How to write a LinkedIn About section, with examples
What goes in the first 300 characters, a five-part structure, weak vs strong openings, and four full examples to adapt.
By Will Bryant · Updated October 12, 2026
A good LinkedIn About section opens with what you do and one piece of proof, because only about the first 300 characters show before ‘see more’. Then cover who you do it for, two or three results with numbers, and what you want next. Write it in the first person, and keep it well under the 2,600-character limit.
The first 300 characters do most of the work
Only about the first 300 characters of your About show before the ‘see more’ link, according to Eden’s list of LinkedIn character limits (Eden makes a LinkedIn writing tool, and LinkedIn doesn’t document this cut-off, so treat it as approximate). That’s two or three sentences, and for most visitors it’s the whole section unless it gives them a reason to click. ‘I am a passionate, results-driven professional’ is true of thousands of people and tells a recruiter nothing, so open with the work and the proof instead.
Weak vs strong About openings
Every person, title and number in the examples on this page is invented for illustration.
| Weak opening | Why it’s weak | Stronger opening |
|---|---|---|
| I am a passionate, results-driven professional with a proven track record. | Could describe anyone | I run warehouse operations that ship on time. At my last company that meant 98% on-time delivery across three sites. |
| Jane is a seasoned marketing executive with over 15 years of experience. | Third person reads like a press release | I lead B2B marketing teams that turn quiet websites into pipeline, most recently 40% more qualified leads in a year. |
| Welcome to my profile! | Spends the opening on nothing | I’m a payroll specialist who keeps 2,000 people paid correctly and on time, across four states. |
| Currently unemployed and looking for my next challenge. | Leads with the gap instead of the value | I’m an operations director with 20 years in manufacturing, and I’m looking for my next plant or regional role. |
| Experienced in sales, marketing, operations and finance. | Too broad to search for or remember | I build sales teams for software companies that sell to hospitals, from the first hire to 25 reps. |
| After graduating in 2004, I joined a large accounting firm... | Starts the story in the wrong place | I turn messy finance data into answers, first as an accountant for seven years and now as a data analyst. |
A five-part structure for your About section
Career offices give the same basic advice: St. Olaf College’s career center tells students to write this section in the first person, and the University of Florida’s LinkedIn guide says to include keywords and quantify your experience. Here’s a shape that does both.
- The opening. What you do and one result, inside the first 300 characters.
- What you do, and for whom. A short paragraph naming the work, the industries and the tools. These are the words recruiters search for, and recruiter keyword searches read your About as well as your headline and experience, according to Leonar’s guide to LinkedIn Recruiter filters (Leonar makes recruiting software).
- Proof. Two or three results with numbers, not a list of duties. Write what changed because you were there.
- What you want next. One honest line on the roles, sectors or locations you’re open to, so a recruiter knows whether you fit.
- A way in, and a human line. Optional, but a sentence on how to reach you, or on what you care about at work, makes the profile easier to act on and to remember. The career team at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management suggests closing by telling readers what you want them to do and how to get in touch.
Four LinkedIn About section examples
Each one follows the structure above and runs about 100 words, which is plenty. The limit is 2,600 characters, but nobody has to use them all.
Example 1: Operations director, between jobs
I run manufacturing operations that hit their numbers without burning people out. Over 20 years I’ve led plants of 150 to 400 people in food and packaging, most recently as operations director across three sites, where we cut unplanned downtime by a third and lifted on-time delivery from 89% to 97%.
My work sits where safety, cost and people meet: lean and continuous improvement, S&OP, capital projects, and turning good supervisors into managers.
Our site closed in June, and I’m now looking for my next plant manager or regional operations role in the Midwest. If you’re hiring for one, my inbox is open.
Example 2: Teacher moving into instructional design
I design learning that people finish. For 12 years I did it as a high-school math teacher, rebuilding our algebra course into short lessons with a quick check at the end, and over two years the pass rate rose from 61% to 74%.
Now I’m doing it for adult learners. I’ve completed a certificate in instructional design and built two e-learning modules in Articulate Storyline, both linked in my Featured section.
I’m looking for instructional design and learning experience roles, especially in healthcare or software training, where short and clear beats long and clever.
Example 3: Finance director at a growing company
I help growing companies know where their cash is going before it’s gone. As finance director at a 300-person software company, I built the FP&A function from a spreadsheet and two people into a team of six, and our forecasts now land within 3% of actuals.
I’ve led two acquisitions and a $40 million debt raise, and I sit between the CFO and the operating teams, turning board targets into budgets people can actually run.
I’m most useful to scale-ups between Series B and IPO. Outside work I coach youth soccer, which is mostly budgeting for orange slices.
Example 4: Returning to work after a career break
I keep projects and people organized. Before a five-year career break to raise my two children, I spent seven years running the front desk of a 200-room hotel, managing schedules for 11 staff and every guest problem that walked through the door.
During my break I was treasurer of our parent-teacher association, keeping the books for a $40,000 annual budget and organizing volunteers for 12 events a year. This spring I completed courses in Excel and Outlook.
I’m returning to work and looking for office manager or administrative roles in the Phoenix area, full time.
A final check before you publish
- Read it aloud. Contractions are fine, and if a sentence sounds like a brochure, rewrite it the way you’d say it.
- Your target job title, your main tools and your industry each appear at least once, in the words a job posting would use.
- Every claim has a number, a name or an example behind it.
- The first 300 characters would make sense if they were all someone read.
Next steps
- Get a second opinion. The free LinkedIn Score rates your About alongside your headline, experience, skills and completeness, and suggests fixes, with no signup.
- Get a first draft. The free LinkedIn makeover rewrites your About, headline and experience in your voice from your work history and goals, ready to paste, free with an account.
- Read next. LinkedIn headline examples, how to get found by recruiters on LinkedIn and how many skills to list on LinkedIn. Changing careers? See career change cover letter examples for the letter that goes with the profile.
Get your headline, About and Experience rewritten in your voice, ready to paste. Free with a Standout account.
Rewrite my LinkedIn, free →Common questions
LinkedIn allows 2,600 characters, according to Eden's 2026 list of LinkedIn limits, but you don't need them all. Three or four short paragraphs is plenty for most people, and the examples on this page run about 100 words each. What matters more is the opening, because only about the first 300 characters show before 'see more'.
First person. 'I help finance teams close the books faster' sounds like a person talking, while a third-person bio ('Jane is a seasoned professional...') reads like a press release and puts distance between you and the reader. Career offices give the same advice, and St. Olaf College's career center tells students to write this section in the first person, using the word 'I'.
Yes. Recruiter keyword searches cover your About as well as your headline, experience, skills and education, according to Leonar, which makes recruiting software and documents LinkedIn Recruiter's filters. So the job titles, tools and industry words you want to be found for should each appear naturally at least once. Write for a person first, then check the obvious keywords are there.
If you're actively looking and happy to be contacted directly, a line with your email at the end is fine, and it makes it easy for a recruiter to reach you. Skip the phone number unless you want calls from people you don't know.
Lead with what you do and your strongest result, exactly as you would if you were employed, and put the job search in the last paragraph, with the roles you want, where, and that you're available. One plain sentence on why you're looking, such as a site closure or a restructure, is enough. Example 1 on this page shows the shape.
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