LinkedIn Tips Part 1 - The Headline

Now that most of you (hopefully) have been convinced to create a LinkedIn profile, we will be begin our series of LinkedIn tips by focusing on making your "headline" great. This is an appropriate way to begin the series because the headline is the first thing that you see after a person's name when you search them on LinkedIn. That being said, it is extremely important to optimize this part of your profile to make the best first impression possible.


When doing research for this article we found that there are some great postings online on the DOs and DON'Ts of the LinkedIn headline. The sources are as follows:

• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140611214034-7483005-please-change-your-linkedin-headline-now-here-s-why-and-how
• http://blog.firebrandtalent.com/2015/04/how-to-write-the-best-linkedin-headline-and-why-it-matters/

DOs:

As Pete Leibman writes in his article, there is a 4-step process that you should use when coming up with a headline.

1. Say WHAT you are.
2. Say WHO you help.
3. Say WHY you make their life/work better.
4. Give PROOF that you are credible.

Some other tips that are given are to put in words that people may search for with regard to your position or skills (this headline will be included in search algorithms). One way you can do this is simply to compare your headline to other people in your industry. (Often times people will separate their skills/qualitites using vertical bars | located above the enter button).You can also use Google Trends to see what other people are commonly searching for.

DON'Ts:

1. Don't make your headline cheesy with things like "superstar."
2. Don't make your headline confusing. Can I immediately tell what you do or offer?
3. Don't make yourself sound desperate - people may devalue you if you include unemployment.

All in all, it is extremely valuable to have your headline make you stand out for the right reasons. We strongly recommend readers to follow the links provided above or google for further investigation or clarification on headline optimization.