linkedin summaries — make them personal

i was cruising through linkedin today when something caught my attention. it’s something that has bothered me for awhile, but today, i’m in the sort of mood that everything bothers me.

your linkedin summary.

what does that mean to you? is it my first impression to the rest of the social network? is it a professional, formal description of everything i’ve ever done? does anyone even read my summary?

the answer is yes to the latter. because i read them and i can tell you that i’m fed up with one particular trait that many have in common.

stop writing your linkedin summary in the third person.

what are you trying to evoke in your reader? do you want them to be inspired, excited, turned off, shocked, intrigued? through your summary, you should be conveying something. not just spam.

mind you, that reader doesn’t know you and is trying to get a sense for your style through a few sentences. the least you can do is give them an honest, forthright few sentences about what you’re all about.

that’s why i always tell people to use your authentic, first-person voice. give your audience (who’s genuinely interested in what excites you and what makes you tick) a story or a bulleted list of … what excites you and what makes you tick. be genuine.

i’m sick and tired of seeing so many linkedin summaries written in the same old, stale third-person voice that simply describes the professional’s awards and accomplishments. it makes it seem like you don’t have five minutes to write about your experience in your field. you do.

make your summary personal. make it fun. make it unique. make it different. make it you.

what makes you special? how can you make yourself stand out in the summary? what story can you tell about your journey through life thus far?

now, go do it.

sorry. 😅 every post in the 5-minute challenge may end a little abruptly. we apologize in advance for not completing our thoughts. this is just the nature of the challenge. we have exactly five minutes — no more, no less — to make an impact on the reader (YOU!).

we don’t have time to capitalize, spell correctly, or proofread. we write, save, and publish after 300 seconds. that’s it. simple.

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