Is Your LinkedIn Summary a Winner or Loser

How do you show up in your LinkedIn summary?

Is your LinkedIn summary compelling or boring and does it tell people who you are, what you do and who you serve.   In other words, is your LinkedIn summary a winner or a loser?

Perhaps you have you copied your resume into your summary section, which is something I see all the time which would fall into the loser category.  If your headline is compelling, people will gravitate to read your summary which you should move right up under the top section of your profile.

This is where you get to shine!

Your LinkedIn summary is that place where you get to share who you are professionally and let people see who you are personally.  Think of your summary as that place where you get a chance to really speak to people in a more personal way.  You should write this section in the first person tense so you sound friendly and you want people to learn more about you.

This is also a place where you should share your credibility, those achievements that you are proud of and tell people more about what you’ve done and how you can help them get the same results.  Often when I work with people on updating their LinkedIn profiles,  they say “I don’t want to brag” which is most typical among women versus men.  But what I want to say about that is – it is your time to brag!
Think in terms again about what makes you credible?  That can be everything from facts and figures to media appearances.

What do you do? It Belongs in your LinkedIn Summary

Use your summary section to let people know what you do. I suggest you do this in short sentences with highlighted bullet points. The idea is to just give your viewers an idea to decide if you are an ideal connection for them.  How many times have you received the default invitation from someone and so you view their profile to see who they are.  I guarantee you have looked at their headline and then you scroll down to their summary to gain some knowledge about why they may have invited you to join their network.

Who do you serve?

By being clear on the people you serve you will end up with a better quality network.  In terms of marketing, clearly defining your target market helps you focus on and attract those people who are well suited to what you do.  So include a sentence or two on who you serve or a few bullet points.  Remember everyone is not your customer and being intentional about developing a solid network of potential customers, referral partners and influencers will benefit you now and in the long term.

Job seekers should make the LinkedIn summary their priority

According to Laura Smith-Proulx of Job-Hunt, Laura “If you want to quickly distinguish yourself from job-hunting competition on LinkedIn, look no further than your LinkedIn Summary.The “elevator pitch” of your social media profile, a powerful Summary can compel employers to take a second look at you for their needs.”