Do you want more connections on LinkedIn? Do you wish to get more visitors to your profile? Do you have a terrific personal brand?
Well, there’s a simple hack you can do to increase your chances of getting seen and noticed on LinkedIn. All you have to do is update your LinkedIn headline.
You will notice that LinkedIn would designate a default headline once you sign up. LinkedIn automatically makes your headline your current job title and employer. Most people are satisfied with that and they don’t change it. And that is fine. But, it’s quite boring.
So, should you stick with the default headline or should you ditch it?
While the default headline is fine, I personally think you should ditch it.
But why?
I’ll give you an example. “Copywriter at Sysgen Philippines” is my default LinkedIn headline. That’s a fine headline. But how many LinkedIn users have “Copywriters at Company X” as their headline? There are many. So, how does my headline add value to my employability? Does it help me stand out?
Bottomline: Your LinkedIn headline should communicate more than what you do and where you work. It must also communicate your expertise, your field, and why you are special. It should be eye-catching.
But how do you that in a very brief LinkedIn headline? Here’s what we suggest.
1. Add your specialty.
For programmers, or in any other technical field for that matter, “Software Engineer” is pretty generic. Try adding the languages or technologies you use the most. For example, “Java and Rails Engineer” is more interesting than “Software Engineer”.
Other examples:
Default Headline: Project Manager
Better Headline: Project Manager with 10+ Years In Ecommerce
Default Headline: Freelance Writer
Better Headline: Personal Finance Freelance Writer
2. Add a job you want.
If you are fresh out of college, you don’t necessarily have to write “Fresh Graduate” or “X Graduate”, i.e. “Finance Graduate” or “Computer Science Graduate”, on your headline. Weave your future job in your headline. Also, even if you have a job, yet you want to be open to other opportunities in a different field, you may include a job title you wish to have in the future.
For example, a fresh graduate who wishes to work as a digital marketer may write “Digital Marketing Enthusiast” in their headline. I am a Copywriter but I also look forward to indulging in a more challenging work related to my current job, so I wrote “Copywriter and Content Marketing Enthusiast” in my LinkedIn Headline.
Using the job title of the future work you wish to have will enable your profile to show up in the searches recruiters and hiring managers make on LinkedIn. A fresh graduate using “Digital Marketing Enthusiast” will show up in “digital marketing” searches (he probably won’t if he used “Computer Science Graduate” as a headline, right?).
Other examples:
Default Headline: Computer Science Graduate at University of the Philippines
Better Headline: Future Android Developer, Future JAVA and Rails Engineer, Future iOS Developer, etc.
3. Weave in what you do.
Add the results of your work in your headline in order to highlight your professional value. For example, you are working as a Account Manager for Sysgen. Don’t leave your headline as is. You may write “Boosting Customer Service as Account Manager for Sysgen”.
4. And, include your accolades
Have you been featured in a popular media source or a top-authority website? Have you written something for a well-known blog? Have you been honored by an award-giving body recently? Include them in your LinkedIn headline for an instant credibility boost.
Here’s an example:
- “Carlos Palanca Awardee Writer”
- Digital Marketing Manager Featured in The Huffington Post
Do you have an effective LinkedIn headline? Tell us on Twitter so that we can round up the best in an article! Our Twitter Handle is @sysgenrecruit. You can also Tweet me @SlyeJoy. Ciao!