve and how to improve them. It'll even give you a readability score!
Here's my current LinkedIn Summary in the app:
Improving it is easy. Just rework your sentences to follow Hemingway App's guidelines and you'll be in great shape.
Next Step: Update The Rest Of Your LinkedIn Profile
Now that your new LinkedIn Summary is ready for it's big debut, make sure the rest of your LinkedIn profile is optimized!
- Comprehensive Guide On How To Build An Amazing LinkedIn Profile
- What's Your LinkedIn Headline Score? Click Here To Get It For Free
- How To Write A Crazy Effective LinkedIn Headline
- How To Create A LinkedIn Profile Picture
- How To Craft an Amazing LinkedIn Cover Photo
- How To Ask For A LinkedIn Recommendation
- Connect on LinkedIn
- Follow me on Medium
- Follow me on Instagram
Austin Belcak
Austin is the founder of Cultivated Culture where he helps people land jobs without connections, without traditional experience, and without applying online. His strategies have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, & Fast Company and has helped people just like you land jobs at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, & more.
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5 Templates That'll Make Writing the Perfect LinkedIn Summary a Total Breeze
Hot jobs on the muse.
How many times have you started reading someone’s LinkedIn summary and found yourself totally bored two sentences in? The whole thing is only a paragraph, but you’re already scrolling down to the Experience section—or even clicking away from the page.
Having a great summary is essential. After all, it’s one of the most important areas of your entire LinkedIn profile : It sums up your professional history, qualifications, and personality. Plus, it can (and should) give viewers a clear idea of what they should do next—whether that’s accepting your connection request, recruiting you for a job opening, or reaching out for networking purposes.
SEARCH OPEN JOBS ON THE MUSE! See who’s hiring here , and you can even filter your search by benefits, company size, remote opportunities, and more. Then, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll deliver advice on landing the job right to you.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these five different LinkedIn summary examples—there’s a template for every kind of person.
Example #1 The Mission-Based Summary
Every brand has stories to tell—stories that will not only engage, inform, surprise, delight, and impact their audience, but that will also deliver on measurable business goals. And I am the conduit between brand and consumer.
I help clients find the subject and medium that best fits their unique identity, and then I produce high-quality content that meets their objectives.
Currently, I am a content strategist at Alliance Media, where I’ve collaborated with companies such as Tiffany & Co., Burger King, and Netflix.
My specialties include digital media, consumer behavior, brand awareness, and omni-channel marketing campaigns.
The mission-based summary opens with a broad description of what you do, then gets more and more specific. This is a great choice if you’re using LinkedIn to engage with a variety of people. After all, someone who’s unfamiliar with the field is probably hazy on what “content strategy” means—but everyone understands “telling stories for brands.”
It also shows that you get the bigger picture. You understand why your job encompasses more than your daily to-do list. And as you can see, you don’t have to be “increasing literacy rates in third-world countries” or “building prosthetics with near-natural motor capability” to be contributing something valuable to the world.
Example #2 The Personality Summary
When I was 21, I climbed Mount Everest. Not metaphorically—I literally climbed the highest mountain on Earth.
While I was hiking, I thought about quitting approximately 5,000 times. (And that’s a lowball estimate.) But despite the high winds, low altitude, mental and physical fatigue, and trail mix overdose, I kept going. I’m that person. Once I say I’ll do something, it will happen.
Now, I put that perseverance to work as a senior account manager for Polar. I don’t have to climb any mountains…but I do have to move them.
I’m well-versed in negotiations, planning and development, relationship management, operations, and logistics coordination and scheduling.
If you’re interested in grabbing coffee and talking shop (or to hear how I almost fell off the mountain at 27K feet), please send an email my way.
If you’re really looking to hook people, begin with an anecdote that demonstrates one or two key personality traits.
Because this type of summary focuses more on soft skills than on hard skills, it’s ideal for two types of users: the networkers and the less-experienced. If you’re using LinkedIn primarily to meet new people, rather than get a job, this makes you seem like an interesting person to know. You’ll likely see an increase in the number of connections you make, as well as the number of people who accept your coffee invites.
And it’s also great if you’re still a student or relatively new to the professional world. Instead of being confined to a short, two or three sentence bio explaining what limited experience you have, you can flesh out your character traits to help people learn more about you.
Example #3 The Short-and-Sweet Summary
I have over 15 years of experience working in data science. Currently, I work as Asana’s Senior Data Manager, improving products and services for our customers by using advanced analytics, standing up big-data analytical tools, creating and maintaining models, and onboarding compelling new data sets.
