Write a LinkedIn profile summary that reflects your career aspirations

Scheduled on your to-do list this week is to create or update your LinkedIn profile so you can find an exciting opportunity that meets all of your career goals. Your objective is to write an amazing LinkedIn profile summary that reflects your career aspirations!

For some reason it’s one of those ‘to-do’ things that keeps getting pushed down the list. There is always something more pressing or it might be that you feel a bit overwhelmed in terms of where to start. Writing a LinkedIn profile summary that reflects your career aspirations is well worth the time and effort, though.

What should you include in your LinkedIn summary? Can’t you just copy over your professional summary from your resume?  Should you write in a professional tone or less formal? In this article we answer those questions and more, including:

• What is a LinkedIn summary?

• Why is a good LinkedIn summary important?

• How to create a LinkedIn summary

• Top-rated LinkedIn examples

What is a LinkedIn profile summary?

Your professional summary on LinkedIn is located at the top of your LinkedIn profile or “About” section, just under your photo. The summary is basically a few paragraphs that outline your professional life in less than 2K characters. As such, it needs to be direct, punchy, and impactful to catch a potential recruiter’s attention.

Why is a good LinkedIn summary important?

You may think that the summary isn’t that important, but there are actually many benefits. If you are a business owner it’s a great way to sell your products and services; if you are a professional, you may have an opportunity to advance your career.

Your LinkedIn summary is the first thing anyone reading your page will see and you can make it a lot more interesting by using your personal voice. It’s basically a snapshot of you, your career, and what you have accomplished so far.

While LinkedIn is a professional business platform, the tone is flexible. You have the opportunity to show your humorous side and be informal or stick to a more professional tone if you wish. Recruiters will use this information to assess whether you will fit into their team or be appealing to their clients.

How to create a LinkedIn profile summary

1. Create an outline for your LinkedIn summary section

Creating a plan for your LinkedIn summary will enable you to focus on the relevant information that will capture a reader's attention, rather than rambling off into the weeds and not getting your message across in an impactful way. Try the following format:

• Opening hook:  LinkedIn only shows the first couple of lines of your summary so the reader has to click on “See More” if they want to read on. Clearly, you need to make this opener catchy so you “hook” them in and they continue to read.

• Mission: Explain why you do (and enjoy) what you do.

• Skills and expertise: What are you good at?

• Achievements: Provide highlights of your accomplishments in your career to date, backed up by specific facts and figures.

• Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition): What can you bring to the table that sets you apart from others?

• Call to action: Describe what you want people to do after reading your summary and how they can connect with you.

2. Hook the reader

Ensure you hook the reader of your LinkedIn profile summary, so they are compelled to read on. This can be achieved by creating a loop that requires further explanation or by making a claim that peaks curiosity.

This opening is confident, articulate, and outlines the skills of the candidate in an impactful way that will compel a hiring manager to read the rest of the profile.

3.  Tell the reader why you do what you do

You can build connections with people on LinkedIn by explaining not only what you do but also why you are passionate about doing it. Highlight what attracted you to your profession, your career aspirations, and mission in life to make your profile summary impactful.

4.  Showcase industry expertise

Including a few points that highlight your industry expertise backed with tangible facts and figures is a good strategy to enhance your LinkedIn profile summary. These can be two or three highlights of your background and qualifications.

5.  Focus on any specialties and skills

What sets you apart from the crowd? If you work in teaching, do you have additional language skills and experience teaching overseas? Are you a marketing professional with significant exposure to SEO and social media? Whatever your specialty, this can definitely set you apart from the crowd.

6.  Tell people about your interest and hobbies

Your professional interests and hobbies can be a great way to show your personality via your LinkedIn profile summary and in turn build connections. Whether you love sports, contribute to society via charitable work, enjoy traveling and new cultures, or are an artist in the making, tell people about it! 

7.  Summary for LinkedIn profile & Call to action!

If you are actively looking for work on LinkedIn, then closing out your profile summary with a call to action is a must. This just tells a recruiter what you are looking for, how you can help them, and most importantly how they can get in touch with you. 

