Fix Your LinkedIn Headline Today

Fix Your LinkedIn Headline Today Your LinkedIn headline is one of the most important parts of your profile, yet, youve left it up to LinkedIn. Today, go update your headline. By default, LinkedIn uses your current job title as your headline. But that doesnt mean you should use it! Why You Should Fix  Your LinkedIn Headline Your headline is like a billboard. It makes the first impression. It helps determine how you show up in search results. Furthermore, your headline can determine whether someone clicks through to your profile. Its marketing YOU. In other words, it is way too important to just let LinkedIn determine. When anyone searches LinkedIn, the search results show this information: photo, name, headline, city, and shared connections. When I searched for project manager and selected the option to search for people and this is what I found. The results show people who have the title in their headline. But thats all they have and as a result, they all look the same. In reality, very few people make an effort to improve their LinkedIn headline. How do I know this? Because I got 8,020,027 results for project manager. This works to your advantage because you WILL have a meaningful, keyword-rich, headline! Recruiters Search By Keywords Recruiters use very specific keywords to search LinkedIn profiles technology (software), processes and procedures. They search for specialties, not generic competencies. These are the words that should be in your headline (and summary and listed in your skills section). Go ahead. Enter anything you want in the search box and see what you find. (Ill wait here!) Heres another example of how people have missed a huge opportunity to set themselves apart.  The headline doesnt help differentiate these students They missed the opportunity to talk about the skills or experiences that make them unique. RIT has a great co-op program and almost every student will get hands-on work experience. But we dont see anything in these headlines about their co-op experience. Ask Yourself This Does your headline share enough to make someone want to click-through? You need to write  your headline so that it  differentiates you. This can be done in many ways and there isnt one formula that fits everyone. 2 Formulas for Your LinkedIn Headline Jenny Foss wrote about what you can do to spice up your LinkedIn headline in this Muse post. Foss suggests these (you really should go read her article to see examples!) Succinctly showcase your specialty, value proposition, or your “so what?” Speak directly to the audience you want to entice Worm in the important keywords Be creative Laura Smith-Proulx wrote an article which is also filled with great ideas.  Fast Formula for a Powerful LinkedIn Professional Headline appears on Job-Hunt.org. Heres her formula: Add your target job or position level Add your primary industry or job function Pull in your strongest areas of expertise Add a signature achievement To see examples, youll have to read the article! By the way, if you dont have a value proposition or need to refresh yours, please see this article. Use the Full 120 Characters You have 120 characters to highlight what you do or what you want to be known for. Make each word count. And always think about the keywords/terms someone would use if they were looking to find someone just like you! HOT TIP: If you use the LinkedIn mobile app from your phone, you can increase your headline to 200 characters! Thanks Brynne Tillman! Words and Phrases To Eliminate 120 characters isnt  a lot make every word count! There are mixed opinions about calling yourself a guru, expert, or rock star, so I wouldnt recommend using them. The word Professional is 12 letters long and says absolutely nothing. Eliminate this word. No one is ever going to search for it either. Dont include your school, degree or current employer. This isnt an absolute rule, but a strong recommendation. This information is already in your profile. Seeking next opportunity sounds kind of desperate, doesnt it? Why would someone  care if you are looking? What they want to know is what value you deliver. And if you want recruiters to know you are open to new opportunities, then change this setting in your LinkedIn profile. How LinkedIns Open Candidate Can Save You Time. You could also use #ONO (open to new opportunities). These Headlines Are Examples of What NOT To Do None of these headlines are specific or unique to the individual. Business Professional Experienced in Sales, Customer Relations, and Operations MBA, Accounting Professional Staff Assistant at  ABC University Executive Office Professional Management professional seeking new opportunity These Are Better Here are some ideas for you, but let me emphasize, you have 120 characters to sell your first impression. These all have room to tell more! Technical Illustrator and Web Designer  (38 characters) Left/Right Brained Marketing Enthusiast | Marketing Analyst | MS Marketing  (84  characters) Organizational Transformation Consultant, International Project Manager, Business Developer (91 characters) Marketing: Global Product Development Purchasing Specialist  (61 characters) Lean Mentor at Harness Consulting | Change the Behavior Sustain the Gain  (74  characters) If you are an MBA candidate, check out this article:  Whats the Best LinkedIn Headline for an MBA Candidate? Heres How To Edit Your Headline You probably didnt even know you could edit your headline. By default, LinkedIn uses your most recent job title and employer. I guess thats better than nothingmaybe. First,  go to your profile page and look for the blue pen to edit. Next, click on pen icon Before you save your changes, do you want everyone you are connected to on LinkedIn to get notified of your changes? If you are actively job seeking/unemployed, then your answer is probably yes. If you are in a covert job search, the answer might be no. You can change your privacy settings. LinkedIn offers this help article about how to Turn on/off your activity broadcasts. Measure The Results Now the fun begins. Over the next week, keep track of how many people view your profile. If the number is greater than beforetake note, thats a good thing! If not, give it another week, and if you still dont notice an uptick in profile views, you will probably want to change it again. Be sure you get feedback from people you value and respect! Not sure how to check how many people have viewed your profile and where theyre from? From your LinkedIn homepage (main screen) on LinkedIn, this appears on the left side of your screen. Or, when you are viewing your LinkedIn profile, this dashboard appears near the top. Your headline alone isnt enough to get people to look at your LinkedIn profile. Try some of these tricks! 5 Ways to Get More LinkedIn Profile Views