Previously, I was Chief Data Scientist at Guru, where I analyzed data from some of the biggest enterprise companies in the world to educate the market on long-term internet trends.
Competencies: data science, machine learning, cloud computing, Hadoop, Python/Java/R, network protocols
The short and sweet summary is a smart choice for professionals in conservative or technical industries. For example, if you’re a lawyer, you want to make it easy for people to see how long you’ve been practicing law, what your qualifications are, and the type of work you specialize in. (Plus, getting too creative might undermine your credibility.)
This also works for active job hunters. Why? It allows you to get a lot of keywords in, which will help advance you in the search results when a recruiter looks for someone who fits your profile.
Whatever the case, a short and sweet summary should include your current role, previous positions (if they’re relevant or notable), and your skills.
Example #4 The Blended Summary
I’m a talent acquisition specialist with an interest in building the most effective workforces possible. For over 20 years, I’ve been helping businesses find their perfect hires. I also do consulting on compensation and benefits, new hire processes, and company culture.
When I’m not on the job, I love hiking with my dog, working my way through every recipe in the family cookbook, and indulging my love for seeing new places.
If you’d like to learn more about how my services can help your company, please reach out via email ([email protected]).
As the name suggests, this summary is a blend between the personality and the mission versions. It’s perfect if you want to get straight to the facts, but you also want some levity in your description. I’d suggest it for professionals in more creative industries and people whose work involves a lot of other people (think sales reps, managers, or HR specialists).
To make this work, begin with your current job and a couple work accomplishments or highlights, then add some “fun facts.” However, make sure they’re not too fun—“I love karaoke (ask me about my Mariah Carey cover)” is fine. “My personal motto is ‘It’s 5 PM somewhere!’” is probably not. When in doubt, leave it out.
If you need more help nailing the perfect tone for this one, just imagine you’re talking to someone you just met at an industry event. Keep it light, fun, and professional .
Example #5 The Accomplishments Summary
I’m a freelance multi-disciplinary graphic designer who’s delivered creative and engaging solutions across brand identity, print, packaging, and digital media.
In 2013, my online brand campaign for the Dorsey Children’s Hospital won a GDUSA award, one of the most prestigious honors in the graphic design industry.
My work has also been featured in Creatique Bloq, Compound Magazine, and on the Creative Review blog.
Skills: logo design, web design, branding and identity, typography, UI design, packaging, CSS, HTML, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator
If you have a project I can help with, please get in touch.
I love the accomplishments summary for those who are seeking work—either a full-time position or freelance gigs. It cuts to the chase and tells potential employers or clients exactly why you deserve the job, as well as the (high) caliber of work they can expect from you.
And you’re not limited to awards, speaking engagements, or positive press. Something like “I planned and implemented a new social media strategy that tripled our online engagement in six months” works too.
It doesn’t matter which summary type you choose—having a well-written, thoughtful one will do wonders for your LinkedIn goals. Need more inspiration? Check out three more of our favorite real-life LinkedIn summaries .
Have questions for me? Wondering which template I’d suggest for you? Reach out on Twitter!
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How to Write a LinkedIn Summary That Helps You Stand Out
A strong LinkedIn summary can grab people’s attention, getting them excited about knowing you, learning from you, or working with you.
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A LinkedIn summary is the “about” section on your LinkedIn page, a space where you can highlight your professional experience, major achievements, relevant skills, and other important information you’d like to share. When done well, it can grab people’s attention and get them excited about knowing you, learning from you, or working with you.
You have a max of 2,000 characters (around 300-500 words) with a LinkedIn summary. In that space, it’s important to craft a summary that reads more like a story than a resume recounting your professional history. In other words, try to avoid lists and aim for an engaging narrative that “hooks” recruiters, potential employers, or others.
In this article, we’ll go over the factors that make for an effective LinkedIn summary as well as tips you can apply to your own summary, developing the best paragraphs possible to highlight what’s unique about you.
The elements of a strong LinkedIn summary
Your LinkedIn summary is an opportunity to promote yourself through a brief introduction. It should read like an elevator pitch—a concise summary about who you are, what you do, and what you’ve accomplished—while showcasing your personality. Here are four components your LinkedIn summary should contain.
It should create a hook in the first 300 words.
There’s a reason your first 300 words need to be strong. It’s what LinkedIn displays before prompting users to “see more” and unfurl the rest of your summary. As such, it helps to pick a compelling opening so your first 300 words “hook” your readers and make them want to learn more about you.
