How To Write The Perfect LinkedIn Headline For Your Profile

If you have a LinkedIn account, you need to create a headline based on the current job title and company. You actually have a choice to stick with a default LinkedIn headline or show your creativity writing an eye-catchy one.

Which LinkedIn profile headline do you like better?

Web Developer at Jobscan

vs.

Web Developer at Jobscan | Full Stack Engineer | Back-End Developer | Java, HTML5

While all the users are offered 120 characters for a headline, some of them just waste this opportunity. However, there is plenty of room to include other details that make you stand out. In result, you appear in more search results and receive more job interview invitations.

Your LinkedIn headline is like a headline of the advertisement. It is meant to help the reader determine whether he wants to continue reading or not. The thing is if the LinkedIn user doesn’t create a headline himself, a Linkedin headline generator will default to his current job title. So, it is advisable to pay attention to your headline to use LinkedIn effectively and make it visible to as many viewers as possible.

Below are some tips on how to write your LinkedIn headline so that it makes a positive first impression on the recruiter.

A headline for Linkedin is one of the key elements of the user’s profile. This is the first thing the employer sees on the top of the profile page. When viewed by your recruiters, the LinkedIn headline can either draw their attention or turn them off.

In the headline of the Linkedin profile, only a job title and company can be mentioned. This may still be not enough for the recruiters. Besides these details, you need to explain what exactly you bring to the table, what are your strong skills, what makes you stand out from the crowd, etc.

How to Edit Your Headline on LinkedIn?

In order to edit your LinkedIn headline, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Me icon at the top of the LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click the View profile button.
3. Click the Edit icon in your profile.
4. In the Edit pop-up window, make the necessary changes in the Headline section.
5. Click the Save button.

LinkedIn Headline Components

A LinkedIn professional headline should basically consist of three parts. They should go in the following order:

Your role > Job title/company > Your unique value

Your role is an essential element of the LinkedIn headline. These are the keywords people will type in the LinkedIn search bar. The keywords influence the way search results are displayed. A user needs to know all the possible keywords people will be using when trying to find a professional with a suitable role.

You should not necessarily mention your position in the company you currently are working for. For example, if you work as a director of some department, you can eliminate the title “Director” focusing on the specialty or department. The point is that 120 characters should convey only the most relevant information.

When talking about job title and company, it shows the commitment to your current employer. When talking about an industry or area of expertise, it helps in getting more profile clicks and connection requests.

Your unique value is the third component which is often underestimated in the job search process. However, this is what makes an employee’s headline interesting to the recruiter. This can be a sentence that makes you stand out from the crowd. It communicates the value you create working for a particular company.

Writing your unique value may be a little bit of a challenge as it involves creativity. In case, you don’t know what is special about you, add something about what you have become known for. For example, mention a project you created, accomplished or participated in.

There probably are no perfect LinkedIn profile but a good headline in LinkedIn should showcase its creator. Good examples of headlines are transparent and compelling. There are various LinkedIn profile headline formulas. They can include catchy phrases like “The professional you have been looking for” or strong nouns like Innovator, Influencer.

A good headline can make your profile appear in more searches per month than before. The initial purpose of every LinkedIn headline is to:

• communicate value to the recruiter
• encourage him to read more
• appear in relevant searches.

What about the formula of the LinkedIn headline for graduates? Does it change? Basically, it doesn’t. However, students need to put into their headline a professional status and institution.

For example, “Student at the Cambridge University | Journalism | University Newspaper”.

As for your unique value section, students can write about volunteering, building a project, etc. If you are a student, you have no choice but to mention that you are looking for a job. Besides, you have no professional experience. You can put in a LinkedIn headline something like “Seeking Entry-Level Opportunity”. Do not forget about the roles for which you are qualified.

The Linkedin headline for students, unemployed or retired are similar. That is, they should not emphasize their current employment situation. Neither they are recommended to mention their previous place of work or position. If you are creating a LinkedIn headline for unemployed, it is important to focus on your professional skills, just as you usually do in your paper or online CV.

