Week 2: Be the Popular Kid

How to Write a Summary that Dazzles & Blings!

Video Time: 7 Minutes Action Time: 30 – 60 Minutes

Just like a new pair of Yeezys, your LinkedIn profile won’t be a “one-size-fits-all.” You’ll have to make your profile appeal to whoever you want to market to. So first things first, know your audience!

For instance, you wouldn’t put your experience in playing Fortnite in your LinkedIn summary. Unless, that is, you’re planning on joining an E-Sports team and want to win millions playing tournaments around the world. Sadly, if you’re not a gamer, you’ll have to ask yourself what type of jobs you want to attract and the types of people you want to find your profile. You may still be uncertain of what direction you want to take within your career path, but don’t worry that takes time! Just focus on finding the profiles that match your current interests.

Love, at first sight, is what you want! Make them want to get to know you. Your LinkedIn summary that you’ve been working on since the first free webinar should have people gushing over you like you’re their first crush. Not literally though! We don’t want things to be awkward before the job process even begins.

Writing Time!

Your LinkedIn Summary should come out to about three short paragraphs:

1The first paragraph should be your purpose/expanded elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is a brief (30-60 second) summary of your background and experiences. It should mention your skills and goals. It is used as a way to introduce yourself to hiring mangers. Focus on the skills that are most important to your desired career field as well as interpersonal skills like communication and teamwork. Since the pitch is supposed to be brief, focus on highlighting your top 1-2 skills that you have continued to strengthen throughout your experiences. Your pitch should briefly introduce you, explain what you do and what you want to accomplish, and end with that ever important call to action. Use this space to give meaning to why you are in your career as well as what you do! Here is Superb Porpoise’s first paragraph.

I have been in the water for as long as I can remember, and one of the most important and prevalent issues I have faced as a water-dwelling professional is the cleanliness of my environment. Let’s face it: Humans are messy creatures, and pollution has become a big, dirty, stinky problem. There’s nothing worse, after all than biting into a trash bag, thinking it’s a fish! That is why I am a Water Engineer, with a special focus on making sure our water–and the infrastructure that surrounds its use–is reliably clean.

2 The second paragraph focuses on career and/or experience.
This is where the meat and potatoes of your summary happens. Here you focus on the skills you bring to the table! Here’s where Superb Porpoise stands:

With over 10 years of experience as an engineer and even more as a water tester, I have designed and reworked many water treatment facilities and processes, built flood defense structures around the world, managed skilled water cleanliness teams, and brought life to advanced water sewerage infrastructure with the ease that others of my kind might bounce a ball upon their nose. Managing budgets and ensuring my projects are completed in accordance to their timescales is also within my purview, and you might say I have a solid radar for current environmental issues that affect my field.

3The third paragraph is about you.

This can be more personal! You can expand on your characteristics, hobbies, and personality traits. Focus on about 2-3 traits that stand out and may even relate to your career goals. It’s up to you, but this is where you make people fall in love with you as a person. Here’s what Superb Porpoise has to say in their last paragraph!

As a member of the porpoise family, I love to swim and practice water acrobatics. I volunteer coach for Deepsea University’s water polo team, make mean clam chowder, and my favorite phrase is “holy mackerel!” If you’d like to have a chat about the differences between porpoises and dolphins, learn how to become a Water Engineer or Water Quality Tester, or just want to test out a good joke, connect with me on LinkedIn and I’d be happy to talk to you!

1The first paragraph should be your purpose/expanded elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a brief (30-60 second) summary of your background and experiences. It should mention your skills and goals. It is used as a way to introduce yourself to hiring mangers. Focus on the skills that are most important to your desired career field as well as interpersonal skills like communication and teamwork. Since the pitch is supposed to be brief, focus on highlighting your top 1-2 skills that you have continued to strengthen throughout your experiences. Your pitch should briefly introduce you, explain what you do and what you want to accomplish, and end with that ever important call to action. Use this space to give meaning to why you are in your career as well as what you do! Here is Superb Porpoise’s first paragraph.

