I was coaching a senior professional last week who had an amazing performance-driven track record. However, when I saw his LinkedIn profile’s About section, it was dull and staid with simply a few lines of not well thought out content. When I asked him whether he knows how to write a LinkedIn profile’s About section, he shared that he did not think LinkedIn was an important element in the job search strategy. Also, he did not have the time to write an effective LinkedIn Profile. This is a common mindset of most professionals and they lose out on huge opportunities of networking with recruiters which is so useful for making your job search effective.
Why is the About section so important? Just reflect on your own behaviour as a reader– what would you do while reading someone’s LinkedIn Profile? You would look at the LinkedIn headline, profile picture and then read the About section. And if the content is not engaging enough, you would not be motivated to read the profile further. Right? So even if you have customised your headline, your profile is just 10 percent in terms of effectiveness if the About section is weak. Let me show you how to make your About section engaging by offering you tips with examples.
Keep the following quote in mind while writing your LinkedIn profile.
“Your expertise has tremendous value. You are offering your expertise, not asking to be hired ” – Leah Neaderthal.
It is important to keep in mind who your target audience is and what would you like them to do. If your target audience is prospective employers at the senior level and you would want to build a network with them, then develop your LinkedIn profile’s About section accordingly.
The Opening Content:
It needs to have an engaging and attractive opening. The first sentence could be a famous quote that reflects your belief (your brand) or some outstanding achievement which can be backed up with facts and is also unique. It needs to hook the reader.
Example:
If you are an outstanding sales professional and have the unique ability to convince people without coming across as pushy or salesy, you can open with a quote like –
“People don’t buy because what you do is awesome. People buy because it makes them feel awesome”- Tara Gentile
The Middle Section of the Content
It needs to be about how special you are in terms of your expertise. And what you can do for your target audience. Your career story needs to aid your job search by telling about your passion, your unique strengths and your outstanding achievements which can be validated. Include what people say about you which helps in building your credibility and what you can do committedly to deliver great results. Do not use common vocabulary like a results-driven professional and so on.
Example:
Summary of a senior sales professional with 22 years experience (my preference is to use the ‘first person’).
Am a down to earth individual with an adaptable nature which has enabled me to rise from a Senior Executive to Assistant VP with the XYZ Group, handling its personal Finance revenue vertical where I was instrumental in growing the revenues from INR 22 crores to INR 80 crores within 4 years. Going by the track record of my performance I was also given the responsibility to head the flagship brand.
Recognised by seniors as a “hardworking, straight forward person, someone who goes the extra mile” and by colleagues as “a reliable friend”.
End Part of the Content:
Include your core skills which are backed by the LinkedIn optimization tool and helps in bringing up your profile in the search results of the recruiters.
Your LinkedIn profile’s About section needs to have original content (no copy-paste) because people are interested in knowing about you and you can hook them only with your personal brand.
Remember that with a poorly written LinkedIn profile’s About section, you would be losing out opportunities of engaging recruiters and getting hired.
Best of luck!
Sarabjeet Sachar
Seasoned Career Coach, Founder & CEO, Aspiration, Job Search & Interview Coach