A LinkedIn summary is like a bio. It is a section on the top of your profile where people can read about you. In this space, you can describe your expertise and skills. You can also talk about your big achievements in this profession. Besides that, you can add any important information that you want to share with your connections here. It should be short, clear and attention-grabbing.

In this article, we will go through the many ways you can write and perfect your LinkedIn summary.

What is Linkedin Summary?

A LinkedIn summary is the text box that you see at the top of your profile. It is also called an “About” section. You can find it right below your profile image. The summary is an open space for you to explain who you are. It also has a limit of 2,000 characters or around 400 words. You can see three lines of the text before “see more” pops up.

A LinkedIn summary is a way to pitch yourself to potential employers and clients. You have a few seconds for them to read more. Besides that, your summary should read more like a story. The first few lines of your summary should catch the reader’s attention. Thus, making them want to know more about you.

Benefits and Importance

You must first understand why LinkedIn summary is a great opportunity for you.

• It allows you to present your best self. A LinkedIn summary is your About section. This is the only place where you can describe yourself in your words. Also, you don’t need starting dates or titles here. Besides that, you can use it to give context to your career decisions. You may also use it to highlight any big achievements. 

• You can use this space to display your personality. A LinkedIn summary gives you the opportunity to let people know who you are. You can decide whether people see you as humorous, sophisticated or serious. It also gives you control over the first impression you make on people. They can get a basic idea of who you are as a person. In this way, future employers can decide whether they want to work with you or not. 

• You become more visible in search results. LinkedIn’s algorithm uses your summary for search results. Use keywords in your summary and headline. This helps potential clients and recruiters to find you. Besides that, you can also add words like “management” or “content” to your bio for more views.

How to Write Linkedin Summary

Now that you’ve understood why you should have a good LinkedIn summary, understand how to write one.

• Make an outline. First, you need to decide what you want to add to your summary. You can follow this format:

1. You can start with a hook. This is a sentence that will keep the reader engaged. It consists of the first 3 lines. So, they should want to click on see more after reading it.
2. Next, is your mission. You can tell the reader the reason why you do the work you do. 
3. You can also talk about some skills and expertise. Tell them what you do best.
4. Here you can also showcase some accomplishments. They could be any awards you’ve received. Or something you achieved.
5. CTAs are also important to your summary. You can tell them what you’d like them to do now.

• Describe your current role. You can use this space to share what your job is in simple words. You can also ask yourself these questions for inspiration:

1. Who do you help with your job?
2. What problems of theirs do you solve?
3. How do you solve these problems?
4. How does your job impact others if you do or don’t do it well?
5. What would happen if you don’t perform your job?

• Explain your life outside work. People love to connect with who they read about. You should share your hobbies, passions, or volunteer work here. By sharing personal stories you can slip in any strengths you may have. Also, explain how certain people have changed your life. Besides that, you can see if there are any hobbies that help your job in any way.

Pros

Here are some benefits and pros of having a well-written LinkedIn summary.

• Opportunities for employment. The primary benefit of a LinkedIn summary is that it opens doors for employment. By writing a great summary, people are more likely to want to hire you.

• It enables you to be your best self. Your LinkedIn summary serves as your About section. This is the only place where you can express yourself. Also, there are no starting days or titles required here. You can even use it to put your career decisions into context. Besides that, you can also highlight any significant accomplishments.

• You can also use this area to express yourself. A LinkedIn summary allows you to introduce yourself to others. You can choose whether you want people to perceive you as humorous or professional. It also allows you to control the first impression you make on others. They can get a general sense of who you are as a person. 

• You gain visibility in search results. For search results, LinkedIn’s algorithm uses your summary. Make use of keywords in your summary and headline. This makes it easier for potential clients and recruiters to find you. If you want more views, then include words like “management” or “content” in your bio.

Cons

Here are some mistakes you shouldn’t make on LinkedIn. 

• Cliche or cheesy phrases: Keep your LinkedIn summary free of any cliche terms. Words like “master” or “guru” don’t add to your skill set. Instead, you should share actual work that showcases your expertise. Besides that, you could also describe anything you’ve done that has brought great results.

• Resume: Make sure you don’t mention the same exact points from your resume. It makes your profile repetitive. Recruiters and connections look for an introduction to the person you are. So, adding the same info appears boring and lazy.

• Grammar and spelling errors: A bad impression to make on someone is poor language skills. Lucky for you, there are tools that can help you improve these skills. Make sure you don’t have typos or grammatical errors in your summary. For this, you can use grammar and spell-check tools. They are important for all work. But it is even more important for a LinkedIn summary.

