How to Write a Compelling LinkedIn Headline

We have almost made it through February! Is anyone else excited by this?! I am a winter girl, and I don't mind dark, cold days, but even I have reached my limit by February. Here's to lighter and warmer days ahead.?

Now, onto business. Today we're talking all about your LinkedIn Headline. And if you're sleeping on your LinkedIn profile, I urge you to wake up and get cracking because a?strong LinkedIn profile is just as important as a good resume. Today’s job market is tough, and you need more than a good resume to stand out from other job seekers.?

Imagine there are two candidates equally qualified for the job. One job seeker has a great resume, the other job seeker has a great resume, a strong LinkedIn profile, AND they’re active on LinkedIn and sharing their expertise - who do you think is more likely to be called for an interview??

Not only does a strong LinkedIn profile help you get a job, but it’s also excellent for your personal brand, career development, and job opportunities down the road. Be invested in your LinkedIn profile whether you are a job seeker or happily employed.?

Your LinkedIn Headline is the most important part of your profile. It’s the first thing people see before they click “see more” to access the rest of your profile. Every time you leave a comment or interact with someone on LinkedIn, they see your Headline.

Well, they actually see the first 50 characters of your Headline - so those are the most important. Overall, you get 220 characters in your Headline and you want to make every character count.??

WRITE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE FOR THE JOB YOU WANT, NOT THE JOB YOU HAVE

When you’re writing about your professional experience, put it through the lens of the job you want to do next. Look at the job descriptions that excite you - what keywords and key phrases do you see repeatedly? That’s the content to work into your LinkedIn profile. (More on that later.)?

As for your Headline, don’t include your current job title. I have two exceptions to this rule: 1) Your current job title is the same job title you want in the future, or 2) You work for an impressive and well-known company (think Apple, Amazon, Google, etc…).?

LINKEDIN HEADLINE TEMPLATE

Here’s the closest I’ve come to a magical LinkedIn Headline formula:?

IDEAL JOB TITLE | KEYWORD | KEYWORD | KEYWORD | I HELP ACHIEVE BY DOING __.?

EXAMPLES:

Content Marketing | SEO | Data Analysis | Graphic Design | Sales Funnels | I help small businesses gain new customers and higher sales using targeted social media marketing

You can make this example stronger by adding numbers that illustrate your impact:?

Content Marketing | SEO | Data Analysis | Graphic Design | Sales Funnels | I help small businesses increase customers 15% and gross sales 20% using targeted social media marketing

Here’s another example that expands on the Headline template:

Award-winning Executive Assistant | Strategy | Project Management | Organizational pro with 10 years’ experience working for Fortune 500 (C-suite) executives. I focus on your office so you can focus on your business.

Let’s break it down …

IDEAL JOB TITLE?

You can list a specific job title or the type of work you do (like “Content Marketing” in the example above). If you are training for your new job title and don’t feel comfortable calling yourself that yet, you can use words like “Aspiring,” “Future,” “Seeking opportunities in…”??

1. “Aspiring Financial Analyst”?
2. “Future Creative Director”
3. “Emerging Software Engineer”?
4. “Exploring Data Analysis Roles”
5. “Passionate about Project Management”
6. “Seeking opportunities in the Hospitality and Tourism industry”

If you’re changing industries, highlight a previous role that uses similar skills and keywords:

1. “Project Manager and Aspiring Product Manager”
2. “Business Development | Future Sales Director”

You could also highlight your ideal job title, industry, and area(s) of focus:

1. “Aspiring Manager in the high-end retail market with a focus on customer retention”?

KEYWORDS

As I mentioned earlier in this email, go through the job descriptions that interest you and pull out the keywords and key phrases. Look for anything that describes the skills needed on the job, the type of person they are looking for, and the kind of results they want from someone in that job.?

Make a list of these keywords and key phrases and notice which ones appear most often - that’s what you build into your LinkedIn profile. Pick the top three most popular keywords and use them in your Headline.

I HELP ACHIEVE BY DOING __

This is where you speak directly to your target employers’ needs. Study those job descriptions - what do your target employers want? How does your work help make that happen??

I HELP __: Your target employers - what kind of companies or industries interest you??

ACHIEVE __: What do your target employers want to achieve? How do you help them achieve it??

BY DOING __: What do you do that helps you achieve your target employers’ needs??

Revisit the sample Headlines at the top of this email. Look at the last sentences:

• I help small businesses increase customers 15% and gross sales 20% using targeted social media marketing
• I focus on your office so you can focus on your business

Now THAT’S how you get a hiring manager’s attention!?

KEEP YOUR HEADLINE FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO DO NEXT

You don’t have to include all of your experience in your LinkedIn Headline if it’s not relevant to your next role or it doesn't speak to your target employer. For example, look at my LinkedIn Headline:?

I have an MBA, I’m an author, I’m a college professor, I’ve owned several businesses, and I used to be a business coach. But NONE of that is listed in my LinkedIn Headline. Why? Because it’s not relevant to the job I want or my target employers.?

In this case, I want to continue being a career coach and you guys are my target employers - you’re my potential clients! Do you care that I have all of that previous experience or do you care that I can get you a job?

So even though I’m proud of my background, it’s not relevant to what I’m doing today and therefore I don’t mention it in my Headline. Treat your LinkedIn Headline the same way. (You can always talk about your past experience later in your profile).?

To your success,

- Emily

PS: Are we connected on LinkedIn ? Pop by and say hello!?

PPS: Do you want 1:1 coaching (perhaps to work on your LinkedIn profile)??Click here to make an appointment .

Thanks for reading this newsletter. I share practical career advice about the job search, personal branding, networking, LinkedIn, and building career confidence. The job search sucks. Let me help you make it a little easier.

To receive the newsletter over email, sign up on my website.

To receive the newsletter over LinkedIn, click here to subscribe.

EMILY WORDEN is a certified professional career coach helping driven job seekers get hired, get paid, and get more confident in their personal and professional lives. She helps mid-career professionals with career transitions, whether they want to move into a new industry or return to work after a career pause. Emily created a proven five-step method to help people find jobs they love for more money than they were expecting - the typical client receives a job offer in three months with a 20% pay increase. Kick your career in gear at www.emilyworden.com .