Hughes blog post: Your LinkedIn summary: first person or third person perspective?

One question I’m often asked when I do LinkedIn training sessions is: should I write my LinkedIn profile summary from the first person perspective or the third person perspective?

Both ways of approaching your profile summary are seen throughout LinkedIn. However, in my view, I believe you should write your profile summary from the first person perspective.

Why? Your LinkedIn profile is created by you. By writing from the first person perspective, you’re talking directly to your existing and potential connections, and showing them that you’re ready and willing to engage with them.

I have heard the argument that your third person perspective LinkedIn summary could be used as a bio for documents such as conference guides or website profiles. However, if you have a need for this, I think you are best off including your third person perspective bio as a PDF attachment on your LinkedIn profile instead.

To do this, edit your profile and click the small box that appears when you roll your mouse over the summary area. You can upload files to your summary here – upload a PDF of your bio and label it accordingly.

If you think your team would benefit from knowing more about LinkedIn, please get in touch with us here at Hughes. We can help your people present themselves and your organisation professionally, and provide guidance on using LinkedIn for business development, promotion and networking. Find out more here. 

- Kate Potter