Your profile summary can decide your fate
The Broncos have been on a winning spree: they won in September, they won in October. But I just saw a recent headline that screamed that ‘November is the month that will determine the Broncos’ fate’. That was about the Broncos. What will determine your fate? The fate line that crosses your palm? The kind of people you shake hands with? I don’t think so. I think it is what you write with your hands that decides your fate. The way you write your LinkedIn profile summary, that is. It is this that hirers will read much before they meet you, even before they read the other details in your profile, and this is what will create their first impression of you. So, goes without saying that you need to pay special attention to your summary that forms part of your LinkedIn profile.
What should go into your summary? Everything that you want your hirers to know about you. What do you do? Are you a programmer, a marketer, an accountant? Your background. All your areas of work. Mentioning the number of years of work will help put things in perspective. Next, write what have been your career accomplishments: maybe you have done some pioneering work in your industry, or have been recognized by your industry or trade association. You may feel like you are bragging, but you are not. You are just stating facts. If you don’t tell, who will? Hirers generally face the problem of plenty. They see hundreds of profiles and shortlisting can be difficult. It is your accomplishments that can set you apart from the crowd and give a compelling reason to the hirer to shortlist and hire you. Another thing that can set your profile apart is including links to your work, say a classy presentation you made at a conference that you have posted online.
Also mention the kind of professional work that inspires you, and if your hobbies are the kind that can create a good impression, mention them as well. This will make the hirer know what makes you tick. And do not forget the 3 golden words in the online world: keywords, keywords and keywords. You might do everything perfectly, but if you miss out on the keywords that characterize your work, be sure that your profile will never be found by hiring companies and your career will flounder.
It is a good practice to include your email in your summary. This is because if the hirer likes your summary, he may want to contact you immediately. Also include links to other places where you have an online presence on a professional basis to validate your profile. And finally, perform a spell check and present your summary in a format that creates the desired effect.
Never ever underestimate the power of your profile summary. Remember, you are the master of your fate and you can decide its direction by the manner in which you write your profile summary.
