Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out with a Personal Touch

What you’ll get

You will learn how to rewrite your LinkedIn headline and ‘About’ section to be more engaging and personal, making recruiters more likely to reach out. This approach works by being specific enough to be memorable and relatable, rather than using generic professional jargon.

Tools you need

• LinkedIn (freemium): The professional networking platform where you will edit your profile.

Steps

1. Rewrite your headline: Instead of listing job titles and skills, write a short, descriptive sentence that explains the impact you’ve made or the value you bring. For example, change “Senior Marketing Specialist | Digital Strategy | Content Development” to something like “Helped 3 brands go from invisible to actually interesting online. Now I want to do it for you.”

   • What to do: Go to your LinkedIn profile, click the ‘Edit profile’ button (often a pencil icon), and change the text in the headline field.
   • What you should see: Your new headline should appear prominently at the top of your profile, below your name.

2. Add a personal story to your ‘About’ section: Include a brief anecdote about a past project, perhaps one where you made a mistake early in your career and what you learned from it. This makes you seem more authentic.

   • What to do: In the ‘Edit profile’ mode, find the ‘About’ section and click to edit it. Add your story in a few sentences.
   • What you should see: The new text should appear in your ‘About’ summary on your profile.

3. Review and save: Ensure your changes sound like you and are not overly quirky or too formal. Save your profile updates.

   • What to do: Click the ‘Save’ button on your profile edit page.
   • What you should see: Your profile will refresh with the updated headline and ‘About’ section.

Original source

This workflow is inspired by a Reddit post by user /u/BloodySheriff12, who shared their experience of transforming their LinkedIn profile from generic to engaging by using more personal and specific language, which led to increased recruiter interest.

Notes & variations

• Free-tier alternative: LinkedIn’s free tier is fully sufficient for editing your profile. No paid features are needed.
• Common mistake: Avoid being too generic or too quirky. The goal is to sound like a real person with specific skills, not like a template or someone trying too hard to be unique.
• Tip for better results: Tailor your headline and ‘About’ section to your specific industry. If personality and communication are key in your field, this approach is more likely to be effective. Aim for a balance that sounds professional yet conversational.