Crafting an irresistible about in Linkedin for students to captivate recruiters

Did you know that a shocking 95% of the LinkedIn users don’t optimize their About section effectively? 

You read that right 

Despite the immense potential to make a strong impression and stand out from the crowd, a significant majority of students neglect the power of a well-crafted LinkedIn summary. 

After analyzing more than 100 of Linkedin profiles and also helping students of NIT, IIT, London Business School, London School Of Economics and employees of Honda, Oracle and UBS build their Linkedin profiles, I have finally cracked the code to draft a well optimized Linkedin profile 

After reading this article, you will have the perfect understanding about the do’s and don’t’s of a Linkedin about section. You will also be able to draft your own Linkedin summary that help you stand out from the crowd

Let’s dive deeper and understand about this even further

What is the about me profile and why is a LinkedIn summary necessary?

Your about section is the heart of your Linkedin profile. 

It’s the place where recruiters / professionals glance upon when they visit your profile as a means to understand about you even more 

It’s like your personal billboard that talks about you and champions your credibility infront of the viewer and just a smmary of your CV.

I’m not even exggatrating when I say that the about section can make or break your image in the eyes of recruiters / founders 

Got it BRO – don’t tell me something I can find on google. What should I even care? 

Ok give me a second 

Imagine you’re driving down a road, and you spot two billboards side by side. The first billboard is plain, with just a few words and a generic image. It doesn’t catch your eye, and you quickly forget about it. The second billboard, however, is vibrant and captivating. It has a compelling headline, a visually appealing design, and a clear message. It immediately grabs your attention, and you find yourself wanting to know more.

In the same way, when recruiters and professionals visit your LinkedIn profile, they have no idea as to who you are, what your background is and what skills you possess. The only way they JUDGE YOU or LEARN MORE about you is by glancing over your about section. 

Imagine if your about section is bland, generic and fails to reflect who you are, I’m sorry my friends, you have already lost the battle because you failed to impress the viewer and grab his/her attention. Your profile in this case happens to be just another generic profile that the recruiter / professionals have encountered this morning while shortlisting a sea of candidates for a job or an internship

However, if you craft an engaging and compelling About section, it becomes your personal billboard that entices people to learn more about you, connect with you, and potentially open doors to exciting opportunities. An impressive about section can grab the eyes of the recruiter/professional and like many cases, they might even end up dropping you a message on Linkedin

GOT IT BRO – I UNDERSTAND IT’S IMPORTANT BUT I’VE ALREADY WRITTEN AN ABOUT SECTION FOR MY LINKEDIN PROFILE. CAN YOU NOT SEE IT ALREADY?

I see that a lot of you have written something on your profile but as mentioned about 87% of them are not even optimized to the extent that entices the recruiters / professional 

How not write the about section on Linkedin – BAD EXAMPLES 

Before jumping into how to write an about section, let’s start by understanding how not to write and look unprofessional in the eyes of recruiters / professionals 

None of the examples here are to demean someone. They are just used as a reference to avoid something like this. I’m just here to let you know what works best after helping and analyzing 100’s of profiles 

Example 1: About in Linkedin for Students

Here happens to be an example of how most of the folks on Linkedin end up writing their about section 

Imagine you being a recruiter and seeing this short text that doesn’t convey anything. What kind of opinion / view will you have after reading this? 

Certainly not the best.

This happens to be so short that it doesn’t cover your past experiences and skills that have made you ready today for the job market 

Example 2: About in Linkedin for Students

Here happens to be another example of folks who write stuff that is too damn long, vague and doesn’t have any structure 

Did you read the entire paragraph? Lol, me neither 

Don’t just throw a bulky and robotic text paragraph in your about section. 

As mentioned before, it’s a billboard, treat it with respect 

Example 3: About in Linkedin for Students

Here happens to an example that I hateeeee the mossstttttttt

I still don’t understand why people in this universe address themselves in 3rd person. Never ever do this with your linkedin summary. It’s the biggest turn off that one could ever imagine 

Very honestly, addressing yourself in 3rd person portrays arrogance, ego and fake qualities. Strictly avoid it 

Ok so now acting like an american rapper dissing others for their deeds, it’s time to now delve deeper into what really good examples look like

How to write a good about section on Linkedin – Good Examples 

Example 1: About in Linkedin for Students

Here is an example of my childhood friend whom I helped build her Linkedin profile Mrinali Jiaswal. Mrinali happens to be a software engineer at UBS and below is her about section

Key Takeaways: 

1. The summary is quite crisp, short, to the point YET it covers almost everything that she has done right from graduation to her current role 
2. Every point is expressed in not more than 2 lines and hence it becomes quite skimmable to read. 
3. Bullet points further add gravity to her about section 
4. It has a call to action (her email id) in the end to make it easier for anyone to reach out to her 

With a strong background and optimized Linkedin profile, Mrinali was able to land interviews at GoldMan Sachs and Google! 

The most interesting part is that Mrinali did not apply for these companies. She was approached by the hiring managers of these companies on her Linkedin. 

