Optimize your search terms, share your career story, and make a strong impression with your LinkedIn summary to rise above the competition and inspire action from readers.

Did y'all know that y'all can land more job interviews, brand your LinkedIn profile more than visible to prospective employers, and get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers by making your LinkedIn summary great and optimized?

You heard that right. The oft underutilized and disregarded LinkedIn summary (LinkedIn Bio or About Me section) is important real estate and it matters more you lot know.

In this article, we will unpack everything you need to know near the LinkedIn Summary and how you can arts and crafts a profile summary that will make you stand up out.

Here's a quick rundown of what nosotros will encompass:

  1. What a LinkedIn Summary is
  2. Why Writing a Smashing LinkedIn Summary is Important for your Job Search
  3. How to Write the Best LinkedIn Summary
  4. LinkedIn Contour Summary Examples and Why They're Slap-up
    1. For Task Seekers
    2. For Career Changes
    3. For Students Seeking Internships
  5. Top Linkedin Summary Tips

Allow's jump right into information technology.

What is a LinkedIn summary?

The LinkedIn Summary is ane of the nearly important sections of your LinkedIn contour. It is correct below your photo and is one of the beginning things people would see when they open your LinkedIn account.

While the headline allows merely 220 characters, the LinkedIn contour summary has a 2,600 character limit. This means that  you accept effectually 370 words to hook your readers, make a smashing commencement impression, and keep them wanting to read more than.

Why is writing a great LinkedIn summary important for your job search?

Writing a corking LinkedIn contour top-to-bottom is the easiest way to set yourself apart from one-half a billion others who use LinkedIn especially when y'all want to land a job. More than specifically, writing the best LinkedIn summary provides you a great opportunity to share about who you are and differentiate yourself from other candidates.

Even if you've uploaded a keen profile photo, customized your headline, created a cover story video, and detailed your piece of work and teaching history, leaving the profile summary on LinkedIn blank or but typing a curt tagline that's better suited for a LinkedIn headline is a huge missed opportunity for the following reasons.

ane. Your LinkedIn summary makes the first impression

The LinkedIn profile summary is one of the starting time things people see when they come to your LinkedIn profile. It's part of the introductory concern menu at the top of your profile that also includes your name, photo, headline, most recent visitor, instruction, and contact information. More than and then, this data is "above the fold" on both desktop and mobile which means that it's i of the get-go elements visible to people visiting your LinkedIn profile and they don't have to scroll down to find it.

When about users visit your profile, they'll see the offset 300 characters or so of your summary (and tin then click "Read More" to open up up the full clarification. However, LinkedIn Recruiter shows the entire summary by default.

LinkedIn Summary
Left: LinkedIn view | Right: LinkedIn Recruiter view

That's why yous need to pull the recruiters and hiring managers in and catch their attending right off the bat by having a LinkedIn summary that is striking and compelling enough (specially on the start 300 characters) to make them stay in your profile, read through your unabridged folio, and eventually reach out to you.

2. Your  LinkedIn summary is a chance to tell your story

Compared to other social media networks, LinkedIn carries a certain expectation of decorum and professionalism. Although this expectation varies from industry to manufacture, the profile summary is your best opportunity to inject a little personality into your LinkedIn profile. In an age where culture fits or culture adds are height of listen, the LinkedIn summary is where you lot tin can actually use your ain authentic voice to allow recruiters, hiring managers, and prospective employers see who you are, what yous care nearly, and what you tin bring to the tabular array.

More than any other LinkedIn contour section, the LinkedIn summary provides you an opportunity to address other LinkedIn users directly and share multiple sides of yourself — from professional person accomplishments to life motivations and fifty-fifty non-professional details that make others comfortable to reach out to you.

3. LinkedIn uses your profile summary for search results

Let'southward face it. When recruiters search for you on LinkedIn, your LinkedIn summary content plays into the results. Although it is not weighted every bit heavily as your headline or the job titles and descriptions in your work feel section, it can still strengthen your searchability and assistance you rise above like candidates.

Be sure to include in your LinkedIn summary some terms that a recruiter might plug into a search bar such as hard skills, task titles, or industry keywords. Doing this increases your visibility, raises your chances of showing up on recruiter searches, and reveals opportunities.

Jobscan'southward LinkedIn Optimization tool saves y'all time by analyzing your LinkedIn profile against jobs yous're interested in and industry data to show you exactly which keywords you demand to include in your summary.

