How to Write Your LinkedIn About Section

If the LinkedIn summary guide gives you the big picture on what the About section is and why it matters, this one gives you the actual structure to follow when you sit down to write it. The two guides cover overlapping territory from different angles: start with the summary guide if you are still deciding what to include, and use this one when you are ready to write.

What You Are Trying to Achieve

A recruiter landing on your profile will spend a few seconds scanning your headline and your most recent job title. If those pass the initial check, they will look at your About section to decide whether to keep reading, reach out, or move on. Your About section needs to answer three questions quickly: what do you do, why are you good at it, and what are you looking for? Everything else is secondary.

The About section is also where LinkedIn's search algorithm looks for keywords, which means it affects whether you appear in recruiter searches at all. An empty About section is a missed opportunity on both fronts: search visibility and the chance to actually connect with a human being.

The Structure That Works

A four-part structure works for most people. Start with a hook: one or two sentences that capture what you do in plain language and give the reader a reason to keep going. Then a professional story: two or three sentences about your background, what has shaped your approach, or the type of work you are drawn to. Then evidence: one or two concrete examples of what you have achieved, the kinds of problems you solve, or the results you tend to produce. Then direction: a brief note on what you are looking for or open to, with an invitation to connect or message. That structure fits comfortably within 400 words and covers everything a recruiter or potential collaborator needs.

The 300-Character Threshold

Only roughly the first 300 characters of your About section are visible on desktop before the "see more" link. On mobile, it can be as few as 120-150 characters. This means the opening sentence is your most valuable real estate. If it does not earn the click, the remaining 2,300 characters do not get read. Write the opening last, once you know what the rest of your section says, and spend time on it. A single strong opening sentence is worth more than three paragraphs of competent writing that no one expands to read.

What to Avoid

There are a handful of things that reliably make LinkedIn About sections worse. Dense walls of text with no paragraph breaks are hard to scan and most people do not try. Generic opener phrases ("I am a passionate professional with a proven track record") waste the opening sentence on words that say nothing. Keyword stuffing, where you pack in skills and job titles at the expense of natural language, reads badly and does not fool LinkedIn's algorithm as much as people assume. Copying your CV profile verbatim misses the point of having two different formats for two different contexts. And an About section that is entirely backward-looking, all about what you have done with nothing about what you are looking for, gives the reader no reason to act.

First vs Third Person, and Tone

Write in first person. The About section is a professional space but it is also a social one, and third-person bios on LinkedIn create an odd formality that works against you in most industries. The tone should match your field: a creative director can write more conversationally than a corporate lawyer, but both should aim for clarity and directness over corporate language. If your section currently reads like a press release, rewrite it as if you were explaining your career to a smart person at a professional event.

How Long It Should Be

Three to five short paragraphs is the right length for most people. The 2,600-character limit exists, but using all of it does not make your section better. A tight, clear About section of 250-350 words that covers hook, story, evidence, and direction will outperform a 500-word section that says the same things more slowly. If you are finding it hard to cut, remove everything that would be obvious to anyone reading your job titles and focus only on what is not already visible elsewhere on your profile.