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Making Sure Your LinkedIn ABOUT Section
Is About YOU
Soon people will be talking about New Year's resolutions. Make one for yourself by making sure your LinkedIn profile is about YOU, and not your company OR even not about your business.
Whether you're in job search or simply marketing your own business or cause, know that people won't hire you or buy your product or service until they know more about YOU and how you'd help them.
Too often, I review a LinkedIn profile where the About section, which is THE place for you to describe what you bring to an employer or client, is where the person puts a whole bunch of info about their company, the history of their company, what their company is known for, an outline of their company's products. We can find that out elsewhere on LinkedIn or the web.
But the About section (formerly called The Summary), should be about YOU:
- What skills you have, AND how you've used them successfully (use metrics if at all possible)
- What you're known for when you're part of a team: leading? finding unique resources? hiring great people? Tell us. And tell us what you love about it!
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What others say about you (tip: use part of what someone has written about you in a LinkedIn recommendation) (Want more recommendations? Go here.)
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Build trust by describing successes -- not by bragging but by pointing out how much you loved helping and the impact it had
- Give your email address so that a hiring manager who has no other way of contacting you can reach out to you
If you're championing a cause or have your own business, those points still apply. Building trust is critical.
Make sure paragraphs are very short -- 2 lines max -- and that you add some color via copying in some widgets that will act as bullets. See my About section for a sample of these (and copy them while you're there!)
So be sure to focus on you in your About section: it's where you can speak in your own voice about what you can offer, and how you can help.
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