Marketing & GrowthFree tool
LinkedIn About Section Writer With Headlines
A first-person About section built only from your resume or notes, written for the reader you want, plus three headline options.
Free to start · Opens in your River workspace, ready to edit and share
How to write a LinkedIn About section
A LinkedIn About section is the summary on your profile that says what you do, who you do it for and what you want next. A good one is written in the first person for one kind of reader. Its first lines work on their own, before anyone clicks "see more". Then it backs them up with two or three specific results and ends with a clear next step.
Everything else follows from choosing that reader. A client deciding whether to hire you and a recruiter deciding whether to call you look for different things, and a section written for both persuades neither.
Pick one reader and one goal
Before you write, decide who you most want to read the section and what you want them to do next. LinkedIn's 2016 guide for recruiters writing their own summaries starts the same way: first, identify your audience and your goal1.
What each reader is looking for
| Goal | Who's reading | What they want to know | End with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win clients | A buyer comparing a few people | The problem you solve, for whom, and proof it worked | How to book a call |
| Find a job | A recruiter or hiring manager | What you're best at, at what level, and what's next | The roles you want and how to reach you |
| Speaking and media | An event organizer, host or editor | What their audience will learn from you | Your topics and how to book you |
| Hire for your team | A candidate weighing a move | What the work is like and why it matters | Open roles and where to apply |
| Build a reputation | Peers in your field | What you've done and what you think | What you write about |
Gather your proof first
The middle of the section is proof, and it's easier to choose from a list than to recall it at the keyboard. Go through your resume, reviews, client emails and project notes, and write down anything with a number, a name or a before and after.
- Results with numbers: revenue, hours saved, growth, people served
- The kinds of clients, teams or industries you've worked with
- Problems you're known for solving, in your clients' words
- Credentials this reader values: licenses, publications, talks
- Work samples to link from your profile's Featured section
- What you want next: the role, the clients or the projects
Share only what you're allowed to
LinkedIn's User Agreement bars members from disclosing information without consent2, such as other people's confidential information, including an employer's. When figures are private, use a percentage or a range, and ask clients before you name them.
Make the opening lines work alone
On a profile, only the first few lines of the section show until a visitor clicks "see more". For everyone who doesn't click, those lines are the whole section. Open with what you do and for whom, a result, or the problem you solve.
- What you do and for whom: "I help family-owned restaurants cut food waste without changing their menus."
- A result: "Over 6 years, I've cut the monthly close from 10 days to 4 at two growing companies."
- The problem you solve: "Many new managers are never taught how to give feedback. I teach them in 6 weeks."
Leave your job title and adjectives out of the opening. Your headline usually shows your title already, and words like "passionate" or "results-driven" are claims a reader has no way to check.
Back it up, then ask for something
Prove it
Give two or three results, each with what changed, by how much and how you did it.
Say how you work
Add a sentence or two on your approach, or on what clients and colleagues rely on you for.
Say what you want
Name the roles, clients or projects you're after, so the right people know to get in touch.
Close with a next step
Give an email address, a booking link or a sales page for your services, and say what to send.
Keep a private search private
LinkedIn makes your profile fully visible to every signed-in member3, colleagues included, so don't announce a confidential job search there. Its Open to Work setting can tell recruiters only4 instead, though LinkedIn says it can't guarantee complete privacy.
Length is up to you. The section holds up to 2,600 characters5, Texas Tech University's career center notes. LinkedIn's help center suggests one or two paragraphs3, or bullet points if prose doesn't come easily.
Texas Tech also advises adding the skills, keywords and past job titles that fit the roles you want, since those are likely what recruiters use to find candidates. Borrow the exact words from listings for that work.
LinkedIn About section examples
Both examples follow the same shape: an opening that works alone, two or three results, then what the person wants and how to reach them.
I write the onboarding emails that turn free trials into paying customers for software companies.
I focus on a trial's first week, starting with a welcome email that gets new users to one useful result.
For one client, rewritten trial emails lifted trial-to-paid conversion from 9% to 13% in a quarter. For a payroll app, a six-email sequence cut support tickets from new users by a third.
Before freelancing, I spent 4 years in product marketing for accounting software.
I work with three retainer clients at a time. If your trial numbers are stuck, email hello@example.com with a link to your signup page.
- An opening that stands alone. The first line says what she does and for whom.
- Results with a before and after. Each one says what changed, by how much and how.
- A next step with instructions. It says where to write and what to include.
I run payroll for growing companies, and in 8 years I haven't missed a pay date.
I've handled payroll for teams of 40 to 1,200 people across nine US states. At my current company, I moved payroll off spreadsheets in 4 months and cut correction runs from about six a month to one.
I hold the Certified Payroll Professional credential and handle multi-state tax filings, benefit deductions and year-end W-2s.
