Using the Summary to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Shine

You’ve updated your profile picture and made sure your work history is up to date. So why do you need to fill out the summary section of your profile? Isn’t the information you’ve provided about your current and past experience enough? Not even close.

Your LinkedIn summary is how to get your profile to stand out, attract connections, and increase search results. This is your mission statement and sales pitch all in one.

It’s important to use the summary to highlight career achievements, talk about relevant experience and highlight keywords to show up in search results. Leaving the summary section blank is like reading a book without a first chapter.

The summary section provides a lot of real estate, too – allowing you to write up to 2,000 words! Use these words wisely to attract potential business through LinkedIn’s search results. The key is to write about yourself in a way that is really about your target reader.

Tips to consider when crafting your LinkedIn Summary:

• Tell a story – write in a captivating way that guides readers along your career path
• Break up the copy – instead of writing one long paragraph, break up the copy with headers, short paragraphs and bullet points
• Include a call-to-action with your contact information so potential customers can easily contact you
• Include any videos of yourself highlighting what you bring to the table
• Make sure to highlight partner successes and consider including mini case studies

When you start writing, consider these questions / prompts:

• What is the objective of your LinkedIn Profile? Who do you want to connect with
• What’s your management or work style?
•  What personal attributes do you have that your prospective clients will value?
• Talk about your overall experience vs. specific job related tasks
• Highlight an overall career achievement

Now it’s time to make your LinkedIn profile speak for you. Start this year off right by making some of these updates.  Is there anything we’ve missed? What else do you plan to include in your summary?

The post Using the Summary to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Shine appeared first on Channel Maven Consulting.