![]() That means those two lines are the most important. The latest major update to LinkedIn reduced what people see when they look at your profile to the first two sentences of your summary. You can use the experience section to tout your accomplishments.įocus on the first two sentences. The first person version of your bio sounds more like storytelling and less like listing your accomplishments - and your summary is all about storytelling. Writing in the first person creates a conversation between you and the reader, and that’s the best way to build a relationship.ģ. Everyone knows you wrote your own LinkedIn summary, so writing about yourself in the third person seems a bit disingenuous.Ģ. Sometimes the less-than-stellar prose we write becomes the inspiration for the perfect sentence or paragraph.Īlthough in the past I have said that writing in the first or third person is acceptable, I now recommend writing your summary in the first person for three reasons:ġ. She reminded me that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we are writing, and if you lower your expectations of your first attempt, you can typically refine, edit, or recreate something that’s really quite good. Make any adjustments, additions, and deletions to your raw content and then prepare to persuade.īefore you write your first sentence, give yourself “permission to suck.” Those were the words of wisdom shared with me by the prolific and successful author Ann Handley when I interviewed her for my podcast. Is it authentic and aspirational (connected to who you really are while positioning you for where you want to go next)?.Is there anything extraneous (not essential to expressing your brand message)?.Is there anything missing (key information that isn’t included in the categories)?.Once you have completed your content category collection, take a look at your raw materials and answer these questions: They include the awards and accolades bestowed upon you (for example, “Graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts was awarded an innovation fellowship by the Association of Advanced Technology”) and testimonials or recommendations from mentors or senior leaders. Include all those things that help you reinforce what you say about yourself. ![]() when I have the entire office to myself,” or “Acknowledging others is important to me, so I like to type personal messages of appreciation to team members on the typewriter I was given on my 16th birthday.”) (“I climbed three of the tallest peaks I speak three foreign languages and travel to at least six new countries every year I worked in eight different roles in sales and marketing before becoming the CMO.”)ĭifferentiation. Cull the things that make you you and help you stand out from your peers. ![]() Interesting stats. List things you can quantify – and don’t restrict yourself to just those that are work related. (“I can make extremely complicated technical details easy for business people to understand and digest,” or “I’m the calm in the storm, able to deal with the biggest crises with a logical and approachable demeanor.”) Your superpowers. Describe the things you do better than anyone else. What are your non-negotiables - your operating principles? And what brings you energy and joy? (For example, collaboration, harmony, travel and tennis.) Your values and passions. I call these the VPs of brand 'you'. (“I saved my company $200k by implementing a go-green initiative that motivated employees from throughout the organization.”) Be sure to describe the value you created. Write a sentence for what you have achieved in your career. I bring them together to solve some of the most challenging technology problems our company encounters.”)Īccomplishments. I have a team of the best and brightest technicians. Write a couple of sentences about what you do in terms of the value it creates for your team, your company, and internal or external clients. Organize your content into these 7 categories: What do you want them to know, learn, or do?ĭocument your responses to these questions so can start gathering your raw materials.Who is your ideal audience - the people you want to reach? Who are the most important decision makers and influencers in your world?.These questions will help you set the scene: It’s a simple system that makes your summary sing:īefore putting pen to paper (or more likely finger to key, or even voice to Siri), decide what you want your summary to say and what you want viewers to do. I have had the opportunity to help thousands of professionals tell their story in the form of a LinkedIn summary, and what I share here is the proven process we use.
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