Be genuine and personal. Consider starting with an anecdote, sharing your passion, explaining something major you’ve accomplished, or speaking directly to readers. Avoid opening with a question or using empty buzzwords that don’t convey much.
It should read like a narrative.
Similar to your hook, your entire LinkedIn summary should read like a narrative—a representation of who you are. Aim to write in paragraphs that tell a story rather than paragraphs that list your experience.
Let your personality show through by writing your LinkedIn summary in the first person. This adds personality and ownership while showing off who you are as a person (and what you might be like to work with).
Learn more: 10 Ways to Enhance Your Resume
It should use optimized search terms.
Include industry-specific keywords where possible, but don’t overuse them or stuff your sentences with them unnecessarily. Embedding terms when describing your skills is a natural way to incorporate keywords. For example, if you work as a software engineer , you'd likely want to highlight the programming languages you know. Similarly, if you work as a graphic designer , you'd want to highlight the programs you use.
If you need help finding keywords, do an organic search or look at job postings to see what skills come up most often for the type of work you’d like to do. Once you’ve identified some terms, use them in your summary when talking about your industry, expertise, skills, and experience.
It should employ elements of readability.
No one wants to read a huge chunk of text. Break up your LinkedIn summary by using elements of readability, like short paragraphs, bullet points, and even appropriate emojis.
Use whitespace to your advantage by giving the page some “breathing room.” When listing accomplishments, for example, consider using a short series of bullet points that you connect to your larger story. You can also format your summary by making certain keywords bold when you’d like to draw attention to them.
The idea is to make your summary easy on the eyes and easy to read.
6 ways to improve your LinkedIn summary
Ultimately, your LinkedIn summary should serve as a spotlight, framing your unique story and helping readers understand a bit about who you are, what drives you, what type of work energizes you, and (if applicable) what you’ve achieved. Let’s go over six tips to strengthen your LinkedIn summary.
1. Open with personality.
Use your first sentence to pique interest. In your opening, share a bit about why you do what you do. This can take the shape of a personal anecdote, a reflection, or even just a straightforward address to the reader. For example, “I love finding out what customers want. That’s what drove me into brand marketing.”
Discussing how you first discovered your passion for the work you do, what excites you about your work, or what you’re most proud of can be a great way to show off your personality and expertise.
2. Discuss your background.
At some point, you'll want to explain your professional journey. Whether you’ve followed one clear path or you’ve tried different things, this is a chance to contextualize your choices. Provide some light background about your career history in a simple story rather than a list summary. If you opened with an anecdote, segue to your professional history and explain how you ended up where you are now.
3. Open up about your current role.
Once you’ve explained some of what you’ve previously done, share details about your current role. If you’re comfortable doing so, provide information like your day-to-day tasks and what you’ve managed to accomplish since starting. This information shouldn’t read like a job description. Think of it more like a window into your daily life, focusing on what energizes you about the work you perform.
If you are not currently employed, this can be a great space to talk about your professional goals and what you’re hoping to find with your next role.
4. Detail your accomplishments.
Highlight your professional accomplishments by focusing on how you earned them. What have you done that made something better? Taking time to explain what led to your accomplishments will help readers get a sense of your impact beyond the end result.
Noting your accomplishments also gives you credibility and helps you build a reputation as a successful professional in your industry. Don’t discount the power of these details.
5. Highlight relevant skills and talents.
Discuss what’s made you successful by detailing your specific skills, talents, and areas of expertise. You can either reference these as you discuss your professional background and previous roles, or you can create a list at the very end detailing your technical skills and even your interests.
After all, companies want you for your expertise, but they also want to make sure you’ll be a good fit. Getting a sense of who you are outside of work can help them get a sense of what you’d add to their team, personality-wise.
6. Close with a call to action.
Many LinkedIn summaries end with a list of technical skills, but a call to action can be equally effective. While a call to action isn’t always necessary, it can be immensely helpful when you’re looking for a new job. Close with some details about your goals and how you hope to achieve them through your future career moves, then encourage readers to get in touch by connecting on LinkedIn.
If you’re not seeking a new role, you may still want to keep yourself open to new connections. If you choose not to end with a list of your technical skills, tell readers to connect with you on LinkedIn, especially if they work in your industry, are passionate about similar things, or want to know more.
Why a strong LinkedIn summary is important
A good LinkedIn summary can help you make a big impact and achieve your professional goals, whether that’s getting a new job or moving up in your career. This short write-up can be used to attract potential employers, connect with others in your industry, reach out to recruiters, and even land potential clients.
