LinkedIn Headline Ideas That Make You Stand Out

Your LinkedIn headline is that little space on your profile that appears under your name. It’s 220 characters that you can use to tell people what you do. Your LinkedIn headline is attached to your name and shows up practically everywhere that your name does. Potential employers or recruiters can see it in searches, in your posts, your recommendations, invitations, and even in the ‘People You May Know’ section. When used well, it can be the key to making you stand out amongst hundreds of other profiles and holding the attention of a potential employer!

In this article, we’re going to give everything you need to nail this part of your profile (with or without a headline generator). We’ll cover :

• Tips on the best approach to writing a LinkedIn headline
• What NOT to do for a LinkedIn headline
• Basic LinkedIn headline structures that are useful to know

Tips To Write The Best LinkedIn Headline in 2024 (with or without a LinkedIn headline generator)

LinkedIn automatically fills in this field with the title of your latest position, and you may be wondering if you should just leave it at that. We suggest you don’t. This little space is what you can use to showcase your value to recruiters. They don’t always have the time to read your entire profile, so consider this to be a crucial preview.

1. Write with your audience in mind

The first rule of writing anything is to think about your audience. In this case, you want potential employers and recruiters to understand the benefits of having you on their team. So be specific about the skills you bring and how you can help the company you’re hired by. Besides your job title, you can also include details like certifications, results you’ve achieved, significant milestones, your location, expertise, affiliations, and personal values.

2. Don’t forget to include keywords

Keywords are as important on LinkedIn as they are for blog posts or anything else on the web. By using the right keywords, you’re increasing your profile’s chances of appearing on recruiters’ feeds. Include strategic, industry-specific keywords. You should have at least 3 of these in your headline. To narrow it down, make a list of relevant jargon that’s used in your field and then arrange them in order of importance.  

3. Be sincere

It doesn’t help your case to be hired for a job that you’re not really qualified for. It also won’t take long for companies to find out your actual qualifications or your experience. So while you absolutely should hype your expertise, don’t claim to have skills that you don’t.

What Not To Do For Your LinkedIn Headline

What puts people off reading your profile? Here are a few common mistakes that people make on their LinkedIn headlines and that you can avoid –

• Controversial issues – Your headline is not the appropriate space to address them
• All CAPS and emojis – Avoid using too much capitalization and too many emojis
• Obscure/cryptic worlds -Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms that aren’t commonly recognized
• Keyword stuffing – 3 strategic keywords are enough, don’t stuff your headline
• Avoid describing yourself as ‘unemployed’ instead, write about what you can actually do

Common LinkedIn Headline Structures

Choosing a structure for your headline really depends on what you’re looking to achieve. For example, a sales headline is more useful if you’re looking for outreach opportunities i.e. looking to connect with partners or customers.

Typically there are two types of headline structures that people use –

• An SEO-optimized headline
• A sales headline that’s a little more bold and flashy

It would be helpful to begin this exercise by putting down what you want to achieve with your LinkedIn headline. Do you want to make someone stop scrolling and pause at your headline? Do you want to position yourself as a leader in your industry?

4 LinkedIn Headline Examples

Here’s a great example that shows you exactly how a good headline can make your profile jump out from amongst others –

1. This example gives viewers a good idea of what that LinkedIn member is about – the professional as well as their passions outside work. It connotes balance, conveys a hint or humor and accessibility.

1. A typical sales headline – straightforward, unambiguous and effective! It showcases jargon without being confusing and is inherently SEO optimized.

1. Here’s a great example of an SEO-optimized headline. It’s also quick to read, succinct and

sums up a professional profile well. ‘Wellness Advocate’ & ‘Philanthropist’ also gives you a small peek into their personal beliefs.

1. Don’t be afraid to try something a little different. A clever headline like this one, stays with people 🙂

Some other structures to keep in mind:

• If you’re already well-known and need no introduction, a simple structure of Job+ Role is sufficient
• Even if you’re currently unemployed, you can use your previous experience to leverage your skills, for example – Ex-Google<insertJobTitle>
• A value proposition headline will read a bit like this – I can help you get X results, or We can achieve XYZ
• A target market headline lets a specific group of people know that you can help with a specific issue. For example – At Company X, we’re committed to getting target group Z, and Y results!

Remember that being specific in this section helps your conversion rate. For example, writing – ‘I help busy business owners with content strategies for Instagram, LinkedIn & TikTok’ packs a better punch than ‘I am a social media content strategist’

Bonus: Get Noticed on LinkedIn: The Best Way to Add Your Promotion

Try A Headline Generator for LinkedIn

If you’re feeling a bit stuck or just not in your comfort zone when it comes to writing, don’t worry. You can still create a profile that’ll knock a recruiter’s socks off! Using a headline generator for LinkedIn is a great way to warm up your creativity. It can give you a number of ideas and structures that you can edit or use to create the perfect headline for your profile.

A LinkedIn headline generator – free or paid, is a simple, fuss-free way of getting your LinkedIn profile on the map 🙂

Click Here To Generate LinkedIn Headlines