The perfect headline arouses curiosity while also telling readers just enough to give them an inkling about what’s going on – news sites do it, Buzzfeed does it and so should you on LinkedIn! Much like any news headline (sensational or otherwise), your LinkedIn headline is the first piece of insight that visitors, business connections and/or potential recruiters will learn about you, so you should definitely dress it up to establish yourself as a valuable prospect and/or connection. With summer being a solid time to shake up your career, is your LinkedIn profile up to snuff? Join Wordsmith to find out how!
LinkedIn headlines 101
It’s important to make your profile appealing to the eye, otherwise visitors would be unmotivated to scroll any further! However, some people forget to include value in their headline:
“Hi, welcome to my profile!”
Reminiscent of blog introductions from the ancient MySpace and Xanga era, such headlines tell visitors nothing about who you are or what they can get out of reading your profile.
“A LinkedIn headline should describe what you do, why someone should connect with you, and how you can help them,” explains Tristen Taylor of HubSpot. Considering that LinkedIn headlines have a 220 character limit (or around 30-40 words), you may think that you have a lot of wiggle room to fit all those requirements… but long-winded headlines are quite the deterrent. How can we balance our headlines to be both attractive and concise at the same time?
Be specific, but not too specific
From Taylor’s experience, using language and titles that are too jargony or specific to an industry will turn away prospects who aren’t familiar with the terminology – for example, how would you react upon seeing AM, Accounts Executive or Portfolio Specialist as a title?
If you aren’t familiar with accounts, you might not know AM stands for “Accounts Manager”. It also doesn’t help that we can’t discern what industry is involved. A “Portfolio Specialist” might suggest investments, but what kind? Bonds? Securities? Real estate? It’s better to just directly specify the role and industry to avoid confusion!
If you want to know what kind of titles you should definitely avoid, here are a few of the most bizarre titles that Novorésumé has encountered:
1. Chief Geek
2. Head Unicorn Wrangler
3. Community Wizard
4. Social Visionary
5. Dream Alchemist
These titles are fancy, but do they tell you anything about what the job involves? Here are what the actual jobs are:
1. Chief Geek — CTO (chief technology officer)
2. Head Unicorn Wrangler — CTO
3. Community Wizard — Community Manager
4. Social Visionary — Social Media Executive
5. Dream Alchemist — Head of Creative
It’s fine to use goofy titles when you are communicating within your company, but you need to remember that LinkedIn is a public space. You can’t expect people to automatically know what Chief Geek means… they might even dismiss you as childish (or possibly unhinged)!
“As a bonus, including ‘sales’ in your headline (or the widely accepted general term for your position for that matter) will also make it easier for prospects to find you,” adds Taylor. “People researching your product are more likely to click on your profile if they can tell you’re a salesperson rather than a random employee.”
What’s in it for them?
Everyone knows that the point of LinkedIn is to make connections and/or seek work opportunities, but what makes your profile worth looking at compared to the millions of other profiles available? In addition to making yourself stand out, you need to deliver value for your visitors – or in other words, explain what you can do for them – which is why Taylor recommends the tried-and-true “helping X do Y” formula in your headline.
Assuming we are an Accounts Manager in advertising, a simple headline would be:
“Accounts Manager at A&X advertising co., helping brands stand out from the crowd”
Not perfect, but it’s a decent start!
Skip the hyperbole
Hyperbole is defined as exaggerated statements or claims that are not meant to be taken literally – in the case of LinkedIn headlines, it’s usually when the writer puffs themselves up too much. You may think (or even be) an “expert” or “top-performer”, but Taylor points out that using such descriptors are an automatic turn off for recruiters and will make you appear arrogant.
Instead of claiming to be the best at something, it’s better to demonstrate why you are good at what you do. Customer success stories are a great way to do so! “Lines like ‘helped an online bicycle retailer increase sales by 30%’ or “on average, clients reduced support tickets by half’ stand on their own without any commentary – and are far more impressive as a result,” Taylor explains.
Crank up those keywords
Keywords are typically the first thing a recruiter looks for, but you need to be smart about using them. Like with articles, shoving a list of keywords into your headline is great for SEO robots, but it’s visually unappetising for people. As to what you should use for your keywords, Taylor provides a handy list of queries recruiters use in their search:
· Job position and experience
· Location
· Skills and certificates
· Services or products you offer
· Name of your degree and field of study
· General keywords related to your industry, field or expertise
You don’t have to include everything, but do try to include the ones you think are most relevant.
Furthermore, unlike news headlines, LinkedIn headlines don’t always need to be full sentences. In fact, using dividers like |(pipe symbol) or – (em/en dashes) are a great way to space out keywords! Here are a few examples where we put everything together:
· Accounts Manager at A&X | Hong Kong | Bridging the gap between client and advertising
· A&X Accounts Manager – Dealing with advertising agencies doesn’t always have to be hard!
· Accounts Manager | A&X Hong Kong | Putting clients first in advertising | Primary liaison between A&X and international clients like Wudbeiser Beer and Coca Dola
Some people may treat headlines as an afterthought – especially if they aren’t actively looking for a new job – but that would be a mistake. Clients, business acquaintances, colleagues and head hunters alike (both current and prospective) use LinkedIn as a scouting tool. If your profile gives off lackadaisical vibes, clients probably won’t think too highly of you… which can cause immediate repercussions when you do decide to make a business proposal or connection. As novelist Franz Kafka once said, “better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have.”