It makes a big first impression: The LinkedIn summary is one of the first things readers see on your profile—it’s their introduction to you. Make a good first impression with a quality summary that is error-free.
It strengthens your searchability: Google regularly indexes LinkedIn, meaning that if you want better search visibility, you should take advantage of crafting a LinkedIn summary that helps people find you when they search for relevant industry terms.
It adds personality to your LinkedIn page: Your LinkedIn profile is full of details about your work history, education, skills, and professional organizations. But your summary is a chance to infuse some personality and help frame that information.
Explore further
Having a strong presence on LinkedIn can help you find new roles, advance in your career, and network with other industry professionals. Learn more about how to get the most out of LinkedIn with a number of Guided Projects on Coursera. You can Utilize LinkedIn for Career Search and learn about using the platform to find a job, or Strategically Build and Engage Your Network on LinkedIn and learn how to connect with others.
Related articles
How to Reach Out to a Recruiter on LinkedIn
How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation
How to Choose a Career: 7 Ways to Narrow Your Options
How to Prepare for a Career Change: Step-by-Step Guide
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LinkedIn Summary: 4 Examples and 10 Writing Tips
2023-02-22T04:04:43+00:00
LinkedIn is critical in creating your professional profile and helping you advance your career. When connecting with other people on the network, we first skim their current job position, profile tagline, picture, and LinkedIn summary. All of these help us determine whether or not they’re worthwhile for networking.
Your summary for LinkedIn is more than a representation of your professional experience. It is one of the first things anyone reads when they check out your profile. It can make or break your impression with potential employers or leads.
Importance of LinkedIn Profile Summary
LinkedIn serves as a bridge between you and your leads or potential employers. Your LinkedIn tagline gives them a brief insight into your professional outlook. And the summary section offers visitors a glimpse into your persona, accomplishments, professional aspirations, and more.
Your LinkedIn summary is much like the objectives part of your resume ; it provides viewers with a brief overview of your abilities, goals, and achievements. Like a good punch line, your LinkedIn summary must be short, direct, and powerful enough to grab the reader’s attention. The goal is to make them hit that connect button.
How to Write a LinkedIn Summary
The key to crafting a good LinkedIn summary is to follow a predetermined structure and outline, like a LinkedIn summary template .
Here is how you can create an impressive LinkedIn summary.
Start With a Hook
Every good book starts with a strong paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention and sparks their curiosity. In the same way, your LinkedIn summary’s start must be powerful and ignite your viewer’s interest.
It is a good idea to start the first sentence in a way that allows viewers to know what you do. The second sentence should provide them with a reason to stick around and keep reading. Keep it fun and exciting if you wish to pack on a punch.
Provide Viewers With a Unique Selling Proposition
This is the part where your communication skills come into play. Be sure to describe yourself and your work in the most creative way possible. And in doing so, use your creativity to push the reader into caring about what you do and why it matters. Make your proposition unique so that it helps you stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Highlight Your Accomplishments
Some people may think it is counterintuitive, but there is nothing wrong with briefly highlighting your accomplishments in your LinkedIn summary. For example, you could mention the projects you’ve worked on, what you have learned, and what you have achieved. While some may think of this as bragging, the true goal here is to highlight your achievements in a way that adds value to your work.
Include a Call to Action
Make sure to end your LinkedIn profile summary with a call to action so your profile visitors can make the first move to connect with you. For example, you could provide them with information about contacting you or how your services can help them.
Use the professional LinkedIn profile writing service by Dripify. Optimize your profile by following the latest LinkedIn trends, get x2 more LinkedIn profile views, increase your conversion rate with Dripify LinkedIn profile creator.
LinkedIn Summary Tips
Now that you have been introduced to the how-to part of formulating a LinkedIn summary, let us move on to some helpful tips on what to include in the LinkedIn summary .
Keep it Concise
Be sure to keep everything concise and to the point. Avoid delving into the nitty-gritty details. Remember, this is not your autobiography. Besides, no one has time to read a huge text block when scrolling through LinkedIn.
It is a good idea to keep your summary under 2000 characters. People only care about what you do, what you have achieved, what they will get by connecting with you, and whether you are worthy of networking.
Use SEO Keywords
SEO keywords can make your profile more search-engine friendly and boost visibility. Think of LinkedIn as a deep ocean where SEO keywords will serve as life jackets to help you stay afloat. You can include SEO keywords anywhere in your profile, from the headline or LinkedIn summary to the experiences or skills part. These keywords will help increase your visibility within the network and in search engines.
