How to Write a LinkedIn Summary That Gets Noticed (With Examples)
Your LinkedIn About section is the one place on your profile where you can explain, in your own words, what you do and why someone should contact you. Recruiters, clients and future colleagues read it, and LinkedIn search uses it too. This guide gives you a simple structure, examples and a checklist. If you want a first draft in seconds, try our free AI LinkedIn summary generator.
Why the About section matters
- It is the first block of free text visitors see after your headline.
- Only the first two or three lines are visible before “see more”, so the opening decides whether people keep reading.
- The words you use help your profile appear in searches for the skills and roles you mention.
A simple four-part structure
- Hook (1–2 sentences): what you do and for whom, said in a way that is specific to you.
- Experience and strengths (2–4 sentences): your background, the skills you are known for and the kind of problems you solve.
- Proof (1–2 sentences): one or two concrete results, ideally with numbers.
- Call to action (1 sentence): what you are open to and how to reach you.
That is usually 150 to 300 words, comfortably under the 2,600-character limit.
Strong vs. weak opening lines
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| “I am a passionate and results-driven professional.” | “I help mid-sized retailers turn their online stores into their best-performing branch.” |
| “Experienced accountant with excellent skills.” | “I keep small businesses out of tax trouble and show owners where their money really goes.” |
| “Software engineer looking for new challenges.” | “I build fast, accessible web apps and have shipped features used by over a million people.” |
The stronger versions name a specific audience and outcome. They could not be pasted into anyone else’s profile.
An example summary
“I help B2B software companies get found by the customers who need them. Over the past six years I have led SEO and content teams at two SaaS start-ups, building strategies around search intent, technical health and content people actually want to read. Most recently I grew organic traffic by 300% in twelve months and turned the blog into the company’s second-largest source of sales leads. I enjoy mentoring junior marketers and working closely with product and sales. I am open to senior content and growth roles in remote-first teams. Feel free to message me here.”
Writing tips
- Write in the first person. “I” sounds human; third person sounds like a press release.
- Use the words recruiters search for: job titles, tools, certifications and industries.
- Replace adjectives with evidence. Instead of “great communicator”, mention the training you ran or the audience you presented to.
- Keep paragraphs short. Two or three sentences each, with a blank line between them.
- Add a bit of personality. One line about what you enjoy or what drives you makes you memorable.
Common mistakes
- Copying your CV word for word.
- Writing a long list of buzzwords with no examples.
- Leaving it empty, which wastes the best space on your profile.
- Forgetting to update it after changing roles.
- Sharing private information such as a personal phone number or home address.
Checklist before you publish
- Does the first line say what you do and for whom?
- Is there at least one concrete result?
- Would a recruiter in your field recognise the keywords?
- Does it end by saying what you are open to?
- Have you read it out loud?
Using AI as a starting point
AI tools are good at producing a clean first draft and different tones. They do not know your best stories. Generate a draft with the AI LinkedIn summary generator, then replace anything generic with real details. The best summaries combine a solid structure with things only you could write.
More free tools for your profile: the AI Instagram caption generator and the username generator. Browse all tools.