How can you craft a memorable LinkedIn headline that stands out, sets you apart, and leaves a lasting impression? How can you be unique and memorable?
When creating a headline, think about your future-forward position.
Will you be making a Career Pivot, shifting within your existing industry or field, or a Career Reinvention and changing to a completely different industry or field?
A helpful article to explain the difference is Tips to Make Career Pivot or Reinvention on LinkedIn.
Are you moving from 1099 to W-2 or W-2 to 1099? Are you leaving the corporate world to enter into nonprofit or higher education, or perhaps you are leaving the military to enter the civilian corporate world? Or are you just looking to refresh your headline to better brand yourself?
There is no one “right way” to create a headline, but I will share with you “a way” and provide step-by-step instructions.
STEP 1: The first word you might use is a key title. See if it’s in LinkedIn’s Database when you type the key title in the search bar and if it’s in the suggested drop-down menu.
Job Seeker or Employed Professional Example:
Project Management (it has more hits than Project Manager, so use the one with more job listings. You can see that Project Management is searched more than Project Manager on Google Trends.)
Entrepreneur Example:
Business Coach (not CEO or President if you have self-proclaimed that title as a solopreneur. What would people type into Google to find someone like you?)
STEP 2: The keywords that follow the key title will relate to your areas of expertise.
Job Seeker or Employed Professional Example:
Project Management | Leadership | Strategic Planning | Stakeholder Management | Risk Assessment(these words total 95 out of 220 characters)
Entrepreneur Example:
Business Coach | Leadership Development | Goal Setting | Strategic Planning | Performance Optimization (these words total 102 out of 220 characters)
STEP 3: Use ChatGPT to create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and ask it to “try again” to get other ideas. Then, use your creativity and thought leadership to finalize it.
Job Seeker or Employed Professional Example ChatGPT Prompt:
Write a unique selling proposition of less than 15 words for a LinkedIn headline to follow these words: Project Management | Leadership | Strategic Planning | Stakeholder Management | Risk Assessment. Use the words agile methodologies and Team Leadership when you write the USP.
ChatGPT gave me the following:
Driving success with agile methodologies, team leadership, and strategic planning for seamless project execution.
Driving success with agile methodologies, strategic planning, and team leadership to achieve project goals.
Driving success through agile methodologies, strategic planning, and team leadership excellence.
Entrepreneur Example ChatGPT Prompt:
Write a unique selling proposition of less than 15 words for a LinkedIn headline to follow these words: Business Coach | Leadership Development | Goal Setting | Strategic Planning | Performance Optimization. Use the words growth mindset and scaling the business when you write the USP.
ChatGPT gave me the following:
Empowering leaders with a growth mindset to scale businesses and achieve strategic success.
Empowering leaders with a growth mindset to scale businesses through strategic planning.
Empowering leaders with a growth mindset to scale businesses through strategic planning and optimization.
STEP 4: Here are my final selections, and I might add an emoji from emojipedia.org
Job Seeker or Employed Professional Example Final Headline:
Project Management | Leadership | Strategic Planning | Stakeholder Management | Risk Assessment | 📈 Driving success using agile methodologies and team collaboration for magical seamless project execution 🪄 (these words and emoji total 207 out of 220 characters, and I added a few of my own words to the USP)
Entrepreneur Example Final Headline:
Business Coach | Leadership Development | Goal Setting | Strategic Planning | Performance Optimization | Empowering leaders with a growth mindset to scale businesses through strategic planning and hit the bullseye 🎯 (these words and emoji total 216 out of 220 characters, and I added a few of my own words to the USP)
STEP 5: In the above examples, I added a vivid image or memory dart (coined by Steve Woodruff) in the USP. You can be conservative or try to make people laugh with your vivid image. Use an ampersand to replace the word ‘and,’ which will save two spaces.
Here are three examples to stand out and be memorable. Be unique with ice cream, oink, and popcorn, as these words are searchable on LinkedIn.
Better than a triple-dip ice cream🍦
🐽 Huff & puff and blow that old website down to make your brand oink! 🐽 (Tom Knoble of Pig Art Graphics)
🍿 Conversions & engagement better than hot buttery popcorn at the movies. 🎥 Read about How to Boost Your Headline Score.
Hopefully, you will have some light bulbs flashing in your head to update your LinkedIn headline and make it memorable and unique. Your headline should distinguish you from others like you, no matter what you do in your career.
Did you read the previous article? LinkedIn Pitfalls Entrepreneurs Should Avoid
NEXT STEPS
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Check out our Nonprofit Events Quick List Page
- Fri Feb 14 – What’s your shtick? Elevate your personal identity on & off LinkedIn
- Sat Feb 15 – How to Gain Customers with a LinkedIn Company Page
- Mon Feb 17 – Harnessing AI for Smarter Job Searches
- Tue Feb 18 – Lehigh Valley Business Executives Networking Group (BENG) & ChemPharma
- Tue Feb 18 – Project Planning Your Job Search
- Wed Feb 19 – LinkedIn Tips to Build Your Brand
- Wed Feb 19 – LinkedIn Journey Mapping
- Thu Feb 20 – Recruiter on Call with Jobs
- Thu Feb 20 – The Basics of Interviewing
- Mon Feb 24 – LinkedIn for Nonprofits
- Mon Feb 24 – Immigrant Professional Career Support Group
- Tue Feb 25 – Business Executives Networking Group (BENG) & ChemPharma Meeting
- Tue Feb 25 – Beyond the Resume: Craftuing a Personal Brand for Career Success
- Wed Feb 26 – Beating the Applicant Tracking System
- Wed Feb 26 – Create Graphics for Social Media Using Canva and More
- Thu Feb 27 – Career Success Group Job Seeker Accountability & Networking
- Fri Feb 28 – Aliens Among Us: Ten Surprising Truths about Gen Z, The Disconnected Generation
