Writing a Great LinkedIn Summary – Tips to Land a Job
In many ways, it has become easier than ever to land a job..
due to the prominence of digital technologies and platforms such as LinkedIn. However, with millions of job candidates adopting the same strategy in order to grab the attention of their target employers, the competition has become fierce.
According to 99 Firms, LinkedIn has 303 million active users, with 40% visiting the platform daily. In addition, 77% of corporate recruiters are indeed on LinkedIn, while 92% of Fortune 500 companies use the platform for B2B networking and candidate scouting. LinkedIn is a giant among social media platforms that can help you land the job you want if you approach it correctly.
One of the most crucial aspects of your profile is manifested in the form of the LinkedIn summary, a short snippet of your persona. Writing a great LinkedIn summary can thus make the difference between landing the job you want and being passed due to unsatisfactory information being presented. Let’s take a look at how to write a LinkedIn summary properly in order to attract the attention your profile deserves.
Key Benefits of Writing a LinkedIn Summary
Let’s briefly tackle the “why” behind how to write a LinkedIn summary before we discuss the “how” later on. Depending on the company whose position you applied for, or the industry in which you aim to make an impression, you will undoubtedly face competition. HR departments and interviewers only have so much spare time to vet every candidate before making a decision on whether or not to proceed further. Presenting a succinct, professional, and informative LinkedIn summary to potential employers and networking groups can thus prove highly useful for your continued career development.
Rachel Thymes, Head of HR Department and contributing writer at Studicus had the following to say on the matter:
Help us help you when it comes to LinkedIn. While LinkedIn is highly customizable and offers plenty of options to present yourself properly, make sure to save your recruiters’ time. This will showcase that you are proactive and care about other people’s time and energy – bringing you closer to landing the job you want.
In summary, several key benefits of learning how to write a LinkedIn summary can be identified as the following:
- Express your personality and character beyond professional experience.
- Creating a lasting, positive first impression for profile visitors.
- Better odds of attracting industry-related LinkedIn groups.
- High search ranking due to relevant industry keywords presence in summary.
LinkedIn Summary Writing Tools to Consider
While you can write the first draft of your LinkedIn summary via a local text editor such as Microsoft Office, dedicated writing tools are recommended. As such, there are a plethora of options available at your disposal depending on the type of writer you are. Combine several tools that will aid you in writing, formatting, and editing a LinkedIn summary that will represent your skillset in a positive light.
1. WorkFlowy
The best way to start your LinkedIn summary writing process is to create an outline of the information you want to elaborate on. Think of it as an outline for your college essay, with its own introduction, body, and conclusion. WorkFlowy is a specialized writing tool that serves as a great platform for outlining your summary in an organized manner that will “flow” naturally. Once you’ve outlined your summary, you can fill in the blanks and move subheadings around without fear of a blank page staring back at you.
2. ilys
Not everyone is versed in writing, especially when it comes to the formal text with a limited word count from the get-go – and that’s okay. Ilys is a writing tool that will “meet you halfway” so to speak and ensure that you are focused as much as possible. The tool is designed with a set word limit and UX features that are there to make your LinkedIn summary writing as comfortable as possible. Simply set the length of your summary at the beginning and try to work around the limitations of a strict word count.
3. Hemingway Editor
When it comes to LinkedIn summary writing, you want to make sure that HR interviewers and company representatives can go through it quickly. Likewise, it’s important to eliminate any padding and unnecessary words that will needlessly bloat the summary. Enter Hemingway Editor, a tool specifically designed with legibility and text flow in mind. Simply copy your content (or write it from scratch) in the tool’s UI and it will quickly suggest changes that can make your summary better.
4. De-Jargonizer
Lastly, not every HR interviewer will have intimate knowledge of your industry or niche you specialize in. As such, using tools such as De-Jargonizer prior to publishing your LinkedIn summary might be a good idea. The tool will quickly scan through your writing, determine how complex and jargon-heavy it is, and then advise you on how to improve it. Subsequently, you can make the summary more approachable for non-industry readers, raising your overall odds at landing a job interview.
Advice on How to Write a LinkedIn Summary
1. Start with a Professional Hook
As with any formal correspondence or corporate email, the best way to start your LinkedIn summary is with a cordial greeting to the reader. Don’t immediately jump into what your passions or professional goals are without a greeting and an introduction.
Offer a few sentences on who you are as a person and what made you devote your career to that particular industry. While the hook doesn’t have to be long or filled with crucial information, it serves as a stepping stone to the rest of your summary.
2. Open up About Goals and Aspirations
What do you strive toward as a professional in your field? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What skills and expertise do you hope to develop over the next several years? These questions are crucial and will undeniably improve your chances of landing the job best suited to your goals and personality.
Open up about what you want to accomplish in the industry to signal the right company to reach out and discuss things via an interview. How to write a LinkedIn summary is not just a technicality waiting to be filled in – it’s about extending an olive branch to industry representatives.
3. Keywords-Centric Writing
One of the reasons why LinkedIn summary writing is crucial concerns the search visibility on the platform. Companies that look for employment candidates typically use the search engine present on LinkedIn to filter out irrelevant candidates.
By introducing a well-rounded summary to your profile and filling it with industry-related keywords, your odds
of being spotted will improve drastically. Make sure to use writing services such as Evernote or
4. Make your Formatting Dynamic
Knowing how to write a LinkedIn summary and subsequently format it to be as legible as possible will further increase your odds at prospective employment. As we’ve mentioned previously, job interviewers rarely have enough time to read through each LinkedIn profile in great detail (even though they deserve the attention).
To make matters simpler, you can format your LinkedIn summary into paragraphs, bullet points, and add small subheadings to each paragraph for better readability. Thus, writing tools such as Grab My Essay and Grammarly offer a plethora of editing and formatting features for you to take advantage of.
5. Invite the Reader to Reach Out
Lastly, it’s good practice to cap off your LinkedIn summary in a professional manner akin to your opening hook. A call to action addressed toward the reader will ensure that they have an incentive to reach out to you for further communication.
If you have trouble nailing down a good call to action, writing platforms such as Best Essay Education and Readable will help you write one shortly. Readers that like your profile information will reach out regardless, let everyone know that you are available for more information and potential employment.
To Summarize
How to write a LinkedIn summary is all about, quite literally, summarizing your professional life with a little bit of personalization added for good measure. While it may seem overwhelming, no one knows more about your career path better than you – let employers catch a glimpse of who you are.
Use your LinkedIn summary to enhance the already-rich information about your career development and offer an insight into your character traits to would-be employers. Before you know it, companies that match your future professional goals and work habits will approach you with job offers suited to your LinkedIn profile.
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Kristin Savage
Kristin Savage is a professional Content Creator and Editor at Wow Grade and Supreme Dissertations writing services. Her career goals revolve around writing articles, case studies and research of various industries focused on digital technologies and content marketing. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys reading books, swimming, and cycling.
