Creating an Effective LinkedIn Headline

Why your headline is important

For most young professionals on LinkedIn, their headline reads something like "Student at XYZ University" or "Position at ABC Company." But your headline is one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn profile. The words you use in it are what allows the LinkedIn's algorithm to place your profile as an option when recruiters, or hiring managers or anyone else is searching on the platform. So it's important to choose them strategically!

What your headline should achieve

Whether you're seeking a new position or just trying to solidify your professional brand, there are 2 things your headline should do:

1. Showcase you, your value and/or your services

2. Use keywords to ensure your profile comes up in searches

LinkedIn gives you 120 characters to set yourself apart. Be sure you use the space effectively. Do not waste characters on phrases like "Seeking Opportunities" or "Currently Unemployed."

Picking relevant keywords

Believe it or not, your headline doesn't have to feature the exact title of your current position or even feature your current position at all. Unlike a resume, your LinkedIn profile should provide a holistic view of your skills, wins and/or interest. Keywords are a great way to do this! A keyword could be a job title, industry, or hard skill, ie:

Digital Marketing Manager | Ad Sales | Saas Apps

Data Science | Health Care

Using keywords will also help recruiters and hiring managers find your profile.

Creating a value proposition

Your value proposition is a statement that highlights your "value" and summarizes why someone (in this case a recruiter or hiring manager) would choose you. It should include keyword(s), a result, and metrics if applicable. Adding those to your keywords, you'd get something like:

Digital Marketing Manager | Ad Sales | Saas Apps | Driving Sales to 100k Users in 8 Months

If you're a student or early professional, it's ok to forego a value proposition in your headline!

Highlighting your brand

If you are an entrepreneur or thought leader you may want to use your headline to create a unique value proposition that focuses on the services or ideas that you want to highlight, for example:

I Help People Land Six-Figure Careers Without Applying Online - Need Help With Your Job Search? Let's Connect

You can still include keywords that your audience may be searching for if you have a small amount of connections.

Headline formats you can use

There isn't just one way to format your headline on LinkedIn. Ultimately what you want to convey or highlight, or what level of your career you're in can determine what format you utilize.

For example, if you're a student you may want to highlight some courses/areas of study, organizational positions, etc:

Public Relations Coordinator, BSU | LinkedIn Campus Editor | Diversity Co-Chair, CSO

Comp Sci Student - May '21 | Software Engineer | Java | Full Stack | Data Analyst

Headline formats you can use

Here are some other examples of great headline formats you can try:

Social Media Editor - Content & Digital Strategy | Helping Brands Connect With People

B2B Inside Sales Rep | Digital Ad Manager | 2 Years Experience Managing 6-figure Ad Budgets

Aspiring Java Software Developer | Software Engineering | JavaScript and Python |

Organization Transformation | Learning Development | Change Agent | Human Capital

The LinkedIn Headline Dont's

While you can get creative with your headline, you only have 120 characters (spaces included) to grab your intended audience's attention. So here is a list of bad strategies:

• Don't waste space with phrases like "Seeking New Opportunities" when you could highlight yourself for recruiters instead; Instead indicate that you are "Open to Work" on your profile

• Don't use your company-specific title if there are more optimized keywords you can use to describe your role

• Don't use fluff words or phrases like "Outside-The-Box-Thinker," "Problem Solver," "Visionary," etc - be specific about your skills, accomplishments and areas of interest

• Don't use long/verbose statements to explain what you do - focus on hard skills, industry terms and keywords, and quantifiable results

Your headline is your opportunity to work with the LinkedIn algorithm to showcase your skills, wins and value. Make the most of it!