I'm looking for a payroll manager role at a company of 200 to 2,000 people. The best way to reach me is a message here.
- Proof in the first line. It leads with the result payroll is judged on: everyone paid on time.
- Scale the reader can judge. Team sizes, states and a before and after show the level of the work.
- Only for an open search. Leave out the last paragraph if your employer doesn't know you're looking.
Match your headline, then check it
Your headline is the line under your name, and LinkedIn shows it in search results6. LinkedIn usually creates it from your current position, but you can rewrite it to promote an area of expertise. Put the words a searcher would use first. Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group writes that people scanning a list, search results included, typically see about the first two words of most items7.
Then read the whole profile as your reader would. Your experience section, your resume and cover letter and, if you run a business, your website's About Us page should tell the same story.
Before you publish
- The opening lines make sense on their own
- It speaks to one reader, in the first person
- Every number is one you could explain in an interview
- No adjective is doing the job of proof
- It ends with what you want and how to reach you
- Nothing in it is confidential, including your job search
- Your headline leads with the words people search for
Want a first draft to edit? Paste your resume or a few notes into the tool at the top of this page. River writes the section for the reader you choose, with three headline options, and marks missing proof for you to fill in.
How it works
Start with your resume, your current About section or a few notes about your work, and pick what you want the profile to do. River chooses the results that matter most to that reader and writes a first-person About section in your workspace. You also get its exact character count, a shorter version of about 600 characters and three headline options.
It works only from what you give it. Where a number or example would help and you haven't supplied one, it leaves a marked gap for you to fill instead of making one up. If you skip the goal, River works one out from your background and tells you which it chose. You paste the finished text into LinkedIn yourself.
Share your background
Paste your resume, current About section or a few notes, and choose what the profile is for.
River picks your proof
It chooses the results that matter most to your reader and writes opening lines that work alone.
Get your About section
A first-person draft with its character count, a shorter version and three headline options to choose from.
Edit and paste
Fill any marked gaps, ask for another goal or tone, then copy the text into LinkedIn.
What you get
- A first-person About section for the reader you chose, with its exact character count stated
- An opening that stands alone before "see more": a result, a problem you solve or what you do
- Two or three proof points drawn only from your own results, clients and numbers
- Marked gaps wherever a number or example would help, so nothing is invented for you
- Three headline options of up to 220 characters, each leading with the words that matter
- A shorter version of about 600 characters, all in an editable page in your River workspace
Common questions
How long should a LinkedIn About section be?
LinkedIn allows up to 2,600 characters, roughly 400 to 450 words, but you don't need all of them. LinkedIn's own help center suggests one or two paragraphs. Write enough for an opening, two or three results and a next step. Make sure the opening lines work alone, since they are all that shows before the "see more" link.
Should a LinkedIn About section be in the first or third person?
First person, in almost every case. The section is you talking to a visitor, and "I" sounds direct where "she" or "he" sounds like a press release. Some executives use the third person for a formal tone; if you do, keep it consistent all the way through. River writes in the first person unless you ask for something else.
What do good LinkedIn About section examples have in common?
Good examples are written for one reader and built on specifics. The opening works on its own, with what the person does and for whom or a standout result. The middle gives two or three results with numbers, and the end says what they want and how to reach them. Weak examples lean on adjectives like "passionate" and "results-driven" that any profile could claim.
How do I write a LinkedIn About section with River?
Paste your resume, current About section or a few notes into the box at the top of this page, and choose what the profile is for. River writes a first-person draft into your free River workspace, with a character count, a shorter version and three headlines. Fill any marked gaps, then paste it into LinkedIn yourself.
How do I write an About section if I'm changing careers?
Lead with the work you want to do next, then use results from your past roles to show the skills that carry over. Say plainly that you're making a move, so readers don't have to guess why your history looks different. In River, choose "Find a new job" and say what you're moving toward.
Can I write a LinkedIn About section for a client?
Yes. Resume writers, ghostwriters and assistants often draft profiles for other people. Paste their resume or interview notes, choose their goal, and River writes in their voice, marking any missing proof for them to add. Then have them paste it into their own profile: LinkedIn's User Agreement bars using another member's account, including by sharing log-in details.
Is the LinkedIn About section writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your About section opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it for feedback or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
Sources
LinkedIn Talent Blog. “6 Steps to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile Summary [for Recruiters].” linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)
LinkedIn. “User Agreement.” linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)
LinkedIn Help. “Create a good LinkedIn profile.” linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)
LinkedIn Help. “Let recruiters know you’re Open to Work.” linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)
Texas Tech University Career Center. “Writing Your LinkedIn About Section.” depts.ttu.edu (opens in a new tab)
LinkedIn Help. “Edit Your Headline.” linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)
Nielsen Norman Group. “First 2 Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye.” nngroup.com (opens in a new tab)
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.