Top LinkedIn Headline Tips

LinkedIn is a great platform where hiring managers and recruiters can find employees with suitable skills. They do not always open every single LinkedIn profile but just look at the headline.

What does draw their attention most often? The more captivating your LinkedIn headline, the more likely you are to be invited to the job interview. To change a LinkedIn profile headline to find a good job, follow these simple and effective tips:

• Showcase your specialty and value proposition

It is not surprising that employers are looking for great workers. So, include in your LinkedIn headline something that makes you unique and excellent at your job. You may even be a successful employee and everybody will know about it but you will need to explain what you achieved at your current position. For example, you always exceed your monthly targets, you can deal with the hardest of customers, etc.

• Don’t be boring

While there are many LinkedIn headline formulas, some people include in their headline boring phrases. Every person is unique and there is probably no right formula. However, some formulas should be avoided in professional headlines at all costs. The most boring headline probably sounds “Unemployed and Looking for Work”. It can completely ruin a positive impression of a job candidate. It sounds desperate from the beginning, doesn’t it?

As you might notice, almost each of these great headlines includes Your unique value section. This is where your creativity comes into action. Instead of calling yourself an unemployed, be more specific. Fill out the headline section the following way: “Experienced digital marketing professional seeking new opportunities”. However, it still reveals almost nothing about your hard skills.

• Be specific

Remember that you need to stand out from the competition. Use strong, descriptive adjectives to describe your skills and area of expertise, designations, etc. The headline still has to be eye-catching, so don’t clutter it. Don’t mention every programming language you learned at university. 120 characters of your headline should be used to tell the hiring managers and recruiters what makes you great.

• Be creative

Those 120 characters are given to you to let you advertise yourself and catch the attention of recruiters. The best headlines are always creative. So, think outside the box, do some brainstorming, and come up with some unusual and extraordinary LinkedIn headline ideas. Remember to follow one rule – be careful. Excessive creativity, too much fun can turn some people off. Those someone maybe those who you would prefer to be your employers most.

Here are a few creative LinkedIn headlines examples:

• Know your audience

Perhaps, the most important tip is to think about who you want to attract to your profile. Design your headline accordingly. Type in what you want your viewers to know most of all.

• Ask for advice

Whenever you are struggling with writing your LinkedIn headline, contact recruiters. They usually like to give out advice and message the advice seekers back if the message was polite. Alternatively, you can simply find the LinkedIn group suiting your needs, join it and message the recruiters. Once, you got some advice from the recruiter, send him an invitation to connect so that you could constantly network on LinkedIn.

Good LinkedIn Headline Examples for Job Seekers

That is crucial to have some examples of good LinkedIn headlines to master your own headline. Use your headline to draw people’s attention to the rest of your profile.

So, below are some examples of professional LinkedIn headlines.

Data Analyst | Staffing and Recruiting | Connecting data brains and data sets that create economic opportunity around the world

Marketing  Professional | Marketing and Advertising | Bringing the world’s best creatives to play in New York

Enlightenening Speaker | Informative Writer | Dynamic Career Coach | LinkedIn Certified Recruiter | Staffing and Recruiting

If none of the tips mentioned above seem to be helpful, contact LinkedIn profile writing service UK to help you with the task.

Conclusion

When looking for a job, LinkedIn users often struggle with increasing their LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn profile headline is one of the most overlooked sections. It is a 120 characters section that can be used to communicate your value to the potential employer. It usually consists of three parts, namely, user’s role, job title/company, his unique value.

While most people underestimate the headline on the LinkedIn profile, it can be edited and perfected in many different ways. To put it simply, users are selling themselves and writing a good LinkedIn headline is one of the ways to do it effectively.

The point is LinkedIn fills out user’s headline section with his job title and employer. Not everybody knows that it is possible to overtake charge of the LinkedIn headline. Hence, users need to pay more attention to their LinkedIn headline.