Terrible LinkedIn Headline Mistakes

 Terrible LinkedIn Headline Mistakes

Introduction:

The LinkedIn headline helps you do two things:

A) Show up in LinkedIn searches performed by recruiters, prospects, etc. via keywords

B) Sell yourself, your value, and/or your services once people are on your profile

 

Terrible LinkedIn Headline Mistakes

1. Only mentioning your current job title and/or company.

It makes your headline very short. 

Given you have 220 characters to play with, make good use of at least 80%. To help make your headline interesting.

It's best to include your current job title if you've worked with the company for a couple of years, more than two years is good enough. Or if you're working on your own company.

2. Writing “Seeking Opportunities,” “Looking For New Opportunities,” or “Currently Unemployed.”

Tailor it to your audience.

For example, if you're a sales rep, talk like a sales rep, and act as a sales rep, why are you going by "account growth manager?”

There's an easy fix — use a title your prospects will recognize.

For example:

·         Sales Representative

·         Sales Associate

·         Sales Manager

·         Sales Director

Including "sales" in your LinkedIn headline, will make it easier for prospects to find you. People searching your services are more likely to click on your profile if they can tell you're a salesperson.

The same goes for recruiters — if they're looking for a rep in a specific industry or vertical, using the most common version of your title helps them to easily track you down.

3. Using hyperbole

Don't brag. There's nothing more off-putting (or less believable) than someone who publicly compliments themselves. For that reason, you'll want to strike these adjectives (and others like them) from your headline:

·         Expert

·         Top-performing

·         Winning

·         Capable

·         Proactive

·         Dedicated

·         Hard-working

·         Superior

·         Best

Even though these adjectives likely apply to you, they won't make prospects or recruiters more interested in you. On the contrary, you'll seem arrogant!

The best way to show off your skills is to include customer success stories in your summary and prior experience. Lines like "Helped an online bicycle retailer increase sales by 30%" or "On average, clients reduced support tickets by half" stand on their own without any commentary — and are far more impressive as a result.

Final Thoughts:

As a headline of a news item or an ad, the LinkedIn headline serves to attract people’s attention and make them want to stay on your page. Writing a compelling LinkedIn headline is an excellent opportunity to stand out from the competition if you're looking for a job. 

Would you like a LinkedIn Headline Revamp? Well, let me know at memolynengere@gmail.com

Book a free a discovery call:  https://calendly.com/memolynengere/30min