Need a Career is Not a LinkedIn Headline

“Need a Career” is Not a LinkedIn Headline “Need a Career” is Not a LinkedIn Headline I just received a LinkedIn connection request from a total stranger with no customized invitation message. That’s normal since most LinkedIn users don’t know which “connect” button to enable the customization feature and they don’t know how important a personal message is. Please, please tell me who you are and why you want to connect; I don’t have ESP, you know. (I will continue to beg  LinkedIn  to  enable the customization pop-up with every “connect” button on LinkedIn and make it easier on the phone app, too.) It was  actually the headline that caught  me.  I’m more surprised  than ever  that LinkedIn users  don’t  pay attention to the  headline or the 120 characters that share  their  personal brand with  their  network. This person’s headline:  â€œNeed a Career” Since I’m a career and job search coach,  the headline did its job.  I was intrigued so I opened the profile and  discovered the following: The  most recent job is titled  â€œNeed a Career” Within that top job,  it shows  Self-employed, October 2011 â€" Present, 6 years, 11 months. The  previous  job was for only 6 months. The job prior to that was for only 5 months and unrelated to the skills or job type  listed under “Self-employed”  in #2 above. The  before that  a job that  was for 11 months but there was a  14-month  gap between  it  and the  next most recent  job. There was  no  LinkedIn  summary section, which could have described what they are looking for. There were  no  LinkedIn recommendations  about the job seeker  or given  by the job seeker. In other words, a headline that read like a call for help â€" and did catch my attention â€" provided no useful information about the job seeker. 7  Keys to a great LinkedIn headline: Realize that LinkedIn defaults to the title of your most recent position  as a headline. Make every effort to change that, especially if you are job-seeking or networking for a specific objective.  In addition,  entrepreneurs or solopreneurs would benefit from describing their expertise  rather than using titles like  President,  Consultant,  Coach. Open up your word processor and  type  out your best headline. Limit it to  120 characters, including symbols  and spaces, but use  all  the allowed amount!   List key words that best describe what you want  future  LinkedIn viewers to know about you. If you are making a career change,  use  the skill words that are  most  relevant for your future role. If you are providing services, then promote what you do. Use commas or the vertical slash (|), not the forward slash (/),so the  search  algorithm in LinkedIn can  use  the power of each word.  Note: commas take up less space.  You want to be found by  that search algorithm when  someone  is looking for a job candidate like you! Remove unnecessary words like “Proven success in…”Those extra words take up valuable space! Be specific and compelling. Imagine transforming this headline from“Executive Coach, Strategic Advisor, Author, Speaker”  to: Sr. Executive Coach, Strategic Advisor, Author, Speaker | Leadership,  Management, Communications, Boards,  Team Building Avoid trying to be “cute” or philosophical, and no jargon, please: Creative Bad-Ass fluent in video, live event, and online learning production Leading teams that enable the success of customers and partners by transforming their businesses with technology. Passionate about democratizing learning Payments expert and innovator Passions in public speaking and human beings Good  Examples: Nonprofit Professional, Social Entrepreneur, Educator, Team Leader, Fund-Raiser, Communications, Partnerships, Innovator CEO | Growth Driver | Entrepreneur | Mobile, Digital, Technology and Consumer Package Goods (CPG) | B2C | E-commerce U.S. Military job seeker  aiming for an information technology role:  Active Directory | PowerShell | Aspiring Support Engineer | DNS | DHCP | Secret Clearance | Bilingual | Army Veteran A coach: The Impact Leadership Expert,  We Grow Leaders,  Help Women Advance, Keynote Speaker,  Author,  Coaching,  Training Take advantage of all of the benefits of LinkedIn details to make a career change, build your network, sell more products and services,  and simply shine! Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class ® right now and immediately access the most comprehensive job search system currently available!