5 Tricks in Writing an Effective LinkedIn Headline - CareerEnlightenment.com

1. Use keywordsRead job descriptions and identify keywords for the jobs youre applying for. Use these keywords in your headline. This is like SEO for LinkedIn. Up your chances of getting noticed by the right recruiters by speaking their language. Check out this link for a lesson in dissecting a job description to identify keywords.2.  Be specificThis may be difficult for some people who have many skills or whove had established careers in a number of different areas, but specificity is the name of the recruiting game. What job are you looking for at this moment? What career do you want now? Focus on that. If youre not specific about what you do, how can you expect recruiters to find you? No matter how interesting your profile may be, recruiters are going to contact people who speak to their needs and who leave no doubt as to what theyre about. The sooner you can get this message across (i.e. in your headline), the more likely you will be reached out.3.  Talk about what you do and not what you areLinkedIns default headline is your current job title and company. But job titles can be incredibly vague and dont say nearly enough about what you do. Office manager? Sales Representative? What does that really tell the recruiter? How about “RN (registered nurse) with 15 years experience caring for end stage cancer patients”? That tells a story and its specific. Recruiters looking for an RN with experience caring for cancer patients would likely contact a person with this headline.4.  Be creativeThis one can easily go wrong, so pay attention. You want to be specific, use keywords and talk about what you do, but if you can manage to squeeze in some personality that lets them know youre also human or actually make them smile, well, thats recruiting pay dirt. Remember, it must be done right, otherwise, you may find yourself featured on “LinkedIns Most Cringeworthy Headlines” and nowhere closer to your dream job. Tactful humor is the way to go here. Try  investing i n one of the recommended LinkedIn profile writing services if you want to maximize the potential of your LinkedIn profile. Here are some examples:Early Childhood educator with 8 years of experience taking your children off your hands and molding them into angels. Youre welcome.The Mercedes Whisperer, 20 years of specialized Mercedes auto mechanics.5. Test itThe above tips are a formula with many variables and the most successful headline could include any number of combinations. Do some A/B testing by changing your headline every couple of months. Keep track of the responses you got with each headline and see which one seemed to work best. This not only gets you in the practice of writing effective LinkedIn headlines for yourself but keeps your profile fresh and interesting for the ones checking it out.Good luck and happy job hunting!