Before I explain why I think the following 3 Summaries are stunningly good, I’ll let you read them first.
The right words can be incredibly effective. Kay, Paul and Mark waste no ink in getting their message across. They all do it in less than 250 words. All 3 end with a CTA (call to action). Endearing, engaging, smart, driven; their personalities leap off the page. I’m particularly impressed with Mark’s list of character statements. Very difficult to pull off, without seeming arrogant or self-absorbed. Yet he manages it. Do these Summaries inspire you? How does your Summary compare?
One Chance – First ImpressionThe New LinkedIn Profile has several new bells and whistles and I’ll cover these in later posts but the Summary remains one of the most important sections on your Profile. Why? Because it’s the only area on the Profile where you get to define yourself from scratch, with a blank sheet unencumbered by dates, labels or other text boxes. Because it’s personal – it’s where people look to find out what makes you tick. Are you in command of your narrative? Does your Summary do you justice? Or have you just copied & pasted your 5 year old resume as a temporary measure? How long is temporary?
Tell Me Your Story
A Summary is precisely that – a short version of why you do what you do, in your own words. If you can come across as authentic; convince everyone that what you do is also who you are, you’re golden. It’s not enough these days to let your experience speak for itself. You need to be your own Brand Ambassador and you need to ensure that your professional online prospectus is unique, engaging and well written. Write it in the 1st person. Writing a Summary about yourself in the 3rd person is a theatrical gimmick which never worked. It doesn’t make you more polished, it makes you seem aloof, out of touch and stuffy. Your Summary is your chance to not only say what you’re good at, it’s also your opportunity to stand out from the crowd, to differentiate yourself, in a remarkable and memorable way.
A Summary is precisely that – a short version of why you do what you do, in your own words. If you can come across as authentic; convince everyone that what you do is also who you are, you’re golden. It’s not enough these days to let your experience speak for itself. You need to be your own Brand Ambassador and you need to ensure that your professional online prospectus is unique, engaging and well written. Write it in the 1st person. Writing a Summary about yourself in the 3rd person is a theatrical gimmick which never worked. It doesn’t make you more polished, it makes you seem aloof, out of touch and stuffy. Your Summary is your chance to not only say what you’re good at, it’s also your opportunity to stand out from the crowd, to differentiate yourself, in a remarkable and memorable way.
Buzz Words Are So 2013
The following words, in this order, were identified as the top 10 most overused Buzz Words on LinkedIn in 2013: ‘responsible’ ‘strategic’ ‘creative’ ‘effective’ ‘patient’ ‘expert’ ‘organizational’ ‘driven’ ‘innovative’ ‘analytical’. What they all have in common, apart from being ‘tired’, is that they are all what we’d generally expect an employee to be, from time to time. Banish the beige work speak. Lose the lemming language. There are over 1 Million words in the English Language. Plenty of choice.
The following words, in this order, were identified as the top 10 most overused Buzz Words on LinkedIn in 2013: ‘responsible’ ‘strategic’ ‘creative’ ‘effective’ ‘patient’ ‘expert’ ‘organizational’ ‘driven’ ‘innovative’ ‘analytical’. What they all have in common, apart from being ‘tired’, is that they are all what we’d generally expect an employee to be, from time to time. Banish the beige work speak. Lose the lemming language. There are over 1 Million words in the English Language. Plenty of choice.
Less Is More
We’re all busy. We click, speed read and move on. A summary that is too wordy and uses all 2000 characters just because you can is not going to win you admirers or customers. I want you to show me, the reader, some consideration. Be considerate with time and I’ll reward you with mine. If you knew I had 10 seconds to read your Summary, what would you write? If what you write is interesting, original or makes me ponder – you may have just bought yourself another 10 seconds.
We’re all busy. We click, speed read and move on. A summary that is too wordy and uses all 2000 characters just because you can is not going to win you admirers or customers. I want you to show me, the reader, some consideration. Be considerate with time and I’ll reward you with mine. If you knew I had 10 seconds to read your Summary, what would you write? If what you write is interesting, original or makes me ponder – you may have just bought yourself another 10 seconds.