How do you write the all-time LinkedIn summary for your job search?

You lot already know that the profile summary plays a critical role in your job search. Now how exercise you write it? What should you include? Here's a quick guide.

i. Offset strong

Past default, LinkedIn shows only the beginning iii lines of your profile summary before readers accept to click to see more. This works out to around 290-310 characters. That means that those first 300 characters need to be strong plenty to grab the reader'southward attention and make them want to acquire even more nearly you.

If you're a creative writer, y'all might offset your summary with a tricky hook that invites readers to click "See More." Otherwise, elevation load your LinkedIn summary with the number 1 thing you lot desire recruiters or hiring managers to know near yous.

What sets you autonomously from everyone else? What combinations of skills help you achieve results? Why do you honey your work? What outstanding accomplishments exercise you have? Answering these questions can aid you lot uncover a compelling opening statement.

ii. Make your LinkedIn summary keyword-rich

Recruiters search for a combination of job titles, skills, and other keywords to find the right candidates. LinkedIn fifty-fifty shows yous some of the search queries used to find your contour. On your LinkedIn profile, cheque out the dashboard underneath your summary. One of the stats will be "search appearances."

Click on it to see a study detailing your searches. For example, this calendar week some of my searchers found my contour by using these keyword combinations:

If you don't encounter any search appearances or relevant search terms on your profile, it means your contour keywords aren't optimized for recruiter searches. Review job descriptions that involvement you and take note of recurring hard skills and keywords that you lot recollect recruiters would want to look for. If applicable to you and your career goals, add these words to your LinkedIn summary and contour.

Jobscan's LinkedIn Optimization tool helps automate this process by comparing your contour to three or more relevant chore descriptions. It and so shows you which keywords you're missing. These specific keywords tend to be the search terms used by recruiters when looking for candidates.

If you lot're non much of a author — and you don't need to be for almost jobs — using your summary to list your most important skills and technologies in a bulleted list format is a smart culling to crafting a narrative.

3. Open upwards about your career

Your LinkedIn summary isn't the same every bit a cover letter of the alphabet and it definitely isn't the place for your unabridged biography. However, it is the perfect place to add context to your career trajectory, show off your accomplishments, and dig into what makes you great at your job. This is information that recruiters and prospective employers are interested in knowing.

What'southward side by side for yous?

Leave hints equally to why you lot moved from one company to the next. Recruiters want to know if the position they're filling makes sense equally your next step.

"I desire to see the progression of not only what job title and what company you were working for, but as well a snapshot of the progression of your career," a healthcare recruiter told Jobscan. "I'm also looking for the logic of why you went from this job to the next job. What caused you to make that transition?"

Much of this volition be detailed in your piece of work experience sections, but you can use your summary to control the narrative. For instance, you might use your summary to share your interest in a specific subject field inside your field. Or how you motivate and enable your team every bit you lot look to move into a management role. Or your desire to work with companies that make an impact on a specific segment of the community. Placing these ideas in your summary will help color your entire career history.

Controlling the narrative of your career might also look like explaining career gaps or changes, or skills learned through a university setting if you have minimal or no work experience. There are many different ways to express your value and abilities from personal experiences, volunteering, and other training opportunities.

What are your greatest accomplishments?

Specific accomplishments should be peppered throughout your piece of work experience sections, but the summary is a great place to combine your greatest accomplishments into a highlight for additional impact.

You lot can likewise generalize and become creative with presenting accomplishments in this section in ways you tin't in your work experience. For example, if you're a sales manager who has worked with three different companies, you can showcase that information in your summary on LinkedIn every bit, "Increased regional sales by an average of 72% in my first year at three dissimilar companies."

Acquire more about how to write strong accomplishments:

  • 39 Achievement Examples
  • Uncomplicated Formula for Identifying Key Achievements

Additional questions to reply in your LinkedIn summary

Using these questions equally prompts for writing your LinkedIn contour summary tin help bear witness prospective employers what you value, why you're going places in your career, and whether you'd be a great fit for the role.

These six questions tin assistance prove your personality and values:

  • What are your goals and ambitions?
  • What are your guiding principles?
  • Why are you lot passionate about your current task or manufacture?
  • Were there whatsoever specific pieces of wisdom that you lot took away from by jobs?
  • Is there any unique noesis yous've brought into your industry from other life experiences?
  • In what ways do you add to the culture of your workplace?