• Your entire life story: When we say: tell people a story, we don’t mean an autobiography. The summary should be brief and concise. Even if you tell a story, you should connect it to why it is relevant to your work. If it isn’t, remove it immediately. 

Tips

Here are some tips you can refer to for your LinkedIn Summary.

• Make it readable. People don’t want to read huge blocks of text. So, make use of whitespace to give your summary breathing space. You can do this through bullet points, shorter paragraphs or emojis. You can also make important keywords bold to bring their attention. In addition, it should be easy to read.

• Write in conversation style. If you don’t use big fancy words in your speech, don’t add them to your summary. Try to make your text readable. As if you are having a conversation with someone. Also, don’t use the third person here. Besides that, you can also check the readability by asking someone to read it out loud. If this isn’t how you would talk to someone you just met, then edit it.

• Add relevant information. You can list your experience in this industry. Talk about your skills and expertise. You can also speak about different organisations you have collaborated with. Or describe who people know you as in your profession.

• Keep to the word limit. Your summary shouldn’t be less than 200 words or more than 400. LinkedIn gives you a 2,000-character limit. So, try to keep your information short and clear.

• Use numbers and figures. You can impress people when you back your information with facts and proof. So, remember to add percentages and numbers to your summary.

• Don’t forget the CTAA CTA is a phrase or word designed to get an immediate response from the reader. As the name suggests, it's usually something that involves a precise action performed by.... Whatever your goal is, ask people to perform a function at the end. It could also be asking them to contact you. Or you could add a link to some relevant pages. 

Best Practices

Check out these best practices for your LinkedIn summary.

• Describe your passions. People love to read about someone who is open and passionate. You can add various things that excite you professionally. This works best if you don’t have a lot of work experience. Also, you can explain any work activity that keeps you engaged the most. Or something that you do for fun that is like the things you do at work. 

• Explain your past. Most of us have dabbled with a lot of different things or had career pivots. You can use this time to explain why your career choices set you apart. If you took a gap year, then explain how you developed skills in that time that are relevant to your job. If you left a job, then talk about what was missing from it. 

• Boost your keywords. LinkedIn uses the keywords in your summary and headline. It also helps to make you visible on search results. So, you should use rich keywords to boost your profile. You can do this by adding it to the end of your summary. Also, list them as specialities.

• Share your future goals. Stating your professional goals in your summary will help clients and recruiters. They can decide if you would be a good fit for their organisation or projects. You should also be clear about what you’d like to achieve. Make sure these goals are achievable and realistic. Also, connect these goals to your whole career plan.

• Remove any jargon. Don’t use any overused language in your LinkedIn summary. Words like “creative” or “motivated” have lost all meaning due to their overuse. Instead, keep it simple as if someone who doesn’t know the field is reading your summary.

Top Linkedin Summary Examples

Here are some examples of excellent LinkedIn summaries.

• Karen is a creative director and SVP at Wunderman Thompson. You can see her summary has made the best use of numbered lists. These lists contain important and interesting information about her accomplishments. She goes on to explain how she started her career. You can also see her add a personal touch by mentioning her husband’s cancer. This information is touching but also adds to her professional strengths. Besides that, she also uses conversational sentences and humour to highlight her personality.
  
  
• Desiree Thompson sticks to a theme: Communication skills.

Desiree does recruitment at Pediatrics Plus. What is interesting about her summary is that she showcases a specific skill. This is something that is important to her job. She also sticks to her theme of communication. Thus convincing the reader that this is something she excels at. Instead of using tired sentences, she gives them examples. Besides that, she also talks about what problems she solves for her employers and candidates.

• Damilare Odueso shares and connects his roots and job.
  

Damilare works at Fintech Farm as a country manager. His summary stands out due to his openness. You can see that through the personal story he shares in the beginning. Plus, he also talks about how his career and academic choices. Besides that, he also shares information about himself that shapes his thinking.

In Conclusion

A LinkedIn summary is much like a bio. It is a section of your profile at the top where people can read about you. There are also many tips and practices for you to keep in mind while writing your summary. For instance:

• You can describe your skills and experience in this section. 

• You can also discuss your major accomplishments in this field.

• You can include any key information that you wish to share with your contacts in this section. 

• Besides that, it should be brief, clear, and captivating.

What are some ways your summary is unique from others? Which are your favourite LinkedIn profiles? Let us know in the comments section below.