Bonus: What not to include in a summary for a LinkedIn profile

Here are our top tips on what not to include in a LinkedIn profile summary to make sure you keep on track and get the best results.

1. Don’t copy and paste your resume

Try to avoid copying and pasting information from your resume. The tone of LinkedIn is much less formal than a resume, and it doesn’t translate well if you use the same tone as your resume. Hiring managers and connections are looking to learn more about you on both a personal and professional level.

2. Don’t tell your life story

While it is great to get your personality across, try to avoid giving too much information about your personal life story. The key is to keep things relevant to your career direction and eliminate anything else that detracts from this focus.

3. Avoid the clichés

You are an expert, master, and a guru in your field! This terminology is just going to make recruiters move on and look at the next potential candidate.Ditch the clichés in favor of specific facts, figures, and experience that showcase your achievements.

LinkedIn profile summary examples

Here are some standout LinkedIn profiles that will provide you with some inspiration to get started on a killer LinkedIn profile summary.

1. Career Coach LinkedIn Profile Summary

An amazing LinkedIn profile summary that really stands out due to the content, format, and tone. Here is a direct link: (8) Sarena Tseng | LinkedIn

This LinkedIn profile pops! We have a background story, what the person is passionate about, achievements, hobbies, and a call to action. The format of this profile is also really impactful, not only in terms of content but readability online.

What we love:

• Opening profile summary tells us why the person chose their career path and why they are passionate about it.

• Accomplishments show that they are good at what they do!

• Personality builds connections. You really feel that you are getting to know this person as they are giving you an insight into what they enjoy outside of the workplace.

• Call to action outlines what the person is seeking in terms of future opportunities, but also demonstrates they support others via tips and tricks.

2. Entrepreneur LinkedIn Profile Summary

Don’t forget that being short and sweet can also be really impactful in terms of your LinkedIn profile summary. This profile is direct and impactful, including specific facts and figures for achievements. Here is a direct link: (8) Timothy Armoo | LinkedIn

What we love:

• Storytelling allows us to follow the journey of the individual and this builds a connection.

• Specific dates, facts, and figures back up this successful career journey and create momentum.

• Keeping the LinkedIn profile summary short and sweet compels a potential hiring manager to read on and learn more about the candidate.

3. Marketing LinkedIn Profile Summary

Solving a problem is a great approach to creating a compelling LinkedIn profile summary that will likely attract a lot of attention. Check out this profile to see how you can speak directly to your clients and eliminate their pain points. Direct link: (9) Dina Calakovic | LinkedIn

What we love:

• Identifying problems that resonate with your target audience is a great way to connect with your clients.

• Talking directly to your clients makes this profile more personal and impactful.

4. Technical LinkedIn Profile Summary

Talking about your passions, specialities and expertise is a great way to catch attention on LinkedIn. The following profile ticks all these boxes as well as connecting with the reader via the first person tone. Here is the summary and a link to the profile: Katrina O. | LinkedIn

What we love:

• Personal tone of the profile summary talks directly to the recruiter and tells a story about why the person chose their career and why they love it.

• Specialities are outlined in detail to highlight the level of education and expertise the candidate has acquired in their career to date.

5. Operations Manager & Executive Assistant

Transferable skills and experience are really important to include in a LinkedIn profile summary, particularly if you are seeking a change in career direction. This profile really resonates in terms of the transferable skills the candidate has to offer:

What we love:

• This profile highlights a strong team ethic and commitment to delivering work of the highest standards.

• Transferable skills are highlighted and equally important in terms of organization, employee support, loyalty, and commitment.

Key takeaways

1. Your LinkedIn summary is the first thing anyone reading your page will see. Take time and effort to create a compelling profile that will build your network and connections. 

2. Include an opening hook to catch the reader's interest. Talk about your mission, skills, expertise, and achievements, and don’t forget a call to action to get in touch.

3. Stand out from the crowd! Try to make your LinkedIn profile summary as unique and interesting as possible so you can catch the eye of potential recruiters.