Review: top LinkedIn summary tips

  • Start potent with a tricky opening statement
  • Utilise optimized search terms in your summary
  • Don't exist afraid to inject some personality into your writing
  • Add context to the stages of your career story
  • Brag about your accomplishments (don't forget to employ specific data and awards!)
  • Longer is oft better. Use as much of the graphic symbol limit every bit you can.
  • Keep it readable with brusque paragraphs or bullet points
  • Don't go overboard with special characters
  • Use a "call to activity" at the end

Get automated tips for your profile with Jobscan's LinkedIn Optimization tool.

LinkedIn optimization

LinkedIn Summary and Nearly Section Examples

Here are 13 examples of strong LinkedIn summaries that use different approaches. Take inspiration from these sample LinkedIn summaries but DO Non copy them.

Cal, Marketing & Communications Manager

LinkedIn Summary Example 1 Contextualizes his experience with a personal anecdote, shows off entrepreneurial spirit, and peppers dollar signs and percentages throughout.

Dina, Marketing Executive

LinkedIn Summary Example 3 Confident opening, context into what makes her passionate about her piece of work, keyword dense, and uses every bachelor grapheme. We don't suggest using this many special characters, but the content is very strong.

Daniel, Customer Experience Specialist

LinkedIn Summary example Contains personality and a look into his interests, only most importantly demonstrates his procedure and allows prospective employers to see exactly how he would approach the piece of work.

Jessica, Software Engineer

LinkedIn Summary Example 5 Not everyone is a writer and not every task volition care if you can craft a narrative in your summary. If you're not sure what else to exercise, use the summary to clearly lay out your skills, tech proficiencies, and certifications.

Alaina C., Social Media Director

Brusque, easy to read sentences go along this summary moving while still providing important data about who the writer is beyond just a description of their job. This is an splendid example of providing a holistic viewpoint of an individual, across just the hard skills.

Michelle V., Software Programmer

This is an fantabulous LinkedIn summary for an executive-level employee. She not simply highlights her key skills and accomplishments for quick review, merely also provides insight to her leadership style when managing others in the company.

Alison H., SEO Content Author

Throwing numbers and percentages in correct from the beginning is a groovy way to grab a readers' attention and entice them to learn more. The psychological insight via the use of personality tests can also lend a different perspective to not simply your skills, but how you might approach different situations in the workplace.

LinkedIn Summary and Almost Section Examples for Career Changes

Here are several examples of how to write a LinkedIn summary when y'all're making a career modify or pivot. Over again, use these as guides for your LinkedIn About Department, merely don't copy and paste.

Jacob H., Airline Airplane pilot to Aviation Technical Author

Even if you're making what feels like a big jump, you are probable more than qualified than you think you are! Try to provide specific examples of how your previous experience is relevant to your new dream role, and the efforts you lot are putting in to close any gaps in your pedagogy or training.

Michael R., Staffing / Recruiting Account Managing director  to Software Sales Business relationship Executive

This is a expert LinkedIn summary outline to follow for career changes, peculiarly if you're looking to stay in the same general line of work but shifting industries or niches. Highlighting cardinal qualities and learnings that also are relevant to your new management tin aid go along hiring managers focused on the good.

LinkedIn Summary and About Section Examples for Students Seeking Internships

A good LinkedIn summary is also important for students who are not nonetheless 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 brand a great first impression on LinkedIn.

Daniel R., Public Policy Analysis Student

This summary is clear and direct, easy to read, and outlines both the skills gained from academy classwork and a previous internship which tin can assist heave conviction in your abilities.

Sarah T., Arts and Civilisation Management Educatee

This is an excellent example of leaning on your personal character qualities and providing clear examples of how they will enhance your power to practise the task well. At the internship level, you don't have to take a ton of experience to be well-suited for the roles. Sharing about your personality and values tin be equally important.

Kelly L., Digital Arts & Sciences Student

Another clever strategy is to expound on the unique learning opportunities you lot've experienced in college. Written report away experiences, volunteer piece of work, and personal passion projects tin all exist useful ways to express the value you have to offer.

Need a little actress help to create the best LinkedIn summary for your profile? Endeavour Jobscan's LinkedIn Optimization tool — effigy out exactly which keywords you're missing for the task y'all're trying to country.

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