Related article: LinkedIn SEO
Make Use of Whitespace
Whitespace makes things more readable and understandable. Crammed-up paragraphs are never a good idea because they have a higher chance of getting ignored. Keep your content organized with the help of whitespace. Use short sentences and paragraphs.
Write in the First Person
Your LinkedIn profile is much like a monologue because you essentially tell everyone what you do. If your profile narrates your experiences, it should be addressed in the first person. Not only does it sound more authentic and natural, but it is also more relatable to the reader.
Focus on Your Strengths
While your LinkedIn summary discusses your experiences, prospects, and goals, it is critical to address how you achieve your goals. Write about your strengths and how you will help others achieve their goals. Keep it brief but be sure it stands out.
Let Your Personality Shine
Only work-related information can make your summary sound boring and monotonous. That’s where information about your persona, work ethic, hobbies, and humor can make the cut.
This helps break the monotony and gives readers something to relate to. You could discuss your personality, your values, and your worldview. Give readers insight into who you are as a person, not just as an employee.
Write Like You Speak in Person
How do I make my LinkedIn profile stand out, you ask. Well, using a formal tone will not help here. Instead, you should take a casual or witty route where you converse with your target like you’re speaking with them. A simple and conversational tone goes a long way toward attracting your audience.
State the Reasons
Tell viewers what drives you to be in your line of work and your goal behind your motivation. This provides your potential connections with a fresh and new perspective into your professional life.
Be Direct With Your Expectations
A call to action makes a good LinkedIn summary ending. Consider mentioning your expectations directly and clearly. And be sure to add how you wish to be contacted by anyone who wishes to approach you.
While some people advise against emojis as they are far from professional, there is no denying the fact that they are pretty fun. Using them in your LinkedIn summary is good, but do not overdo this practice. The only reason for using emoji on LinkedIn is to make your profile look more welcoming.
LinkedIn Summary Examples
Have a look at these examples of LinkedIn summary and take inspiration to improve your own summary.
Ilya Azovtsev – LinkedIn Expert
Ilya is a LinkedIn expert who managed to acquire a million profile views in a span of mere four months. A digital marketer by profession, he heads the department of growth at Lemlist. Ilya’s strengths include community building.
His LinkedIn profile summary is catchy with a direct and clear tagline. It uses whitespace, emojis and conveys a clear message. Ilya’s use of different summary structures and taglines gives his profile a competitive edge over others.
Sharon van Donkelaar – Chief Marketing Officer
Sharon is a Chief Marketing Officer at Expandi. Her LinkedIn profile is a fine example to follow if you wish to enhance your LinkedIn outreach. Her profile introduction is direct and clear, stating her field of work.
Her profile is easy to read owing to the intelligent use of whitespace, and you can note some emojis as well. She ends her LinkedIn summary with a call to action. Composed, cohesive, and clear, Sharon’s profile ticks all the boxes.
Genevieve McKelly – Human Resources Professional
Genevieve is a human resource professional. Her profile stands out from the rest because it highlights her motivation to help others. It makes her profile appear approachable and helpful. She discusses her hobbies and gives people a reason to engage with her. Moreover, her profile encourages people to reach out to her. Direct yet fun and exciting, Sharon’s profile grabs viewers’ attention.
Daniel Thornburgh – Software Engineer at Google
Daniel is a Software Engineer at Google. His LinkedIn profile summary depicts his life journey, starting from his youth to the present while being precise and to the point. He notes his interests clearly and balances industry keywords very perfectly. Despite highlighting his achievements, Daniel’s profile is far from boastful. In fact, it sounds pretty humble!
A robust LinkedIn Profile Summary not just keeps your potential customers hooked to your profile, but the chances of their conversion are also heavily affected by it. A descriptive and lengthy summary might showcase your writing skills, but it tends to bore your profile visitors. Writing a short, crisp, and to-the-point summary is what we recommend.
You must also ensure to add a call to action to the summary, which will provide your visitors with the ease of establishing a connection with you. Overall, a sturdy LinkedIn summary is as crucial as other elements of your LinkedIn profile.
However, sometimes we get so indulged in other aspects of our business that there’s no time left to create a striking LinkedIn profile. Hiring a professional for the same can be very expensive, and it becomes nearly impossible for startups in their infantry stage. Does that mean you’ll be stuck with a dull LinkedIn profile? No, you can simply opt for Dripify LinkedIn Profile Makeover , which comes at a mere cost of $299.
