The LinkedIn summary or "near" section is ofttimes under-utilized past LinkedIn users. Many leave it completely blank or type in a short tagline better suited for a LinkedIn headline or a resume summary. But whether you're using LinkedIn to find a job, market your business organization, or build your professional make, the summary section is important real estate.

Whereas the headline allows only 120 characters, there are 2,000 characters available in the LinkedIn profile summary. This "about" section could requite you between 300-350 words to strengthen your contour by adding some personality, optimizing your search terms, telling your career story, and inspiring action from readers.

Why a good LinkedIn summary matters for your job search

Writing a great LinkedIn profile tiptop-to-lesser is the easiest way to set yourself apart from half a billion other LinkedIn users. Even if y'all've uploaded a great profile photo, customized your headline, created a cover story video, and detailed your piece of work and education history, leaving the summary on LinkedIn blank is a huge missed opportunity for a number of reasons.

The LinkedIn summary is part of your first impression

The LinkedIn contour summary is one of the first things people encounter when they visit your profile. It's part of the introductory business card at the top of your contour that also includes your proper noun, photo, headline, nearly recent company, didactics, and contact information. This information is "above the fold" on both desktop and mobile, meaning it's 1 of the outset elements visible on your profile and someone doesn't have to gyre down to detect it.

When most users visit your contour, they'll meet the offset 300 characters or so of your summary (and tin then click "Read More" to open up up the full clarification. Withal, LinkedIn Recruiter shows the unabridged summary by default.

LinkedIn Summary comparison on Linkedin vs. LinkedIn Recruiter Left: LinkedIn view | Right: LinkedIn Recruiter view

It's your chance to say "hello"

Compared to other social networks, LinkedIn carries a sure expectation of decorum and professionalism. This expectation varies from industry to industry; regardless, the profile summary section is your best opportunity to inject a trivial personality into your profile. In an age where civilisation fits or culture adds are top of mind, the LinkedIn summary is where you can actually let prospective employers meet who you are and what y'all intendance most.

More than any other LinkedIn profile department, the well-nigh section on LinkedIn provides an opportunity to accost the reader directly and share multiple sides of yourself — from professional accomplishments to life motivations.

LinkedIn uses your summary for search results

When recruiters search for you on LinkedIn, summary content plays into the results. Your summary is not weighted as heavily as your headline or the job titles and descriptions in your work experience section, withal, they can still strengthen your searchability and help you rise above similar candidates.

Using the LinkedIn summary to include terms that a recruiter might plug into a search bar — hard skills, chore titles, or manufacture keywords — increases your visibility and reveals opportunities.

Jobscan's LinkedIn Optimization tool analyzes your LinkedIn profile against jobs you lot're interested in and industry data to show you lot exactly which keywords yous're missing.

How to write the best LinkedIn summary for your job search

Every bit alluded to above, a few things that should get into your summary include a catchy hook, your personal story, and optimized keywords.

Commencement strong

By default, LinkedIn shows merely the first three lines of your profile summary earlier readers accept to click to run across more. This works out to effectually 290-310 characters. That means that those commencement 300 characters need to exist potent enough to grab the reader's attention and make them want to learn fifty-fifty more most y'all.

If you're a creative writer you might start your summary with a catchy hook that invites readers to click "Come across More." Otherwise, top load your LinkedIn summary with the number-i affair yous want recruiters or hiring managers to know about you.

What sets you apart from everyone else? What combinations of skills help yous achieve results? Why practice you love your work? Answering these questions tin can aid you uncover a compelling opening statement.

Make your LinkedIn summary keyword rich

Recruiters search for a combination of job titles, skills, and other keywords to find the right candidates. LinkedIn even shows y'all some of the search queries used to find your contour. On your profile, check out the dashboard underneath your summary. One of the stats volition be "search appearances."

LinkedIn Search Appearances under your summary

Click on information technology to see a report detailing your searches. For example, this week some of my searchers found my contour past using these keyword combinations:

LinkedIn search keywords

If you lot don't meet any search appearances or relevant search terms on your profile, information technology ways your profile keywords aren't optimized for recruiter searches. Review chore descriptions that interest y'all take note of recurring hard skills and keywords. If applicative to you and your career goals, add these words to your summary and contour.

Jobscan'south LinkedIn Optimization tool helps automate this process by comparing your profile to three or more relevant job descriptions. It then shows you which keywords y'all're missing. These specific keywords tend to exist the search terms used by recruiters when looking for candidates.

LinkedIn keywords LinkedIn Optimization results for my profile. Learn more about the tool here.

If yous're not much of a writer — and you don't demand to exist for most jobs — using your summary to list your most important skills and technologies in a bulleted list format is a smart alternative to crafting a narrative.

Open about your career

Your LinkedIn summary isn't the same equally a cover letter and it definitely isn't the identify for your entire biography. However, information technology is the perfect identify to add context to your career trajectory, show off your accomplishments, and dig into what makes yous neat at your task. This is information that recruiters and prospective employers are interested in knowing.

What's next for you?

Go out hints as to why you moved from i company to the side by side. Recruiters want to know if the position they're filling makes sense as your next step.

"I want to meet the progression of non simply what job championship and what company you were working for, but also a snapshot of the progression of your career," a healthcare recruiter told Jobscan. "I'm too looking for the logic of why you went from this job to the next job. What caused you to make that transition?"

Much of this will be detailed in your work experience sections, but y'all tin utilize your summary to control the narrative. For case, you might employ your summary to share your involvement in a specific subject within your field. Or how you motivate and enable your team as yous look to move into a direction function. Or your desire to work with companies that make an impact on a specific segment of the community. Placing these ideas in your summary volition help color your entire career history.

