HOW TO WRITE AMAZING LINKEDIN DESCRIPTIONS TO GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES

Hi, I’m Holly and I’m a HUGE fan of LinkedIn. Whether you’re job hunting or not, you’ve been in your career for years or you’re just starting out - the benefits of this platform are endless.

There are so many things you can do to make LinkedIn work hard for you, like one of these 16 things, or just updating your profile. But today, I wanted to focus on one thing in particular:

Descriptions.

So what do I even mean by these?

LinkedIn descriptions are the boxes of text that appear directly underneath each job title you include in your experience. I see so many people who add all their roles to their LinkedIn profile - but without actually explaining what they did in those roles, it’s meaningless.

Looking at the screenshot above from my own LinkedIn profile, you can that this is where I briefly describe everything I was responsible for in each of these roles.

They key thing you’ve got to remember is brief. Your descriptions aren’t a place for you to tell your life story. You’ve got to summarise what you did, but include all the most important information.

Just from a quick glance at mine above, you can see that I’ve not even written in full sentences like an essay, or even what I put on my CV. I’ve listed them in bullet points and also made the phrases include lots of relevant keywords too.

A job title doesn’t tell the full story of what you do. Think about how many people are Marketing Managers or Web Designers. What makes you stand out? Your LinkedIn description is what will set you apart from the rest.

What approach should you take for your LinkedIn descriptions?

Less is more when it comes to LinkedIn. So when you’re writing your descriptions, instead of writing in full sentences, you want to use bullet point lists. You could say:

Part of my role involves brainstorming ideas for future marketing materials and promotional events and I’m also responsible for creating compelling website content including course pages and various other landing pages.

Or, you could put:

Brainstorm ideas for future marketing materials and promotional events
Create compelling website content including course pages and various other landing pages

Basically, the approach I advise people to take is bullet points and lists rather than full sentences you’d just copy and paste from your CV. These are a few reasons why:

Holly SuttonNovember 10, 2016linkedin, linkedin profile, linkedin descriptionsComment

How To Create The Best LinkedIn Profile Ever (Part 2)

Regardless of your job role and how experienced you are, LinkedIn is a networking tool you need to be on.

In the first post of the series, we found out that almost 90% of recruiters used this platform to find new talent. That means the other 10% probably use job boards. So let me ask you this. Think back to when you were last job hunting. Or if you’re job hunting right now, think about your process. Where do you spend the majority of your time? On job boards? Or on LinkedIn?

I started looking for a job last summer and I spent 90% of my time searching job boards. This was a mistake. Especially since the last two jobs I've had have come through LinkedIn. On April 16th in the first part of this series, I said I’d had five job offers through LinkedIn. Since then I've had three more.

Three.

This might not seem like a lot to you. But it’s just proof that it’s possible.

Holly SuttonMay 7, 2015career, linkedin profile, linkedin, social mediaComment

Buffer: Why Do People Love It So Much?

I bet you hear this word a lot. Buffer this and Buffer that.

And I bet you've always wanted to know what the hype is all about.

I mean, it can't be that good - can it? Well my dear readers, that's what I'm here to talk to you about today. As a tried, tested and loyal user of this tool, I'm here to give you the lowdown on:

• What it is
• How you use it
• Why it's so great
• Why you should be using it

As of January 2015, Buffer had more than 2,000,000 registered users (source). I myself, have been using it for nearly two years. In all my time since I started using the Internet and all it has to offer, I can say without a doubt that this is one of the best tools that has ever been created.

Holly SuttonMay 5, 2015buffer, linkedin, social media, twitterComment

Career 101: How To Create The Best LinkedIn Profile Ever (Part 1)

Did you know that 89% of all recruiters have hired someone through LinkedIn? (source).

And an even bigger 94% plan on using social media to recruit new talent (source).

Fewer and fewer companies are spending their time looking on job boards. They’re scouring LinkedIn, searching for keywords and reading thousands of profiles in order to find the right match. The ones that get the interview are the ones that have a great profile. But how do you make your profile stand out? Is it worth taking the time to fill everything in?

That’s what we’re going to explore here.

Originally, this was going to be one piece of content. But as I was researching and writing down the points needed to make a great profile, I came up with twenty things to do. So to make it easier for you, I thought I’d split it into two parts instead.

Today, we’re going to go through part one of what you can do to create the best LinkedIn profile ever.

Holly SuttonApril 16, 2015career 101, career, linkedin, social mediaComment

Welcome to the Productivity Blog

What approach should you take for your LinkedIn descriptions?

Regardless of your job role and how experienced you are, LinkedIn is a networking tool you need to be on.

This might not seem like a lot to you. But it’s just proof that it’s possible.

I bet you hear this word a lot. Buffer this and Buffer that.

Did you know that 89% of all recruiters have hired someone through LinkedIn? (source).

Today, we’re going to go through part one of what you can do to create the best LinkedIn profile ever.