Apart from making your profile beautiful to look at, a professional makeover will also provide you with benefits like a 200% increase in LinkedIn profile views, an enhanced professional reputation, a 2x increase in your conversion rate, etc.
What to write on LinkedIn if you are looking for a job? Write a good LinkedIn summary! Start with a strong opening, provide your viewers with a unique proposition, highlight your accomplishments, and include a call to action.
For beginners, we recommend starting strong with a powerful opening. Add keywords to your LinkedIn summary and discuss your career, interests, and skillset. It does not matter, even if you are just starting out. Just make your profile clear, concise, and direct.
Yes, it is. A LinkedIn summary is a short formal introduction to the viewer and determines the impression you set with them. It encourages viewers to connect and network with you.
Yes, LinkedIn can generate a summary. You can use the auto-generated summary, but we recommend writing your own unique summary.
What to put in your LinkedIn summary when unemployed or inexperienced? If you do not have any experience, you can include your academic accomplishments and discuss what you studied. You can focus on your interests and passions, as well as your hard and soft skills. Be sure to phrase and structure your statements in a way that grabs the reader’s attention.
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5 LinkedIn Summary Examples To Give You Inspiration To Write Your Own
Your summary gives you the chance to make a great first impression to recruiters, potential clients, and other professionals. Use these examples to write your own LinkedIn summary that gets you closer to your career goals.
2 years ago • 10 min read
The summary section of your LinkedIn profile is arguably the most important part of your profile. What is a LinkedIn summary? It is the space at the start of your LinkedIn page, and it is your best chance to reel in potential employers. This space is where you highlight your talents, experience, and what makes you, you. If the job you wanted to get was a role in a movie, then your LinkedIn summary is your highlights reel.
As a potential employee, you need a summary that is engaging and impressive. Your summary may be the only part of your profile that some employers read, so it is important to make every word count. This guide will explain how to write a great LinkedIn summary and provide a few templates to help you get started.
What makes a LinkedIn summary effective
When it comes to the most important part of your LinkedIn profile, details matter! Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while crafting your summary:
- Include work experience, accomplishments, and awards.
- Write in first person, this feels more personal to the reader
- The first three lines are the most important, so start off strong
- Consider which keywords potential employers may be using to search
- Run your summary through a spelling and grammar checker
- Length should be between 200 and 300 words
- Small paragraphs or bulleted lists are best for easy reading
- Use precise information and figures. (Example: At ClothingStoreInc. I exceeded my sales quota by 20% two years consecutively)
- Always place a call-to-action near the end, listing your preferred methods of contact
LinkedIn Summary Examples & Templates
Each LinkedIn profile will need to accomplish something different, depending on your goals. For example, your summary may be crafted a bit differently if you are job-seeking rather than simply building a network.
To help you write your summary in no time, here are a few templates showcasing some of the ways you can craft a summary. These are examples; feel free to take them and enter your own information.
Templates for Jobseekers
Example 2: a job seeker's linkedin summary.
Those seeking jobs should focus on their hard skills and grab potential employers’ attention with a bit of personality thrown in. Here's an example:
I always knew that I wanted to write, but I wasn’t ever sure how to go about it. I started a small personal travel blog when I was around 15 and when I joined college, I wrote for my school's magazine (The University News). These experiences led to me getting an internship with a magazine in New York City while I was a junior at college. When I graduated, I joined the Resume Worded Times as an entry-level writer and have been here since! I'm now a Lead Writer on the Editorial Team and over the last three years, I've written over 75+ articles covering a broad range of industries, including education, politics and entertainment. My work has been featured in major publications globally, including Forbes, Resume Worded and Entrepreneur Weekly. Outside of work, I serve on the executive team at the Young Women in Journalism, an organization committed to improving the networking and success of women in journalism across the USA. I enjoy traveling, eating my way around the world and sharing experiences on my blog! If you ever want to bounce ideas off of me, please feel free to visit my blog at resumeworded.com or contact me on Twitter @ResumeWorded! Skills: - Content Marketing - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Blog Posts - Guest Posts - Branding - Journalism - Politics
Note a few things this template does right . The tone is a great balance between professional and casual, and leaves a great first impression on any visitor.
Finally, a concise skills section with keywords is a useful to help this job seeker show up in search results when a recruiter searches those queries!
Example 2: Another jobseeker's LinkedIn summary
And here's another example.
