Should a LinkedIn Profile be written in First Person or Third Person?

  I often get questions from people regarding LinkedIn. When I feel the question is shared by others, I post it here on my blog for all to read.

Question:
Hi Donna,

I have been receiving your emails and I appreciate them. I have been a slow adopter of Linkedin. Finally, I am now 110% into it.

I want to rewrite my profile, my question is now this…

Do I write first person or third?

–Stephen

Answer:

Hi Stephen!

I deeply believe that a powerful LinkedIn profile is written in first person narrative form.

Why?

LinkedIn is ultimately a Social Network. Social Networks are all about you interacting with your network. And since your network will check out your profile, it’s imperative that what they read is from YOUR PEN. You want to be SOCIABLE… don’t push people away by creating distance between you and your reader. Draw them in by writing in first person. In fact, I also use second person because it brings your reader in even closer by speaking directly to them.

When you do see profiles written in third person, the reason typically is that they simply copied and pasted their bio or resume. That’s a cop-out in my opinion. Your LinkedIn profile is NOT your resume or your bio. Your LinkedIn profile is your career future! It’s who you are, how you help people, and why you deserve to be noticed. A POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile is strategically written for your goals and your target audience. It’s not a copy and paste of some other document.

Would you like to learn more about what it takes to write a POWERFUL LinkedIn profile? Check out my book: LinkedIn Makeover: Professional Secrets to a POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile

Download a pdf OR Purchase from Amazon

–Donna