Your Progress
Week 2: Be the Popular Kid!
How to Write a Summary That Sparkles & Shazams!
Video Time: 9 Minutes Action Time: 30-60 Minutes
Summaries and assless chaps have one thing in common: the same pair won’t look good on everyone. Below are useful tips to help you write the perfect LinkedIn summary, one that you can look and feel good in! With these ingredients, your “pizza” is sure to be the first one on the page!
Before writing your summary, make sure to determine who you want your audience to be. Going on about your experience as a Disney princess cosplay actress will do little when seeking a job at the cuckoo clock factory.
Summaries and assless chaps have one thing in common: the same pair won’t look good on everyone. Below are useful tips to help you write the perfect LinkedIn summary, one that you can look and feel good in! With these ingredients, your “pizza” is sure to be the first one on the page!
Before writing your summary, make sure to determine who you want your audience to be. Going on about your experience as a Disney princess cosplay actress will do little when seeking a job at the cuckoo clock factory.
Utilize Your Personal Brand
Avoid a flub like that and get home before the stroke of twelve by first asking, “What types of jobs do I want to attract and whattypes of people do I want to be interested in my profile?”
Make them fall in love with you! Utilize the personal brand you’ve been creating since the first free webinar and Week 1 to make a stunning summary that’ll break the spell before it’s even cast.
Writing Time!
Your LinkedIn Summary should come out to about three short paragraphs:
1 The first paragraph should be your purpose/expanded elevator pitch.
Use this space to give meaning to why you are in your career as well as what you do!
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.
1 The first paragraph should be your purpose/expanded elevator pitch.
Use this space to give meaning to why you are in your career as well as what you do!
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!
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.
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!
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.
3 The third paragraph is about you.
This can be more personal! You can expand on your characteristics as a Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming person or not, it’s up to you, but this is where you make people fall in love with you as a person.
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 a 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!
3 The third paragraph is about you.
This can be more personal! You can expand on your characteristics as a Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming person or not, it’s up to you, but this is where you make people fall in love with you as a person.
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 a 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!
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].”
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].”
Example Title
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 are Some Examples:
“As a transgender man, my pronouns are he/him/his. I cook for the county soup kitchen, make a mean of twenty batches per day, and am a soup-through-straw sort of guy. If you want to swap cauldrons or billow each other’s flames, connect with me on LinkedIn!”
“As a Transgender woman, I’m the LGBTQ diversity that your team has probably been missing! I understand both sides of the coin since I have had experience living as a man and now a woman. I’m adaptable, open, and an amazing problem solver who uses my unique perspective to help others in the inclusion of those outside their community. To learn about my expertise, please connect with me on LinkedIn!”
“As a Gender Fluid individual, my pronouns are them and they. I volunteer for the Urban Rest Stop, make a mean lasagna, and am an avid dog parent. If you would like to trade lasagna recipes, please feel free to connect with me here on LinkedIn!”
“As a lifelong gamer, I love to go to championship gaming competitions to strut my stuff, paddle board 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!”
Don't Forget Those Keywords!
Increasing your search ranking is so important if you are wanting to attract LGBTQA to your profile. Search rankings are national and global which is a huge advantage for LGBTQA employees. As an LGBTQA employee, you can climb higher in the search ranking and show up more for employers around the globe. Search terms are also an opportunity to expand knowledge of your gender expression across the web!
And if you don’t, that’s fine too. 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.
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.
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.
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.
2Click on Add Profile Section, and then in the dropdown under About, click the plus sign next to Summary.
You may have to expand the About section by clicking on it to reveal the Summary option!
2Click on Add Profile Section, and then in the dropdown under About, click the plus sign next to Summary.
You may have to expand the About section by clicking on it to reveal the Summary option!
3In the window that pops up, copy and paste your whole summary into the text field.
3In the window that pops up, copy and paste your whole summary into the text field.
4Click Save
4Click Save
5Check out your sweet new summary!
It’ll now be on your profile near the top!
5Check out your sweet new summary!
It’ll now be on your profile near the top!
Check out the next episode on more info about how to present your experience. This is getting really exciting! See you there.