According to some estimates,[1] 467 million people use LinkedIn and two new members sign up every second. LinkedIn has become a powerful tool for business success with more than 10 million endorsements so far.
Setting up an account on this platform is vital for your career, but you have to make some effort. In order to succeed, your profile has to be well-crafted and stand out from all others with an unique summary. The problem is, a lot of people have summaries that are too generic, and there is nothing to catch someone’s attention.
Believe me; the problem with bad summaries on LinkedIn is quite common so you shouldn’t despair if you think yours doesn’t meet certain standards.
The good thing is; you can always create a different, improved summary that will catch everyone’s attention. As a social media expert who has helped numerous individuals and businesses to boost the quality of LinkedIn profiles, I bring you some useful tips to create a stellar LinkedIn summary easily.
Most LinkedIn users assume nobody even reads the summary, but that is not true
You are probably wondering why is summary important anyway. Most LinkedIn users assume nobody even reads that section, but that is not true. You should think of your profile on this platform as a type of resume with extra personality. The purpose of the summary is to educate and persuade the reader to want to learn more or even collaborate with you.[2] This section doesn’t only provide more info about your skills; it also reveals how you express yourself. You can learn a lot about a person just by reading how they write about themselves. A stellar summary is like a movie trailer, highlights all the qualities while sending a clear message that you have a lot to offer.
What is wrong why my current summary?
LinkedIn is a powerful social media marketing tool that a lot of us take for granted. We usually assume that just because the idea behind this platform is to form business connections, we are pretty much set up. The reality is different; the quality of your profile determines whether you are a good match for someone’s business, and summary plays a vital role. What is wrong with it? Open your LinkedIn profile and read this section from top to bottom. Finished? Okay, so the chances are high the summary includes some “powerful” verbs, statistics or other data about your accomplishments at previous jobs, awards, and honors. Am I right? Well, there is your answer.
You took the approach that you found most professional, and although summary should demonstrate your skills and info you want others to know, it might make people wonder “What can you do for me, then?” The primary cause of summary-related problems is failing to mention how someone can benefit from collaborating with you. Percentages and other data do seem impressive, but at the end of the day, the reader just wants to read something with more depth. Other sources of the problem include poor structure, grammar and spelling mistakes, generic text.
How to write a high-quality summary
You’ll be happy to know that all problems mentioned above can be fixed easily. In order to do so, all you have to do is to follow these simple steps.
Step 1
One of the most common pitfalls that people face is not knowing what to write. Take a pen and a piece of paper and write down your qualities and other info that other people should know about. The choice is yours here, you can mention everything from some personal characteristics to why you love your job, what do you do actually and so on. No need to create full sentences at this point, just create a list.
Step 2
Start with a bang! The beginning is always crucial, it’s a hook that catches reader’s attention. You want that person to know more and keep reading summary rather than moving on to something else. For this purpose you can use a question, even a few words with exclamation e.g. Focused! Or maybe you can start off with an interesting fact about you such as Every day I watched my mother/father get ready for work and hoped I would become just like him/her one day, goal-oriented, driven, and kind at the same time.
Step 3
Mention important details to inform readers about yourself and your expertise. Now in the era of micro-influencer marketing letting people know what you can do for them is crucial. Some points to cover include:
• Important accomplishments e.g. how much money you helped your company save, successful campaigns you carried out, and other details related to your niche
• Values and passions such as optimism, love for yoga and meditation, and things you appreciate. A reader doesn’t read the summary to learn about your work, he/she wants to learn more about you, as a person
• Things you can do better than someone else e.g. I inspire and engage even the most skeptical clients
• Figures and facts when applicable. As mentioned above this is one of the most common problems or pitfalls in summaries. People get caught up in numbers and then their entire summary is made up of percentages. Ideally, this info should account for sentence or two of the entire summary
• What do you offer? What does someone get by working with you? Who can benefit from collaboration with you and why? Answer these questions to let reader know what can you do for them or provide a short list of different specialties
Step 4
End your summary with a call to action.[3] You can use something witty such as “reach out to me if you want to talk about football and technology” or you can submit some links and other info that people can use to contact or learn more about you.
Mistakes to avoid
• Writing one large paragraph – summaries written this way seems unappealing, and a reader will highly likely skip it. Instead, divide your summary into paragraph and make sure there’s a lot of white space
• Including overused buzzwords – words like passionate, creative, motivated don’t make you stand out. Instead, use synonyms or express yourself in a different manner
• Writing in the third person – while it may seem more professional, this summary is impersonal and doesn’t do its purpose – helping readers to get to know you on a professional and personal level
• Using slang – gonna, wanna, shoulda, coulda don’t belong to your summary. Make sure this section is free of spelling and grammar mistakes
Examples of good summaries
Writing a summary on LinkedIn requires a little bit of effort but it is not the most difficult job in the world. Just find a balance that informs others about your core values and business accomplishments or what you offer for potential collaborators without making it seem like you are bragging or focusing on numbers all the time. Here are examples of three different summaries.
1. Mark Lazen
What makes this summary great is the fact that Mr. Lazen talks about his business accomplishments and provides a glimpse into his witty personality with “I’m the calm one” or “I don’t care who gets the credit, I just want to win”. People who go to his profile can see what he offers and he ends with a nice call to action.
This particular summary starts with a relatable introduction that, certainly, catches a reader’s attention. Mr. Simon also discusses his strengths and provides a brief insight into different ways he can help his clients and ends with a call to action by providing contact info where people can reach him.
High-quality summary on LinkedIn provides a useful insight into your personality and demonstrates different skills you can offer to potential collaborators. In order to get the most out of the summary, it is necessary to compose it properly and this article provided a few tips and tricks you can use.