Above The Fold
It used to be in the days of print media, that positioning an article above the newspaper fold was vital in terms of captivating the reader. Though that no longer applies to web articles that are scrollable, there is something similar to a fold on the New LinkedIn Profile. The end of the Summary and the beginning of the Experience section could be regarded as a fold. The point at which a non-engaged reader may jump out of reading further and get on with more pressing business. My tip to squeeze 5 more seconds of attention out of that busy reader? Move your Skills & Expertise section (with all those rosy Endorsements) up and above the potentially boring Experience section. Why would this work? Because the reader may be curious to see how/what you’re doing with Endorsements and regardless of what you think of Endorsements, the Skills & Expertise section gives a lot of information in a very efficient, visually pleasing manner.
It used to be in the days of print media, that positioning an article above the newspaper fold was vital in terms of captivating the reader. Though that no longer applies to web articles that are scrollable, there is something similar to a fold on the New LinkedIn Profile. The end of the Summary and the beginning of the Experience section could be regarded as a fold. The point at which a non-engaged reader may jump out of reading further and get on with more pressing business. My tip to squeeze 5 more seconds of attention out of that busy reader? Move your Skills & Expertise section (with all those rosy Endorsements) up and above the potentially boring Experience section. Why would this work? Because the reader may be curious to see how/what you’re doing with Endorsements and regardless of what you think of Endorsements, the Skills & Expertise section gives a lot of information in a very efficient, visually pleasing manner.
Don’t Forget Your Headline!
Here’s the deal: you are boring…..by default. Yep, LinkedIn forces you to think conventionally by automatically inserting your (boringly functional and unremarkable) job Title in your prominent and most widely seen Headline space. This is a problem if you think about yourself in branding terms. If you are the brand, your Headline is your brand’s slogan. Now ask yourself are you proud of your slogan? Is it what you’re all about? Does it actually achieve anything? If the answer to those questions is no – there is something you can and should do about it. Come up with something unique, something so stunningly original that makes people think, smile or better still, act. Here are 3 of the best ‘stunningly original’ LinkedIn Headlines I’ve seen in a long while.
Here’s the deal: you are boring…..by default. Yep, LinkedIn forces you to think conventionally by automatically inserting your (boringly functional and unremarkable) job Title in your prominent and most widely seen Headline space. This is a problem if you think about yourself in branding terms. If you are the brand, your Headline is your brand’s slogan. Now ask yourself are you proud of your slogan? Is it what you’re all about? Does it actually achieve anything? If the answer to those questions is no – there is something you can and should do about it. Come up with something unique, something so stunningly original that makes people think, smile or better still, act. Here are 3 of the best ‘stunningly original’ LinkedIn Headlines I’ve seen in a long while.
LINKEDIN CONSULTING
If you liked this article, you’ll love my customized consulting service. I’ve helped many professionals to achieve their full potential on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is not somewhere you paste your resumé, sit back and wait for things to happen. It’s a complicated and nuanced website portal that requires action, consistency, insight, branding strategy and marketing know-how. What you don’t know – could hurt you.
If you liked this article, you’ll love my customized consulting service. I’ve helped many professionals to achieve their full potential on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is not somewhere you paste your resumé, sit back and wait for things to happen. It’s a complicated and nuanced website portal that requires action, consistency, insight, branding strategy and marketing know-how. What you don’t know – could hurt you.
Whether it’s getting more traffic on your Profile, engaging with a stunningly good Summary or refreshing your LinkedIn presence and brand – share your goals with me and I’ll help you to achieve all of them via LinkedIn.
That’s all from me for this week. Have you noticed that I have no advertising on my site? It’s because I don’t want to bother or distract you, the reader. But I do need advertising! – if you liked what you read, PLEASE share this article with at least one person you know via LinkedIn, twitter, google+ or Facebook, it’s good to share 
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