We all know how painstaking it can be to write a cover letter. Your LinkedIn summary can be just as daunting but, in today’s society, it can be even more important.
You probably have a pretty good idea about what goes into your LinkedIn profile. Treating it as an online CV, you will have listed your jobs, past and present, and the tasks and responsibilities you had throughout each one.
You also have your education, any projects you were involved with and your volunteer work listed further down.
But one of the toughest parts of your LinkedIn profile to write is your summary. What should it look like?
If you’re hoping to be headhunted on LinkedIn, you’ll need to create a stellar summary that helps you stand out from the crowd.
If you don’t have that, it’s unlikely that recruiters will even scroll down to your experience. Think of your summary as your first introduction.
Before you write anything, you need to think about who you’re trying to reach and what you want them to think.
Look at the cover letter you normally pair with your CV and cross out every line that doesn’t relate to your values, passions, accomplishments and skills. Your LinkedIn summary doesn’t have room for the fluffy padding that surrounds direct sentences showcasing your abilities.
Go through your experience and list any extra achievements you might have missed out on. The less flowery language you use to flesh out your genuine, demonstrable skills, the better.
Use all 2,000 characters. Format your summary well, using headers and subheadings.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. When you’re uploading your summary, LinkedIn allows you to add documents, images and videos.
Rich media will back up your achievements, showcase your skills and provide context for your experience, helping your summary to stand out from the rest.
Finally, read over it carefully through the eyes of someone who has never met you before. It can be tempting to skim it, given that you wrote it, but read each sentence carefully. During your final check, ask yourself how engaging, relevant and demonstrable each sentence is.
LinkedIn laptop. Image: mirtmirt/Shutterstock
