Your LinkedIn About section will likely be the most-read version of your bio. In today’s world where digital precedes real, it often forms your first impression. In fact, it’s one of four profile elements that is integral to delivering a memorable first impression (the other three are Headline, Headshot, and Background). Your About is one of your most important career communication tools, so it deserves your focused time and attention. Surprisingly, many people leave their About blank, and that’s a missed opportunity to connect with others and build relationships.
Most LinkedIn Abouts Are Deadly Boring
Some people skip adding an About altogether, but you don’t want to pass up the chance to engage with others through this valuable 2,600-character space. Having reviewed thousands of LinkedIn Abouts, I have found that most are lackluster, trite, or just plain boring. I’m sure the professionals behind those profiles are interesting, accomplished, and unique, but their About says otherwise.
That’s why it’s so important to go beyond the generic bio, producing something that showcases who you are, what’s important to you, what you have accomplished, and most importantly, what makes you unique and interesting. That allows you to connect on a deep, emotional level, and it helps you stand out from the billion-plus profiles on LinkedIn.
There’s something crucial you need to consider when it comes to the About section of your profile. When someone lands on your profile page, they only see the first two to three lines of your About. They need to click on “see more” to read the rest. That means those opening lines are absolutely critical to delivering a powerful impression. They’re what make people decide whether they want to know more about you.
After reviewing countless profiles, I have determined there are seven powerful ways to kick off your About, and they all start with the letter P.
1. Promise
Your promise is what you commit to delivering every day in all that you do. It’s the value you consistently bring to your work and relationships.
Replace this: I’m a senior marketing manager with 15 years of experience in brand management across multiple sectors.
With this: I help brands become unforgettable by turning casual customers into loyal fans who wouldn’t dream of buying from anyone else. My work blends strategy, storytelling, and design to make every brand moment stick. If you want to own a place in your customer’s heart and mind, that’s where I come in.
2. Purpose
Your purpose is your “why.” It’s what you hope to accomplish during your time on earth. It sounds lofty, and it is. It’s also the anchor for your career and life choices.
Replace this: I’ve worked in nonprofit fundraising since 2010.
With this: I’m on a mission to make illiteracy a thing of the past because every human deserves the power of words. For over a decade, I’ve helped raise millions to bring books, teachers, and hope to communities around the world. Every project I take on is one step closer to making that mission reality.
3. Passion
Your passion could be personal or professional. It’s something you care deeply about or the part of your job you like best.
Replace this: I’m a seasoned software developer specializing in mobile apps for a variety of uses.
With this: I can lose hours when I’m coding an app that solves a real-world problem. From helping cancer patients track treatments to giving farmers a way to monitor crops from their phones, I’m obsessed with technology that improves lives. For me, every line of code is a step toward making someone’s day easier.
4. Point of View
Starting with your point of view communicates what sets you apart from others who do what you do (or want to do). There are many people in your field. What’s your unique spin?
Replace this: I’m a senior HR leader in the tech industry.
With this: The 9-to-5 is dead. Good riddance! I believe work should energize you, not drain you. That’s why I design people strategies that give employees freedom, flexibility, and the ability to do their best work.
5. Point in Time
There are two different approaches to this option.
- Take people back to when you were young and connect it to who you are today and where you are going with your career.
- Kick off your about at a particular milestone or epiphany, a moment where things took a big turn or shaped your path forward. I use this approach by starting my own About at the moment I left my corporate job to launch my personal branding company
Replace this: I’ve been in corporate finance for over a decade, serving many different roles.
With this: I still remember the day my CFO quit unexpectedly and the CEO asked me to step in. I said yes without hesitation, not knowing it would launch the most challenging, exhilarating chapter of my career. That moment taught me the value of agility, courage, and trusting yourself when the stakes are highest.
6. Provocative Phrase
This option is exactly what it sounds like. It’s something that creates intrigue and makes the reader want to know more. I once read an About that opened with: “ My business is going downhill. Fast.” The person behind that About was the owner of a ski school. You couldn’t help but read on.
Replace this: I’m a sales coach who helps entrepreneurs grow revenue.
With this: I built a $10M business without selling a single thing, and I can teach you how. My approach flips the sales playbook on its head, replacing cold calls with authentic connections and high-pressure tactics with trust.
7. Punctuated List
Generate excitement with a series of adjectives or short statements that sum up your key strengths and differentiators. This high-energy start will set the tone for the rest of your story. You almost feel like you have met Nawal Fakhoury when you read her sizzling start, “Nawal Fakhoury [noelle fa-corey] (n.): Seasoned executor with an entrepreneurial spirit; Firm believer in creating exceptional experiences every day; Ultimate company brand ambassador. I spend my days making sure our talent has the skills, support and sparkle they need…”
Replace this: I’m a creative director with experience in branding and advertising.
With this: Brand whisperer. Idea machine. Deadline assassin. I turn “meh” marketing into campaigns people can’t stop talking about. I’ve done it for brands in industries from fashion to fintech. If it needs to be bold, buzzworthy, and impossible to ignore, I’m your person.
Choose A LinkedIn About Kick-Off That Inspires Your Stakeholders
The goal is not to incorporate all seven approaches into your About, it’s to select the one that gives you the best opportunity to tell your story in a way that will engage your audience. Of course, like all things personal branding, if you have an interesting approach that’s more on-brand for you, skip the 7 Ps and take your own road. The key is to produce something that’s authentic, distinctive, and riveting to the people you most want to impact, influence, and impress.
Writing Your LinkedIn About Helps You Master Other Versions Of Your Bio
Once you’ve slayed your sizzling start, create a bridge to connect it with what you do now and where you’re headed. Then, follow this proven process for crafting the rest of your About so viewers connect with you on a truly human level. Your LinkedIn About is not only a powerful tool for delivering your first impression and giving people an opportunity to know you better, it’s also a source document that you can use to craft all the versions of your bio you need to tell your story.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. Watch the replay of his Maven Lightning Lesson to get for practical tips on using AI to uncover, express, and expand your personal brand. along with proven LinkedIn tips.
