Your LinkedIn summary is one of the most important elements of your profile. LinkedIn gives you 2,000 characters (including spaces) to summarize your background and, besides your headline, your summary is the first thing people see. That means that many recruiters, hiring managers and potential business contacts will read this section even if they don’t make it all the way through your profile.
To make it easy to write a profile that covers all the key points, I’m going to give you two different templates that you can customize to suit your own background and situation.
The first is for you if your job search does not have to be kept secret. The second is a slightly amended version for those who don’t want anyone to know they are looking.
Profile for non-secret job searches
If you don’t have to keep your search secret, it’s important to make clear that you’re looking for a job, and to provide clear contact information. Here’s my profile formula:
Opening paragraph: Describe the work you do and the level you do it at (executive, manager, professional, etc.) along with any special expertise (industry specialization, skills, top companies worked for, etc.). You can include years of experience here as long as that’s impressive, but don’t go over 15. (If it’s more than that, you can say 15+.)
Next paragraph: Describe what you do currently (or what you did most recently) and select a few impressive accomplishments to describe very briefly. You can also give a concise overview of earlier experience and be sure to include awards or honors if you have won them.
3rd paragraph: Here’s where you describe your personal work style and important character traits.
4th paragraph: Summarize your education and any important work-related qualifications.
Contact information: Explain that you’re exploring new opportunities and provide your phone number (if you have decided to include it).
Let’s look at a profile for a marketing manager, written using this template:
I’m a marketing manager with 10 years of experience in both web and traditional advertising, promotions, events, and campaigns. I have worked on integrated campaigns for major clients such as Etrade, Bank of America, Sony Music, and Microsoft and have been recognized with several awards during my career.
Until recently, I led marketing for XYZ Corp, a software developer focused on middleware for the video game industry. In this role I was focused on B2B marketing, although I have done extensive B2C work in the past. Successes included creating a social media and online advertising campaign that generated enormous media buzz and was key to the successful launch of the Zwango software in 2010. Previous experience includes agency work with XYZ & Partners and Red Dog Marketing.
Colleagues know me as a highly creative marketer who can always be trusted to come up with a new approach. But I know that the client’s business comes first, and I never try to impose my ideas on others. Instead, I spend a lot of time understanding the business and the audience before suggesting ideas. I can (and often do) work well alone, but I’m at my best collaborating with others.
I have an MBA from New York University and a BA from the University of Southern California.
I’m currently freelancing while I pursue new opportunities and can be reached either through this profile or by phone at 914-555-5555.
For ‘secret’ searches
When conducting a secret search, you want to promote yourself effectively while also giving the impression of being happy in your current role. This profile template will help you to do just that.
Opening paragraph: Describe your current position. By opening with this, you are telling your current employer that you are content. This won’t hurt you with recruiters because they will still contact you if they have a suitable vacancy. You may even seem more desirable to them because you are currently happily employed. As you describe your current position, talk about the scope of your responsibility and, if you talk about achievements, talk about them in the context of team achievement (see below for an example). This again conveys that you are not actively looking to promote yourself, but it gives recruiters a good sense of your experience.
Next paragraph: Give a brief synopsis of your prior experience, again focusing on describing the facts rather than promoting specific accomplishments.
3rd paragraph: Describe why you enjoy your work. (This will impress employers but it will also signal to your current employer that you’re content, and will therefore help you keep your search a secret).
4th paragraph: Summarize your education and any important work-related qualifications.
Contact information: Close by saying that you’re always interested in connecting with colleagues or old friends. (If your boss is wondering why you created a LinkedIn profile, here’s your explanation.)
Here’s how the profile for the same marketing manager would look using this template:
I’m the Marketing Manager for XYZ Corp, a software developer focused on middleware for the video game industry. In this role I lead the company’s B2B marketing efforts, overseeing a team of four marketing and sales professionals and managing the annual spend. Our most exciting work to date was creating a social media and online advertising campaign that generated enormous media buzz and was key to the successful launch of the Zwango software in 2010. Not only did we have fun creating that campaign, but also we found it rewarding to see the results.
Before joining XYZ, I worked for two marketing agencies — XYZ & Partners and Red Dog Marketing –- and was lucky enough to work with amazing clients such as Etrade, Bank of America, Sony Music, and Microsoft.
I’m truly passionate about my work and always eager to connect with other marketers. While I enjoy all aspects of my job, I think my favorite stage of a project is working with the client or business unit leader to understand his or her business objectives. As we go through that collaborative process, the ideas start to flow and that’s always the fun part.
I have an MBA from New York University and a BA from the University of Southern California.
I’m always interested in hearing from former colleagues, managers, or just interesting creative folk, so feel free to contact me if you’d like to connect.
Whichever template you choose, you’ll be sure to end up with a powerful LinkedIn summary that tells your story clearly and concisely. if you’d like to see my principles in practice, check out my LinkedIn profile here.
If you’d like professional help with your profile, just shoot me an email here. I’d be happy to provide feedback on your existing profile along with a firm price quote to strategize and write a new one. Plus, as a reader of this blog (and therefore clearly a person with impeccable taste!) I’m happy to offer you a 15% discount. Just mention the blog in your email.
You might also be interested in:
4 ways to write powerful LinkedIn job descriptions
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