Example 2: About in Linkedin for Students

Here is an example of Bhavana Angadi Suresh whom I met at my university in the UK. She’s a product manager and has done her MBA from Kingston University, London. I found her about section to be one of the best. Check it out 

Key Takeaways : 

1. Bhavana’s about section is again to the point and crisp 
2. She has also used emoji’s to highlight certain aspects of her about section 
3. She has has used bullet points and numerics to list down things she wished to communicate 
4. And ofcourse her about section ends with a call to action in the end

What is a good LinkedIn summary for a student?

After going through both bad and good examples, things that you should keep in mind 

Don’t

1. Don’t make your about section too damn short. You don’t want people to keep guessing 
2. Don’t make it too damn long. You again don’t want people to skip the bulky thick texts 
3. Never address yourself in 3rd person. This is the biggest turnoff 

Do’s

1. Never write more than 2-3 lines per paragraph. This makes it quite skimmable to read
2. Use paragraph breaks and bullet points 
3. Have a call to action in the end 

What to write in about in linkedin for students : Step by Step Guide

Now that you know that what summaries actually make sense for the blog, you kind of have an idea of what really an ideal about in section would look like

YA BRO, I KNOW BUT WHAT SHOULD I WRITE IN MY SUMMARY

Let me give you a powerful tool that I have for you. This tool has been a life saver for me. Not only can you use this tool to write your Linkedin summary but to even professionally introduce yourself to anyone 

This tool is called PPF (Present, Past, Future) 

PPF will give your linkedin about section a flow and structure 

PPF will work equally well if you have some amount of experience or you are just a fresher or have no experience

How to write Linkedin Summary for students with experience 

According to the PPF tool

The way you start writing is by mentioning about your present 

PRESENT

1. “Hello there!, My name is Yashwardhan Singh and I’m currently pursuing my masters in Entrepreneurship at Cranfield School Of Management” 

This is the opening line of your about section. Then you go ahead writing in detail about your past. If you have experience, you go ahead talking about that 

PAST

1. “I have 2+ years of experience running my own startup in the domain of marketing automation where I successfully scaled it to a 7-figure revenue.
2. My obsession with using tech and data to solve problems started when I enrolled as an engineering student at the National Institute Of Technology, Nagpur
3. I initially started my journey working in the domain of photovoltaics and solar energy where I worked on researching and studying different materials that can be replaced with silicon to make solar panels economical.
4. After continuous exploration, I started working with media companies where I leveraged humor writing to help brands craft engaging videos and text content for customer acquisition.
5. Subsequently capitalizing on the audience retention rates and traffic analytics to improve content delivery and increase their ad sense revenue
6. I eventually went on to intern at various agencies where we helped brands solve their marketing and branding challenges

After this you go ahead writing about your future plans and end it with a call to action 

FUTURE

1. With entrepreneurial experience in my arsenal, now I wish to now work as a product manager at high growth startups and I’m open to any such opportunities in the future 
2. For any queries or career related opportunities
3. Reach out to – [email protected] 

How to write a Linkedin summary with no experience (Fresh Grads)?

If you are someone who no experience and wishes to start their journey, you just need to tweak your PPF model a bit 

 If you are someone who is an absolute fresher with no experience. Instead of writing what’s written above, you can write more about what have you done so far in the college that includes academic and extra curricular

PRESENT

1. “Hello there!, My name is Yashwardhan Singh and I’m currently pursuing my bachelors in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at National Institute Of Technology”

This is the opening line of your about section 

Then you go ahead writing in detail about your academic and extracurricular activities 

PAST

1. My obsession with using tech and data to solve problems started when I enrolled as an engineering student at the National Institute Of Technology, Nagpur
2. As a metallurgy engineering student, I have acquired deep knowledge in areas like metal extraction, material properties and characterization techniques
3. I have also worked in the domain of solar photovoltaic solar energy and ways of replacing the current expensive solar panels with a cheaper ones 
4. Along with this I have been actively involved in my college’s cultural fest – Aarohi
5. I was part of the core team and was responsible for coordinating with different teams of Aarohi
6. I’m passionate about standup comedy and have performed in several college cultural fests 

FUTURE

After this you go ahead writing about your future plans and end it with a call to action 

Having a strong academic and analytical capability, I now wish to translate these skills to now work as a product manager at high growth startups 

1. I’m open to any such opportunities in the future 
2. For any queries or career related opportunities
3. Reach out to – [email protected] 

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, optimizing your About section on LinkedIn is crucial for making a strong impression and standing out from the crowd.

Neglecting this important section means missing out on opportunities to showcase your credibility and attract the attention of recruiters and professionals.

Whether you have professional experience or are a fresher, the PPF model can be adapted to highlight relevant achievements and activities. Freshers can focus on academic accomplishments, extracurricular involvement, and passion projects. By showcasing your skills and aspirations, you create an engaging About section that leaves a lasting impression.

Incorporating these guidelines into your About section will ensure that you optimize your LinkedIn profile and grab the attention of recruiters and professionals. Remember, your About section is your chance to make a strong first impression and set yourself apart from the competition. Craft it thoughtfully, and watch as doors of opportunity open through LinkedIn.