Crafting Your LinkedIn

Writing an Attention-Grabbing Headline

Your professional Headline is of the most important pieces of your LinkedIn profile, yet it is very easy to overlook. While LinkedIn provides little, if any, insight into what to provide or write in this section, you will find guidelines, examples, and suggestions on how to start writing your own below. 

Professional Headlines 

Your headline is one of the first things that others will see on LinkedIn, which means it is critical to write a headline that will catch attention and drive people to your profile. 

What we see students do: 

  • Student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln 

What you should do: 

  • Future Business Analyst 
  • Experience in Financial Reporting and Forecasting 
  • Sales and Marketing Student | Relationship Builder | Seeking Full-Time Sales Role 

Formulas (choose one):

  1. Major | Skills or Experience | What you are seeking 
  2. Position and Employer | Skill | Skill 
  3. Aspirational Career Goal | Major | Industry Keywords 

Guidelines

Keep the following best practices in mind when crafting your professional headline: 

  • 120-character limit 
  • Find keywords in job postings 
  • Use abbreviations sparingly 
  • Research colleagues and other’s headlines 
  • Use common job titles 
  • Symbols improve readability (i.e., | - , •) 
  • Test out multiple options to determine what works best and drives trafc to your profle

Developing an Engaging About Section

The About/Summary section within LinkedIn provides the opportunity for you to showcase your personal brand and tell the story of who you are. Because it involves storytelling and creative writing, many people find this section challenging to write. To make this process easier, you will find guidelines, examples, and suggestions on how to start writing your own below. 

Pro-tip: It is important to remember that you should be continuously adjusting and editing your About section as your career goals evolve. Do not fall into the trap of not updating your profile.

About

I have always been the person to strike up a conversation with someone new. Meeting new people and buildling relationships which create win-wins, is a strength of mine which I have invested in and utilized through my roles as a development representative with the University of Nebraska Foundation and executive store intern at City Center Mart.

Wanting to use my time wisely as a student, outside of work experiences, I have held leadership positions in student organizations to grow membership and increase programming that meets members' needs. In my career path, I want to continue to be a creative problem solver and strategic thinking to tackle big problems.

Soon graduating, I am looking forward to joining an organization which is team-centric in an account management role where I can utilize my experiences, skills and capitalize on my psychology classes to meet the organization's and clients' goals.

About Section (Professional Summaries) 

Strong About/Summary sections are well-crafted stories that engage the reader, describe your experience, skills, and goals, and showcase your personality
 

Develop your summary or story by answering these questions:

WHAT

do you do?

+
HOW

do you it (well)?

+
WHERE

are you going?

Structure

  • 1st paragraph - how are you going to “hook” the reader? 
  • 2nd paragraph - what experiences/skills are relevant to the reader? 
  • 3rd paragraph - what should the reader remember about you and your goals? 

Formulas (choose one):

  • Short & Sweet - similar to your elevator pitch 
  • Mission-based - what is your purpose and story? 
  • Accomplishment-focused - what are your biggest accomplishments that you want the reader to know? 

Guidelines

Keep the following best practices in mind when crafting your About/Summary section: 

  • 2,000-character limit 
  • Stick to 1-3 short paragraphs 
  • Speak like a human/write how you speak (use of jargon and buzzwords is okay) 
  • Audit your summary every 6 months; is it still relevant and accurate? 
  • Find inspiration in others’ summaries 
  • Ask yourself W.I.I.F.M. - “what’s in it for me?” from the perspective of the reader 
  • White space is your friend 
  • Rich media (documents, presentations, website URL) is helpful 

Example Summary

What you do

A passion I have carried with me ever since I was young is solving puzzles. I started at the kitchen table arranging cardboard pieces into an ideal picture and have expanded that drive into pulling pieces from my environment and developing them into unique solutions. My interest in analyzing factors around me and using them to make something new is enhance by my creativity, curiosity, and love of working with others.

How you do it well 

My experiences participating in the State Farms Business with Integrity Ethics Competition and coding as an Undergraduate Research Assistant helped me hone my ability to develop solutions and think on my feet. Additionally, I have found an outlet for my curiosity by pursuing a degree in supply chain and learning about data and analytics through my statistics minor. Like any hobby, puzzles are more fun with a team! I have found my social outlet through participating in paid and volunteer tutoring opportunities that enable me to develop my own teaching skills - and others!

Where are you going

Currently, I look forward to finding an internship in the supply chain industry where there are new puzzles to solve every day. Upon graduation, I look forward to bring my creativity and love of learning to any supply chain or logistics team.

Additional LinkedIn Tips for Business Students 

  • List your school as Nebraska College of Business
  • Your degree will not auto-populate; you will need to type “Bachelor of Science in Business Administration” 
  • Connect with Nebraska College of Business and the Ofcial University of Nebraska-Lincoln Alumni Association groups 
  • Connect with College of Business staf and faculty to expand your network