Check out the 6 best tips for creating a good LinkedIn summary to attract recruiters and potential business partners.
Creating a good LinkedIn summary is one of the most important steps for anyone looking to stand out on the platform and attract professional opportunities.
However, it’s common for people to have doubts about how to start, which information to emphasize, and even what tone of voice to use so that the text is both attractive and professional.
Therefore, we have prepared this article to assist with these questions and present essential tips so that you can build your LinkedIn summary in the best possible way, including practical application examples. Follow below.
Why the LinkedIn summary is important
Before thinking about a summary for LinkedIn it is essential to understand the reason for its existence and why it is a key part of your profile.
Just like in a traditional resume, the summary serves as your initial presentation to recruiters, professional colleagues, clients, and potential business partners.
Thus, unlike other sections of the profile such as Experience and Education, the About section allows you to describe yourself more personally and contextualize your skills, values, and motivations.
In other words, this is the first impression many people will have of you.
Furthermore, a good summary tends to be a differential in LinkedIn ranking, as the platform uses keywords and relevance algorithms to suggest profiles to recruiters and companies. Therefore, doing an excellent job on the text is essential.
Tips for creating your LinkedIn summary
Now that you know the importance of creating a good LinkedIn summary, it’s time to check out the best tips for developing your introduction text. Let’s go.
1. Define the tone and writing style
First, let’s talk about the tone and writing style of your summary, which will depend on your goals as well as the culture of the area or company in which you work or wish to work.
Therefore, before defining the right tone, always assess issues such as:
- Audience knowledge if your area is more traditional, like law, a more formal tone is likely appropriate. However, if you work in creative or technology sectors, you might consider a more relaxed but still professional style.
- Authenticity nothing turns off a reader more than a text that seems copied or doesn’t truly represent who you are. Thus, try to demonstrate your personality, your values, and your way of communicating. After all, a personal touch makes your summary more human.
- Balance between technical and accessible language use specific terms from your area but don’t overdo the jargon. Remember that not all recruiters or clients may have the same technical knowledge.
- Consistency with the rest of the profile finally, if you have a writing style in posts or articles published on LinkedIn, try to maintain the same line in the summary for consistency in your personal brand.
2. Know the ideal structure for a good LinkedIn summary
Many people are unsure how to start writing the LinkedIn summary. That’s why we have selected some fundamental elements below to help shape the text.
Opening model: how to capture attention in the first few lines
The first two or three lines are very important because LinkedIn only displays a preview of your summary.
Thus, if the reader needs to click on “see more” to read the full text, it is essential that the beginning is engaging. Therefore, a good practice is to include
- a sentence that summarizes who you are or what you do,
- a question that arouses curiosity,
- or a notable achievement, for example: Responsible for increasing online sales of an e-commerce startup by 200%.
Check out an example of an opening below:
“Digital marketing professional passionate about growth and storytelling strategies, with experience in campaigns that generated over R$1 million in sales for mid-sized companies.”
Main information to be highlighted
After a good opening, you can proceed with the following information.
- Education mention the course and institution but without going into too much detail.
- Relevant experiences focus on the areas most related to your current goal.
- Achievements mention relevant results and goals achieved that illustrate your skills.
- Career interests explain what kind of projects or positions you would like to work in the future, clearly stating where you want to go.
Inviting closure: include a call to action
Then finish the text in a way that encourages the reader to contact you or learn more about you..
In other words, it can be an invitation for a conversation, a connection request, or something that keeps the dialogue open. See an example of a closing:
“If you’re looking for someone to boost your marketing campaigns, get in touch. I’ll be happy to discuss personalized strategies for your business!”
Recommended text length
Furthermore, also consider the text length. LinkedIn allows a considerable number of characters, but that doesn’t mean you should use them all.
On average, writing between 300 and 500 words is usually sufficient. After all, the idea is not to make the text tiresome and keep the reader engaged from start to finish.
Use of paragraph breaks, topics, or bullet points
To facilitate reading, it is also essential to structure the text in small blocks or topics.
Therefore, use short paragraphs, bullet points, or markers to highlight the main skills and achievements..
3. Highlight results and achievements
Speaking of which, one of the most relevant parts of any LinkedIn summary is the achievements and results you have obtained throughout your career.
It’s not enough to just say, “I have experience in team management.” It’s much more effective to show a number or a concrete example. Therefore,
- Use quantitative data whenever possible, such as percentage increase in sales, savings generated, number of people led, website traffic growth, among others.
- Tell short stories with storytelling, instead of just listing facts, quickly explain the context and how you acted to achieve a particular result.
Check out a practical example.
“During my experience at company X, I implemented an SEO strategy that increased organic website traffic by 70% in less than six months, generating 30% more qualified leads for the sales team.”
This way, the reader can clearly understand the value you can generate for the organization or project.
4. Use keywords in the summary
As we mentioned earlier, the summary on LinkedIn is fundamental for the ranking of your personal page within the platform.
Therefore, including the right keywords can make all the difference for recruiters and potential clients to find you. Thus, it is essential
- to research relevant terms in your area, such as digital marketing, software development, project management, among others.
- Avoid exaggerations inserting too many keywords without context can make the text mechanical and unappealing.
- Be strategic mention important skills and competencies right at the beginning of the summary, but also repeat them naturally throughout the text.
Remember also that keywords are not limited to technical skills.
In this way, if you use specific methodologies in your work, such as Scrum, Kanban, or Design Thinking, it’s worth including them in the About section.
5. Align the text with your career goals
The summary on LinkedIn should reflect not only what you have done in the past but also where you want to go.
For example, if you are in a career transition, it’s important to use this space to explain what motivates this change and what you intend to do in the new sector. With this,
- Be clear about your aspirations mention the type of position you are seeking or the area you want to grow in.
- Show a connection between the past and the future explain how your previous experiences can add value in the area you wish to work.
- Adapt the vocabulary use terms related to your new goal so that the text reflects your motivation and can be found by recruiters looking for this profile.
An example of text focused on career transition is:
“During my years as a Marketing Analyst, I discovered a strong affinity for content strategies focused on storytelling. I am now seeking opportunities in companies that want to strengthen their relationship with their audience through authentic and well-structured narratives. My goal is to combine my experience with digital campaigns and my passion for content creation, contributing to brand growth and engagement.”
6. Avoid the most common mistakes
Finally, it is essential to be aware of common mistakes when creating a LinkedIn summary and avoid them as much as possible. The main ones are:
- Very generic text phrases like “I am a dedicated, responsible, and committed professional” can sound empty. Therefore, show concrete evidence that proves these qualities.
- Focus only on technical skills don’t forget to mention your personality, values, and characteristics that go beyond what’s in a certificate or diploma.
- Absence of an inviting closure if you don’t tell the reader what you would like them to do—connect, send a message, or access your portfolio, you may miss valuable contact opportunities.
- Excessive text length a very long summary tends to alienate the reader. Therefore, set priorities and use short paragraphs.
- Lack of spelling and grammatical revision Portuguese errors give an impression of carelessness. So, before publishing, revise, and if possible, ask someone to read and check if everything makes sense.
Having a good LinkedIn summary is a way to highlight your skills, differentiators, and goals in a more personal way, going beyond what just the experience history can show.
Therefore, whether you are a beginner on the platform or someone looking to improve your current profile, it is worth investing time in creating a text that reflects your personality while clearly highlighting your competencies and aspirations.
But remember, there is no magic formula; the best summary is the one that truly communicates who you are and the value you can offer.
Did you like the tips we selected to help write the About section of your LinkedIn profile? Then also check out our post about LinkedIn Reports!
