7 Easy Upgrades for Your Best LinkedIn Bio.

Ahhh, LinkedIn. It’s an absolute must if you’re striving to connect with others in your industry, grow a brand, or find a new position. But what makes an okay LinkedIn bio into the holy grail of LinkedIn bios? In other words, how can you write a bio that will stand out to potential employers or clients? For starters, these 7 easy tips you can put to use today. Let’s jump right in:

Tip 1: Let Your Bio Tell Your Story

Sorry but the old, “Experienced marketing professional with 5+ years’ experience, open to opportunities,” isn’t going to cut it these days. With nearly 750 million (yes, million) professionals using the platform, what’s going to make you stand out from the pack? Hint: Who you are. Seems easy enough, aye?

Go into just enough detail to highlight your best qualities, as a professional, a team member and as a person. Swap the boring old bio for something with flavor. Something like, “Dynamic doer, deadline crusher and team uplifter, in search of a new home for my 8+ years of email metrics expertise,” then go into the details of how you got there in the first place. Tell your story, keep it concise and make it every bit as interesting as you are.

Tip 2: Don’t Just Tell. Show

Do you have a website? Of course you do! Link it in your bio so employers are just a click or tap away from exploring all of the amazing work you claim to be the master of. Instead of linking to your website’s homepage, navigate viewers straight to the good stuff. AKA, your portfolio. Bonus points if you create pages for individual projects. If that’s the case, be sure to make your linked page relatable to the type of work you’re seeking.

Of course, a little humble brag on your LinkedIn feed is always a good way to show off your skills, too. Make a post every so often encouraging connections to check out what you’re working on, and link them to the latest and greatest masterpiece you had a hand in creating. There’s no shame in being proud of your work.

Tip 3: Create a Tagline for Yourself

This one goes far beyond the LinkedIn bio. Having a tagline for your personal brand (or actual brand) helps people get to know you in just a few words, making it a powerful tool for when recruiters are glancing at your page, deciding if they want to take the extra time to read your bio. Let your tagline serve as the headline to your bio so it’s front and center.

Tip 4:  Use the Power of 3

Try to keep your bio length to 3 well-organized, easy-to-navigate paragraphs. Let the intro be the hook, get into the meat of what you do and how you got there in the second, and let the third paragraph cover what you’re seeking and a few personal details about yourself. Of course, if you go over 3 paragraphs, it’s by no means a deal-breaker. Be intentional, keep every paragraph short, and don’t clog your bio with a ton of buzzwords and fillers.

Tip 5: Consider the Power of Bullet Points

Say you’re in an industry where it’s crucial to showcase a lot of key metrics or stats within your bio (Ex: data analysts, social media managers). Use bullet points to make these sections easier to read and glance at. A standalone number always carries more impact than a paragraph of numbers lumped together. Plus, leveraging stats and showing the exact numbers you helped achieve instantly enhances your credibility.

Tip 6: It’s Okay to Be Vulnerable

For so long, it was considered “unprofessional” to reveal personal information about yourself to an employer. But the fact is, we are all human, we all have struggles, and for some of us, there was an unexpected life event that led us to the career we have today. Or maybe you experienced a life event that inspired you to rethink your career entirely and break into a new industry. Your experiences as an individual have made you into who you are today. And if it’s relevant to your career, don’t shy away from telling that story in your bio.

Tip 7: No Experience? Create Some.

Gone are the days where you need a 4-year degree to break into an industry. Between online intensives, social media platforms, and YouTube channels, you can demonstrate your knowledge without having a job title and an office. For example, if you want to become a social media marketer, show off what you’ve done with your personal brand on Instagram. Highlight your growth stats, your ad strategy, your approach to engagement, and let that serve as your own personal case study for potential employers to look at.

Or, if you’re trying to become a designer or copywriter, pick a few brands and create mock assets using their tone of voice and brand guide. At the end of the day determination and dedication have a lot of worth when you’re searching for a new career. So, use that bio to show ‘em what you’re made of.

And there you have it. Seven simple tips for boosting your LinkedIn bio today! We recommend adjusting your bio monthly to reflect new skills and experiences you pick up along the way. But if you’re looking to get the absolute most out of LinkedIn, stay tuned. Because we’re rolling out our LinkedIn Optimization eBook, covering every aspect of the platform you need to thrive.

Until next time…