Why Your LinkedIn About Section Has Been Written for the Wrong Person

Who do you picture reading your LinkedIn About section?

If your answer is, “anyone who lands on my profile,” that may be exactly why it’s not working.

Most About sections try to speak to everyone:

Recruiters. Hiring managers. Business owners. Past colleagues. Future clients. Random people browsing LinkedIn.
Which means they actually work for nobody.

Most people do this without realizing it. They update their LinkedIn, list their years of experience, throw in a few buzzwords, and make it sound professional and safe.

The problem is, when you try to speak to everyone, you usually end up connecting with no one. That’s not because you aren’t qualified. It is because your message is too broad.

Your LinkedIn About section is not there to summarize your entire career!

Your resume can do that.

Your About section has a different job.

It should make the right person stop scrolling and think:

“Wait. This is exactly who I need to talk to.”

That “right person” is not vague.

It is not “a hiring manager.”
It is not “someone in my industry.”
It is not “anyone who may have an opportunity.”
It is one specific kind of person with one specific problem.

A VP of Sales hiring a regional director is not looking for the same thing as a startup founder who needs a fractional CFO.

A private equity firm looking for an operator is not thinking the same way as a corporate HR leader looking for a senior transformation executive.

So, if your LinkedIn About section could apply to all of the above, it probably isn’t speaking clearly to any of them.

Write to one person, not the whole internet.

Before you write a word, picture the person you want to reach.

What are they stressed about right now?

What's the gap on their team that's keeping them up at night?

What would make them think, "Finally, someone who gets it"?

Now write to that person. Not to hiring managers in general.

Because the right reader is the one who can open the door to the right conversation.

Stop leading with your resume in disguise. Try opening with the problem you solve instead.

Most people open their About section with something like:

“I am a results-driven professional with 15 years of experience in …”

And listen, there is nothing technically wrong with that.

It is professional.
It is safe.
It is also what everyone else is saying.

The problem is that it doesn’t create much interest.

Instead of leading with your years of experience, lead with the problem you solve.
Instead of leading with your title, lead with the outcome you create.
Instead of saying what you have done, show why it matters to the person reading it.

Drop the decade count, keep the receipts.

Nobody decides to work with you because you've been doing something for 15 years. They decide because you've gotten the results they want for themselves.

Swap years of experience for outcomes.

Swap job titles for impact.

Your About section isn't a biography. It's a pitch to one very specific person who has one very specific problem.

Picture them and speak directly to them.

Let everyone else scroll by, because the people who matter will stop.

So, who's the one person your About section needs to be written for? If you cannot answer that clearly, that might be why your LinkedIn profile is not creating the opportunities you want.

Want a second set of eyes on it?

Reach out, and let's make sure your LinkedIn is doing its job, not just sitting there looking nice.

Let’s schedule a free Vision and Strategy Review just for you. Click here: https://s.pointerpro.com/career-readiness

If you want more advantages like this to make sure your next role is a winner, you’ll enjoy our free LinkedIn Event on Zoom: Get Seen, Not Screened: How to Leverage AI and HI in the Hidden Job Market – Click here to register: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7361814334169042946/