Controlling the narrative of your career might as well look like explaining career gaps or changes, or skills learned through a university setting if you have minimal or no work experience. There are many different ways to express your value and abilities from personal experiences, volunteering, and other training opportunities.

What are your greatest accomplishments?

Specific accomplishments should exist peppered throughout your work experience sections, merely the summary is a great place to combine your greatest accomplishments into a highlight for additional impact.

Y'all tin also generalize and get artistic with presenting accomplishments in this department in ways you tin can't in your work feel. For example, if you're a sales manager who has worked with three different companies, you can showcase that data in your summary on LinkedIn every bit, "Increased regional sales past an average of 72% in my first twelvemonth at three unlike companies."

Learn more about how to write strong accomplishments:

  • 39 Accomplishment Examples
  • Simple Formula for Identifying Key Achievements

Additional questions to reply in your LinkedIn summary

Using these questions every bit prompts for writing your LinkedIn profile summary tin help evidence prospective employers what you value, why y'all're going places in your career, and whether you'd be a great fit for the role.

These half dozen questions can assist show your personality and values:

  • What are your goals and ambitions?
  • What are your guiding principles?
  • Why are you lot passionate virtually your current job or industry?
  • Were in that location any specific pieces of wisdom that y'all took abroad from past jobs?
  • Is there any unique knowledge yous've brought into your industry from other life experiences?
  • In what means do y'all add together to the culture of your workplace?

Review: top LinkedIn summary tips

  • Kickoff strong with a tricky opening statement
  • Use optimized search terms in your summary
  • Don't be afraid to inject some personality into your writing
  • Add context to the stages of your career story
  • Brag near your accomplishments (don't forget to utilise specific data and awards!)
  • Longer is ofttimes better. Utilize as much of the character limit as you tin.
  • Keep it readable with short paragraphs or bullet points
  • Don't go overboard with special characters
  • Use a "call to action" at the end

Get automatic tips for your contour with Jobscan'south LinkedIn Optimization tool.

LinkedIn optimization

LinkedIn Summary and Nearly Section Examples

Here are 13 examples of stiff LinkedIn summaries that use different approaches. Take inspiration from these sample LinkedIn summaries but Do NOT re-create them.

Cal, Marketing & Communications Manager

LinkedIn Summary Example 1 Contextualizes his experience with a personal chestnut, shows off entrepreneurial spirit, and peppers dollar signs and percentages throughout.

Dina, Marketing Executive

LinkedIn Summary Example 3 Confident opening, context into what makes her passionate about her piece of work, keyword dense, and uses every available character. We don't advise using this many special characters, but the content is very strong.

Daniel, Customer Experience Specialist

LinkedIn Summary example Contains personality and a look into his interests, but most importantly demonstrates his procedure and allows prospective employers to come across exactly how he would approach the piece of work.

Jessica, Software Engineer

LinkedIn Summary Example 5 Not anybody is a writer and non every job will care if you lot can arts and crafts a narrative in your summary. If you lot're non certain what else to do, employ the summary to conspicuously lay out your skills, tech proficiencies, and certifications.

Alaina C., Social Media Director

Short, easy to read sentences go on this summary moving while nonetheless providing important information near who the writer is beyond only a description of their job. This is an fantabulous example of providing a holistic viewpoint of an private, beyond just the difficult skills.

Michelle V., Software Developer

This is an excellent LinkedIn summary for an executive-level employee. She not just highlights her cardinal skills and accomplishments for quick review, but also provides insight to her leadership manner when managing others in the visitor.

Alison H., SEO Content Writer

Throwing numbers and percentages in right from the outset is a great way to catch a readers' attention and entice them to learn more than. The psychological insight via the use of personality tests tin also lend a different perspective to non only your skills, but how y'all might approach unlike situations in the workplace.

LinkedIn Summary and About Section Examples for Career Changes

Here are several examples of how to write a LinkedIn summary when yous're making a career change or pin. Again, utilise these as guides for your LinkedIn Near Section, merely don't copy and paste.

Jacob H., Airline Airplane pilot to Aviation Technical Writer

Fifty-fifty if you're making what feels like a large jump, y'all are likely more qualified than you recall you are! Try to provide specific examples of how your previous feel is relevant to your new dream role, and the efforts you are putting in to close any gaps in your teaching or grooming.

Michael R., Staffing / Recruiting Account Manager  to Software Sales Account Executive

This is a good LinkedIn summary outline to follow for career changes, particularly if yous're looking to stay in the same general line of work but shifting industries or niches. Highlighting central qualities and learnings that also are relevant to your new direction can help keep hiring managers focused on the good.

LinkedIn Summary and About Section Examples for Students Seeking Internships

A adept LinkedIn summary is besides important for students who are not all the same in the workforce, notwithstanding working on a college caste, or applying for internships. Here are iii examples of how to "work with what you've got" and brand a great first impression on LinkedIn.

Daniel R., Public Policy Assay Student

This summary is clear and direct, piece of cake to read, and outlines both the skills gained from university classwork and a previous internship which can aid boost confidence in your abilities.

Sarah T., Arts and Civilization Management Student

This is an excellent case of leaning on your personal character qualities and providing clear examples of how they will raise your ability to do the job well. At the internship level, y'all don't have to have a ton of experience to be well-suited for the roles. Sharing nearly your personality and values can be equally of import.

Kelly L., Digital Arts & Sciences Educatee

Some other clever strategy is to expound on the unique learning opportunities you've experienced in college. Study abroad experiences, volunteer work, and personal passion projects tin can all be useful means to express the value you have to offer.

Demand a piddling extra assistance to create the best LinkedIn summary for your profile? Endeavor Jobscan'south LinkedIn Optimization tool — figure out exactly which keywords you're missing for the chore you lot're trying to land.

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