With over [enter number of years] of experience as a sales manager with [enter company], I know what it’s like to go the extra mile and always make my sales quota. Knowing what the client needs, getting them product, and driving sales are things I am passionate about. My specialties include Excel, Word, scheduling, filing, account management, sales, customer service, working independently, interpersonal skills, great at managing people. Although deeply passionate about my area of expertise, I’m also passionate about baking! If you think I may be a good fit for your company, or if you’d like to get together and chat over a slice of homemade chocolate cake, email me at [enter email].
Shorter than the last one but just as effective, this template emphasizes the job seeker's strengths (i.e. the list of specialties is particularly effective at this).
One useful thing to note — both templates don't say things like "I'm unemployed" or "I'm looking for new work". You don't need to be too overt when writing your LinkedIn summary, and words like 'unemployed' are a red flag to potential recruiters! Instead, use a standard 'call-to-action' like "Reach out to me on email!", while including your email.
Related: Make The Most of LinkedIn With These Strategies For Finding Recruiters
How do I write a LinkedIn summary if I have no experience?
For someone that has no work experience at all, you might need to be a little bit creative. List any activities you have done or been involved in that could be relevant to the job you are hoping to get.
For instance, if you are wanting a job in early child development, you could describe how you always loved babysitting all of your neighbor’s children while you were a student. If you want to get a job as an activity director, you could mention the time you were in charge of organizing the Spring Formal Dance.
What should I write on my LinkedIn profile if I am unemployed?
If you are unemployed, that’s fine! Your LinkedIn summary should anyway be more than just work experience, so take the opportunity to talk about your background and what you’re looking for. As we mentioned earlier, avoid using words like "unemployed" in your profile!
You should also mention your hard skills. A bulleted list would be a great, simple way to put these on display. Make sure to emphasize what your value would be to a potential employer. In your call to action, make it clear that you are eager to discuss any employment opportunities and list all the ways you can be contacted.
Your LinkedIn summary should include a list of your relevant hard skills. If you’re not sure which of your skills to include, use the tool below to get a list of hard skills and keywords relevant to your job and industry.
Let's put all of this into practice in this example — here's an annotated checklist that you can use.
Templates for Experienced Professionals
Ultimately, LinkedIn is a personal branding tool and even if you aren't looking for a job, it's a good idea to craft an engaging summary. Let's go through a couple of great templates you can use when writing your summary as a professional.
Example 1: A LinkedIn summary for all kinds of professionals
In this first template, notice how we emphasize our skill sets and passions.
I have over 15 years of experience working in product management and data science. Currently, I work as the Head of Product Management at Resume Worded, where I lead a cross-functional team of seven, building unique products that are helping people achieve more in their careers! I'm deeply passionate about creating loved and trusted products that help people navigate their careers and achieve their career goals. Previously, I worked at ABC Startup as a Lead Data Scientist, improving products and services for our customers by using advanced analytics, setting up big-data analytical tools (i.e. Hadoop, BigQuery), creating and maintaining models, and onboarding new data sets. If you catch me outside of work, I'm an adventurous traveler - 30 countries and counting - and an avid lover of tennis! I also like meeting new people over a cup of coffee. Feel free to reach out at [email protected] or DM on Twitter @resumeworded. Competencies: Python, Hadoop, Big Data, Hive, SQL, PySpark, Keras, machine learning, TensorFlow, Business Intelligence, Tableau P.S. If you're passionate about creating tech-focused products to help people reach their potential, we're hiring! Get in touch with us at resumeworded.com/linkedin-review
Even though this summary is written for a person with a pretty technical background, it does a great job at keeping it personal and engaging.
It also makes an excellent use of using keywords throughout the summary — something we've already mentioned as being really crucial!
Example 2: A simple LinkedIn summary for professionals
This second template is short and sweet. It contains all the critical information—what they do, what they're passionate about and what they do outside work — while also using a clear and succinct call-to-action to maximize connections via LinkedIn.
I am a [enter profession] and I am passionate about [enter trade]. I love collaborating and making connections. I love to discuss [enter subject] on my blog, [enter name of blog]. My specialties include [enter list of skills and/or accomplishments] I am always open to chatting about [enter subject] and would love for you to connect with me on [enter social media]. Please feel free also to connect with me here on LinkedIn or by email at [enter email].
Templates for Students
First off, it's awesome that you're thinking about things like LinkedIn and your personal brand if you're a student or you're just starting out your career!
Students who are transitioning from school to work face a unique challenge since you likely don't have work experience to mention in your summary! But don't worry — use the summary section to tell people a bit about you, what you're studying and what you're looking for.
