The LinkedIn summary section is where you can say anything you want about yourself. So naturally you might wonder – What do I write there? If every other section on the profile has an important purpose, what should you put in the free space?

The short answer is to use the summary section to focus on elements of your profile and summarize who you are as a complete person. You might highlight specific past experiences or say more about yourself outside of work. Give anyone looking at your profile a good idea of what you’ve done without the small details of other sections.

Components of a great LinkedIn summary

Try to think of your summary section as a sort of cover letter that goes out to everyone. A normal cover letter should be newly written for each different job you apply for. Your summary section will be slightly more general in scope.

A perfect summary section sells you as an employee, even when you’re not actively seeking a new job. Remember that LinkedIn is also where people build their professional network. Consider who you want looking at your profile and speak to them.

To write a great LinkedIn summary, let’s break down the section into pieces. We believe there are five essential parts of a summary, and three tips on writing the section to get read and see results.

The first two lines

When someone views your profile, LinkedIn only shows them the first two lines of your summary section. To see the rest they must click the ‘Show More’ button. Like a trailer for a movie or an elevator pitch for a business, you need to give them a strong reason to keep reading.

“I’ve been an X for Y years and my specialties are Z.” “I recently graduated from X with a Y degree and now I want to become a Z.” “The most important thing in the world to me is X and I’m looking to join the Y industry within Z years.”

Let people know who you are in the least amount of words. Going for too long might bore them, so hit them with a dramatic hook and reel them in with supporting info.

Experience

A great LinkedIn summary section lists all the most impressive things you’ve done in your current or past roles. These key achievements should include numbers if possible. If you don’t have previous experience, you can instead talk about education, activities and what brought you here.

“I improved X by Y% in under Z months.” “My team at X company achieved Y results when we found the Z method to be effective.” “I grew up loving to X, so I went to Y college for a Z degree.”

Keep in mind that this section should be loose and flowing, the same as if you were talking in person to someone. The work history section below on your profile will then have a stronger contrast in style.

Key skills

Only bring up the most important skills to you, since your other skills will go in their own section below. Mention skills in the summary section because they define you, or because they’re the most relevant to a job you want.

When possible, tie a skill you gained to an achievement or experience. But otherwise, start a new paragraph to focus on a few specific hard and soft skills that have been relevant to your roles and goals.

“My skill at X helped us achieve Y gains when Z happened.” “I am well-known at my company for doing X well, which would allow me to quickly do Y as a Z.” “We had to do X when I was doing Y and that taught me the importance of Z.”

One trick when picking skills is to visit the pages of people you aspire to be like or job postings you would want to have. When a lot of them share a skill you could show in yourself, try to include that in your summary.

Portfolio

Your LinkedIn summary section allows you to attach a small number of links, Slideshare documents, images, and more. So use part of the section to show examples of past work.

This is especially important for workers in more visual roles, such as graphic designers. But you might need to check the result on other browsers or devices. A preview image can show up in different ways depending on the size or detail.

“Last year we created this image for our X campaign and saw Y% increase in Z.” “To see more of my work and support my creative endeavors, follow this link below.”

Goals

Finally, the summary section is a great place to put those big professional goals you have for yourself as an employee. Describe specific goals, such as things you want to achieve within a number of years. Or talk about what drives you and how you want to help others.

“My hope is that in X years, I will be applying my knowledge in the field of Y to achieve great things for company Z.” “I want to bring X to Y, which will help people by giving them Z.” “I value X in the Y field and see myself as a future leader in forming Z.”

Dreams and aspirations are a great way to tell people what you would be like to spend time with. If they can imagine working alongside you, you’re that much closer to getting a job.

Tips for optimising your summary

Once you’ve nailed the content, it’s time to optimize it! Here are some top tips for keeping your readers engaged.

Make it easy to read

Most important for your LinkedIn summary section is to make everything easy to read. That means no distracting formatting choices like random bold text or underlining everything even when it’s not a link. Don’t make your section one big block of eye-straining text either.

Use paragraph breaks to separate ideas into natural groups with a related idea or tone. Then break up that rhythm with a short bullet list in the middle of your summary. One or two professional emojis around the headline of a sub-section can add color and emotion.

“ <> Professional Achievements <> ” “ – Skills That Define Me – ”

Longer isn’t always better

The limit of a LinkedIn summary section is 2000 characters, but you should never try to reach that limit with nothing interesting to say. Be as succinct as you are comprehensive.

After writing your summary section, go back and look for anything that just sounds like bragging. Presumably you’ll be hired to work as a team. Present yourself as a team player by erasing those bits.

Your summary section should be updated throughout your life. You’ll want to add more achievements and skills someday, so leave yourself the room.

A solid Call To Action

Since the summary section is where you sell yourself as a potential employee or consultant, don’t forget to include some clear calls to action throughout. Let people know how they can reach you, or what you’re looking for. This is also a great opportunity for creating or promoting a personal brand.

For example, if a LinkedIn recruiter was looking to generate some leads, they would ask people to contact them or provide a website where they can take that information. “Ready to get better quality candidates? Visit our LinkedIn page and click Contact!”

If a consultant or a coach wanted to pull in more business, they might remind people of what they do best. “Hire us to make your business work faster!”