Creating a LinkedIn account and setting up your professional profile is quite an easy task, but when it comes to introducing oneself in a paragraph or two, a lot of people go blank. That’s when we need help, and so we’re here to help you write a winning professional summary for your LinkedIn profile.
Although we know and understand our qualities and skills a lot better than any other person out there, describing ourselves in a professional manner has always been hard for most of us. This works out when we give ourselves time and follow certain rules of writing a creative piece.
Let’s get started with the project of creating and beefing up an effective summary for your LinkedIn.
1. Write in First Person
Your LinkedIn summary constitutes your professional summary on your account. Your summary must depict you as a confident and self realized person rather than someone who gets his professional summary written from someone else. Gone are the days when people used to write about themselves in third person and treated professional summaries and resumes as biographies. In today’s world, professionalism of a person is first gauged by his confidence, and confidence speaks with “I”. When you use the words “I”, “my”, or “me”, the reader feels the sense of confidence through your writing making him realize that you’re well-aware of your own abilities and talents and know how to communicate them.
2. Top Three Elements
An effective summary is the one that captures the reader’s attention in the first few lines. These are the summaries that instantly communicate the value they offer in the first three sentences. That’s because your LinkedIn summary initially shows the first three sentences unless the reader hits the Show More button on your profile. That being said, you need to make sure that your first three sentences are very clear, strong, and powerful. For that, write down your top three qualities or expertise and elaborate on them to promote yourself as a brand and immediately pull the reader in to learn more about you.
3. Sprinkle Fun
When you have finished highlighting the main points about your professional self, try adding a little bit of amusement to your summary. Your fun part shouldn’t exceed more than one sentence. You may talk about your favorite hobby, book, food, or simply a favorite series of yours. It could be anything unless you communicate your humor in a professional way. Take this example from Karen Abbate’s LinkedIn summary.
4. Write, Edit, Rewrite, and Keep Going
The best way to craft any piece of writing is to write, edit, and rewrite thrice or until you’re satisfied with the result of your writing. This helps your brain take a break and come back refreshed with new ideas or improvements. Write your LinkedIn summary, leave it for 24 hours, and come back again tomorrow. This way you’ll be able to make efficient improvements and rewrite an even better version of your summary.
5. Conclusion
Now this is the end section of your LinkedIn summary. In this part, you need to write the conclusion and leave the reader with something that prompts them to take an action. You may highlight your key services and mention your email address so they can contact you if they’re interested. If you’re new to the professional world, you may simply end with highlighting your key traits, such as “quick learner” or “tech-savvy”, and telling the reader to contact you if they’re looking for someone like this.
6. Peer Feedback
The last step in this summary writing process is the peer feedback. Before you publish your summary on your LinkedIn profile, make sure to get it reviewed by someone professional. Their feedback will really help you in improving your summary even further and eliminating minor mistakes that may have been overlooked.
Crafting a creative piece of writing, particularly about yourself, is fun and games if you follow certain guidelines and be patient with yourself. Good luck with your assignment!