A LinkedIn summary is the About section of your profile, written in the first person, where you say who you are and what you do in your own voice. It differs from a resume summary by having room for personality and a short story rather than just a list of credentials. This guide shows what to include and how to write one that sounds like you.
The quick path: enter your role and a couple of details about what drives you, and get a draft you can edit. The linkedin summary generator does it in your browser, with no sign-up.
What the About section is for
The About section sits below your headline and is the first block of real writing anyone reads on your profile. A recruiter checking you out, a contact deciding whether to reach out, or a hiring manager doing a quick search all land here. It is your chance to introduce yourself in a way a resume cannot, because it is conversational and written by you, about you.
That tone is the whole point. A profile that reads like a pasted resume feels stiff. One that reads like how you would describe your work to a new colleague feels real, and it makes the rest of the profile land better.
How it differs from a resume summary
A resume summary and a LinkedIn About section serve the same broad purpose but in different registers.
- A resume summary is third-person, formal, and tuned to one job. It is built to be skimmed and matched against a posting. If you need that version, the resume summary generator handles it.
- A LinkedIn summary is first-person and a little warmer. It has space for what drives you and how you got to where you are. It introduces you to anyone who finds your profile, not just one hiring manager for one role.
The same facts can sit in both, but the voice changes. On LinkedIn you can write “I” and you can show a bit of who you are.
What to put in it
Three things carry most LinkedIn summaries:
- Your role and field. Open with what you do now, plainly. The reader should know in one line whether they are in the right place.
- What drives you. A sentence or two on what you care about in the work, or how you got into it. This is the part a resume has no room for, and it is what makes the profile yours.
- One concrete win. Back the rest with a single real result. A number, a launch, a project that mattered. One specific proof point beats a list of claims.
Close with what you are open to, whether that is roles, collaboration, or new connections. Keep the whole thing to a few short paragraphs.
Mind the “see more” cutoff
LinkedIn shows only the first line or so of your About section before it collapses behind a “see more” link. Most readers never expand it. So your opening sentence has to do the work on its own. Lead with the hook, the thing you most want a stranger to know, and put the supporting detail below the fold where the interested reader will find it.
How to write it
Step 1: Add your role
Open the linkedin summary generator and enter your current role and field. This becomes the opening line, so use plain words you would actually say.
Step 2: Say what drives you and one win
Add a note on what you care about in the work and one concrete result. The draft is built around those, so you can focus on getting the substance right.
Step 3: Edit it into your voice
Copy the draft into your profile and read it aloud. Cut anything that sounds stiff and adjust until it sounds like you talking. Make sure the strongest sentence sits first, ahead of the “see more” cutoff.
Your LinkedIn profile and your resume should tell one consistent story. Write the resume version with the resume summary generator, then build the full document in the resume builder.