Example 1: A LinkedIn summary for entry-level job seekers and students
Always remember the goal of your LinkedIn summary: it's to tell people about you and your skills in an engaging way, while encouraging prospects to connect with you. This is a great template of how to do this, if you're a student:
Hi there! I'm an aspiring data scientist who loves finding patterns and connecting dots: be it ideas from different industries, people from different backgrounds and teams, or applications from different industries. I have strong technical skills, particularly in databases and machine learning, and an academic background in mathematics, engineering and statistics. I love solving business problems with unique algorithms and communicating complex ideas to business stakeholders. In my graduate studies, I took on a number of leadership roles, including mentoring two undergraduates, coordinating university research events for 400+ attendees, and leading the Model United Nations committee. I'm graduating in July 2021 and I'm interested in full-time or contract data science or machine learning roles. Please feel free to get in touch with me via email at [email protected] Proficient: Tableau, Python (scikit-learn, NumPy, SciPy, pandas), TensorFlow, Excel Knowledgeable: SQL, R, Spark (Spark SQL Pyspark) Familiar: NLP (Natural Language Processing), spaCy
Example 2: Another excellent example of a student's LinkedIn summary
Similarly, an inexperienced job-seeker can stand out with a summary like this:
Finding creative solutions to problems is something I have always enjoyed. As a kid I loved tinkering with things that were broken, figuring out how they worked, and fixing them again. When I finished high school, I knew exactly what I wanted my career to be. I am finishing up my degree at [insert college], where I have learned how to apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies to today’s complex problems. If you are interested in contacting me in regards to a position with your company, please email me at [enter email], or feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
If you are a student, there are a few things you should include in your summary. Your education is a big selling point, so definitely emphasize it. Explain the lessons you learned during your time at school.
Include real-life experiences you’ve had that are relevant, even if it’s working on a school project or being class president. Keywords are also something to consider carefully while crafting your summary; choose these wisely because they can help get your profile noticed!
Finally, let your personality come through a bit. State what kind of person you are, what value as an employee you will bring to a company, and what kind of career you are hoping to have. Also, listing things such as interests, hobbies, and even your pets can help you look like a real person and make a connection.
Templates for Career Changers
The LinkedIn summary section is the perfect opportunity for career changers to showcase their new skills, and explain why they want to move into a new career or industry. To explain a career change, try using an anecdote to illustrate why you decided to make the change. Then focus on the skills you learned.
Example 1: A LinkedIn summary you can use if you're changing careers
One of the core goals of a career changer is to show that their skill sets are transferrable into a new career. This example template does this well:
I have been working in sales for almost five years, and I am now planning a transition into corporate human resources. Although successful in my sales career, I have realized the aspects of my work I find most rewarding are all in HR-related functions: - Solid foundation in HR affairs: As senior account executive, I have been responsible for a number of HR functions, including recruiting, interviewing, hiring and training new employees. A quick learner of complex concepts and legal issues, I am eager to broaden these competencies. - Dynamic communication style: I am adept in building relationships, consensus and a shared sense of purpose. I am known for my ability to quickly establish trust with employees, mediate disputes and motivate others into action. - Experience in corporate training: A constant throughout my sales career has been my passion for the design and delivery of staff development programs. Comfortable and experienced giving both large and small-group presentations, I have conducted hundreds of training seminars for diverse audiences across all organizational levels. I'm currently seeking [opportunities you're looking for], so if you'd like to work together, feel free to connect via LinkedIn or contact me directly at [email protected] ! Specialties: - Account Executive - Building Relationships with Senior Executives - Seminar Training - Recruitment - Leadership Training and Development - Business Coaching - Change Management - Staff Development Programs - Performance and development - People Management - Employee Relations & Welfare - Human Resources Development - Talent Development Programmes
And if you need more inspiration, here's another example!
I spent most of my working career in retail management. It was there that I learned how much I loved helping people find what they wanted and taking care of their needs. Seeing that smile on their face when I found them just what they were looking for made my day. [Enter number of years] ago, I decided I needed something more, something bigger. So I decided to get my real estate license. I got a position with [enter employer] and have been making dreams come true for families ever since. If you need assistance finding a home or property in the [insert city area] please call our office at [enter phone number] or email me directly at [enter email].
An optimized LinkedIn summary helps you create a better first impression to potential prospects, and helps you build your network. I hope these examples help you craft a LinkedIn profile that generates you opportunities!
If you want to generate a LinkedIn summary, visit the LinkedIn Summary Generator .
- Career Changers
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