2 The second paragraph focuses on career and/or experience. This is where the meat and potatoes of your summary happens. Here you focus on the skills you bring to the table! Here’s where Superb Porpoise stands:

3The third paragraph is about you. This can be more personal! You can expand on your characteristics, hobbies, and personality traits. Focus on about 2-3 traits that stand out and may even relate to your career goals. It’s up to you, but this is where you make people fall in love with you as a person. Here’s what Superb Porpoise has to say in their last paragraph!

In crafting the perfect personal summary, do a MadLibs for inspiration:

“As a [identity] individual, my pronouns are [pronouns]. I [verb] for the [org. noun], make a mean [noun], and am a/an [recreational identity].”

“ I cook for the county soup kitchen, make a mean of twenty batches per day, and am a soup-through-straw sort of gal. If you want to swap cauldrons or billow each other’s flames, connect with me on LinkedIn!”

It is important to show off your skill sets and create a personal identity when crafting your summary. The employers want to know how YOU can add to their company.

In crafting the perfect personal summary, do a MadLibs for inspiration:

“As a [identity] individual, my pronouns are [pronouns]. I [verb] for the [org. noun], make a mean [noun], and am a/an [recreational identity].”

It is important to show off your skill sets and create a personal identity when crafting your summary. The employers want to know how YOU can add to their company.

Here’s an Example

“As a lifelong gamer, I love to go to championship gaming competitions to strut my stuff, paddleboard on sunny Mississippi River days, and practice my guitar. If you are interested in sharing sheet music or want to know more about my expertise, please connect with me on LinkedIn!”

When Writing Your Summary, Don’t…

… Use unnecessary detail (such as names of family members).

Ex. “… in my spare time I brew toilet wine with my brother-cousin, Jebediah.”

… Use inflammatory phrases.

Ex. “… and I believe the south will rise again!”

… Advertise activities that will paint you in a negative light.

Ex. “… and I will bring the same attitudes to your company because after all, insider trading really is the future…”

Here’s an Example

When Writing Your Summary, Don’t…

… Use unnecessary detail (such as names of family members).

Ex. “… in my spare time I brew toilet wine with my brother-cousin, Jebediah.”

… Use inflammatory phrases.

Ex. “… and I believe the south will rise again!”

… Advertise activities that will paint you in a negative light.

Ex. “… and I will bring the same attitudes to your company because after all, insider trading really is the future…”

Don't Forget Those Keywords!

Increasing your search ranking is so important if you are wanting to attract the right employers to your profile. For example, if you search “Seattle pizza delivery”, what pops up on the first page are the most highly searched and found pizzas deliveries in Seattle. Recruiters are doing the same thing, they are putting in keywords to find you. So, when searching for an employee on Linkedin they may type in technical skills that are important to their career field, like Microsoft Office.

Search rankings are national and global which gives you an advantage against your competition. You can climb higher in the search ranking and show up more for employers around the globe. You will become the most popular kid on LinkedIn and become just like your old high school’s prom king or queen!

Pepper the keywords that you want to be known for throughout your profile and you’ll get the attention of others who want your talents on their team.

Check out the next episode for more info about how to present your experience. This is getting really exciting! See you there.

Remember

LinkedIn is a search engine just like Google! Research and insert keywords. Keywords are what you type into Google (or other search engines) when you are looking for something specific. It may contain terms about degrees, certifications, skills, or languages you speak. It could also be industry-specific acronyms. So adding these skills will help your profile shoot to the top of the list! LinkedIn typically allows you to add up to 50 skills but start with 5-10 and work your way up as you gather more skills and remember to place your most important skills in the top 3 positions.

And in case you’re looking to expand your experience check out our internship link!

Pepper the keywords that you want to be known for throughout your profile and you’ll get the attention of others who want your talents on their team.

Check out the next episode for more info about how to present your experience. This is getting really exciting! See you there.

Remember

And in case you’re looking to expand your experience check out our internship link!

Putting Your New Summary In Your LinkedIn Profile

Now that you’ve written that summary, it’s time to actually put it in your profile! Here are the steps to take to get it in there:

1From your dashboard, click on either your portrait on the left-hand side of the screen or the “View Profile” option under the “Me” menu on the top bar.