How to Write a LinkedIn About Section That Actually Gets Read
The LinkedIn About section is one of the most valuable — and most wasted — pieces of real estate on your profile. Most people either leave it blank or paste in a third-person bio that reads like a Wikipedia article about themselves.
Here's how to write one that gets people to read all the way to the end and actually reach out.
What Most People Get Wrong
The two most common mistakes:
❌ Third-person bio: "John is an experienced software engineer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry..." — Nobody talks like this. It feels distant and impersonal.
❌ Responsibilities list: "Responsible for managing a team of developers, overseeing project delivery, and liaising with stakeholders..." — This is a job description, not a story. It tells people what you did, not why it matters.
The Formula That Works
A great LinkedIn About section has four parts:
- Opening hook — grab attention in the first 2 lines (this is what shows before "See more")
- Your value — what problems do you solve? Who do you help?
- Proof — one or two concrete achievements with numbers
- Call to action — tell them what to do next
Example: Before and After
Before (bad)
"Experienced marketing professional with 7 years of experience in digital marketing, social media management, content creation, and brand strategy. Proven track record of delivering results. Team player with excellent communication skills."
After (good)
"I help B2B SaaS companies turn content into their #1 growth channel.
Over the past 7 years, I've built content engines for 3 startups that generated 2M+ organic visits per year — without paid ads. My approach combines SEO strategy with storytelling that actually converts.
Most recently at Acme Corp, I grew the blog from 10K to 400K monthly visitors in 18 months, contributing to a 60% increase in inbound pipeline.
If you're a B2B SaaS company looking to scale content-led growth, let's connect."
The Template
Fill in the blanks:
I help [target audience] achieve [desired outcome].
[Your background/approach — 2-3 sentences]
Most recently, I [specific achievement with a number].
[Call to action — what should they do?]
Tips for Each Section
The opening hook
The first 2–3 lines appear before LinkedIn's "See more" cutoff. This is your headline within the About section. Start with something specific and valuable — a bold claim, a surprising result, or a clear statement of who you serve.
Adding keywords
Your About section is indexed by LinkedIn's search algorithm. Include the job titles, skills, and industry terms that recruiters and clients use when searching. Weave them in naturally — don't keyword stuff.
If you're a data engineer, your About section should naturally contain terms like "data pipelines", "ETL", "Spark", "dbt", "SQL", "cloud data warehousing" — not just once, but in context.
The call to action
End with a clear, specific instruction. Vague endings ("feel free to connect!") get ignored. Specific endings get results:
- "Open to senior product roles in Series B+ startups — DM me."
- "Looking for fractional CMO engagements — reach out via LinkedIn or email."
- "If you're hiring for ML engineering roles in London, let's talk."
Length and Formatting
Aim for 300–500 words. Use short paragraphs (2–3 sentences max) with line breaks between them. LinkedIn's editor doesn't support bullet points in the About section — use line breaks and spacing to create visual structure instead.
Write in first person, present tense where possible. It reads more naturally and feels more direct.
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