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LinkedIn's About section: how to write it in the first person without sounding like a CV
The LinkedIn About section is the long text block appearing under your headline and photo. It allows up to 2,600 characters to explain who you are professionally, what you do and why the reader should care. It is the only section of the profile where you have real space to sound like a person.
This guide covers how to write it in the first person without falling into copywriting templates, which structure holds up, which typical phrases to cut and how to iterate it without rewriting the whole thing every time. If your current About section is still in the third person or has gone untouched for years, this is one of the adjustments with the biggest impact on initial trust.
By Sheena de PunkVoice · Edited by Mario Pérez
Where the About section is actually seen and how much of it
On your profile, LinkedIn shows the first three lines of your About section before the "see more". That is what is visible without a click. If those three lines do not hook, most visitors never tap to read the rest.
That makes the first paragraph the most valuable part of the whole block. It is where the sentence that best describes you has to sit, the most concrete proposition, or the most interesting angle. Saving the good part for the end of your About section is the same as not writing it.
In internal search, LinkedIn also weighs the words in your About section for results, though less than the headline. Having two or three central keywords for your activity well placed still helps, without the block losing readability through keyword excess.
First person vs third: why the decision matters
Most profiles carry an inheritance from LinkedIn's early years, when the About section was written in the third person, imitating the institutional style of corporate websites. "Maria is a consultant with over fifteen years of experience...". It sounds professional to the ear, but it creates distance from the reader.
The first person generates more trust because it makes explicit that you are behind your own profile, and it speaks directly to the reader on the other side. "I have spent fifteen years helping industrial brands explain what they do". The difference looks minor. The effect on message replies and invitation acceptance is significant.
The third person only makes sense in very institutional profiles (recognisable public figures where the institutional register is part of the proposition, firms where the person represents a heavy corporate brand) or in transitions (when a team drafts somebody's profile before that person takes it over).
If in doubt, first person. It almost always pays off more.
A structure that holds up: three blocks and one final decision
There is no single correct structure, but there is a skeleton that serves most professionals and adapts effortlessly:
Block 1, who you are and who for (2 to 3 lines). The first line is the most important. It has to communicate in one sentence what you do and who for, in language your target reader recognises as theirs. If the first paragraph works, the reader taps "see more". If not, they never reach the rest.
Block 2, how you work and why (2 to 4 paragraphs). Here you develop your approach, your track record if it adds something, the concrete problems you solve, the references or experiences that formed your judgement. It is where you demonstrate judgement, not where you stack certifications.
Block 3, what you offer today and how to take the next step (2 to 3 lines). You close with what it takes to work with you or to start a conversation. A visible email, a line of invitation, a link if you have one. Without that close, the About section stays informative but never becomes transactional.
The final decision that changes everything: the tone. Decide whether your About section speaks in a formal, conversational or clearly personal register, and keep that register consistent from the first paragraph to the last. Mixing tones breaks trust faster than any individual error.
How to connect your About section with the rest of your profile
How to write the first sentence: four useful patterns
The About section's first sentence carries almost all the weight. These four patterns work on most profiles, and they can be crossed:
The result sentence: "I have spent X years [action verb] [concrete result] for [specific audience]". Example: "I have spent twelve years helping B2B startups build their content programme without needing an in-house team".
The editorial angle sentence: "I work in [field] from [a differentiated perspective that is not the industry's usual one]". Example: "I do personal branding from the editorial judgement side, not the marketing side".
The answered question sentence: "[A question your ideal audience asks themselves]. That is my favourite question". Example: "How does a design agency charge when its clients do Figma at home? That is the question I help the most people with".
The declarative positioning sentence: "I believe that [a clear, specific position in your field]". Example: "I believe B2B content became homogeneous because almost nobody accepts the cost of holding an uncomfortable opinion".
The ones that almost never work: those opening with "Passionate about...", "Strategist and visionary..." or "Professional with experience in...". They sound like templates however hard you work on the rest.
Typical phrases worth cutting
"Versatile professional with solid experience in...": zero information, occupying the space where you could say something concrete.
"Passionate about [topic]": the more you need to declare yourself passionate, the less you seem it. Enthusiasm is demonstrated in how you describe what you do, not in self applied labels.
"Transformative visionary driving change": empty words repeated across thousands of profiles. Anybody who has been on LinkedIn a while skips them automatically.
"Over X years of experience in..." (at the start): experience is context, not a proposition. It works in block 2. At the start it falls short.
"I am open to new opportunities": it communicates that you are looking for work, not that you are in a strong position. If you need it, put it in block 3 as a concrete opening rather than a general self description.
"My hobbies are..." or "In my free time...": unless they are genuinely relevant to your professional positioning, they occupy precious space the reader would rather use to understand your proposition.
How to fit keywords in without sounding like cheap SEO
LinkedIn's internal search weighs the words in your About section for results, so it is worth including the two or three keywords that best define your activity. But doing it badly reads terribly: paragraphs stuffed with words like "expert in SEO, copywriting, branding, digital marketing, growth hacking" destroy the reading.
The elegant way: integrate the keywords into sentences that make sense to a human. Instead of "Specialist in B2B copywriting, SEO and email marketing", write "I have spent years writing for B2B companies that need text which sells cold: websites, email sequences and organic positioning". The keywords are there, but they are part of the message rather than a list of tags.
One practical rule: an About section should never contain a sentence like "my specialities are:" followed by a list. If you have one, break it up and integrate it into the body. The list of tags belongs in the skills section, not the About section.
How to iterate your About section without rewriting it entirely
Changing the whole thing every time is inefficient and erases the recognition you are accumulating. A protocol of small iterations works better:
Every 3 to 6 months, review only the first sentence. It is where the cost of falling out of date is highest. Ask yourself: if somebody lands on my profile for the first time today, does this sentence still say what best describes me?
Once a year, review block 2 (the body). This is where career changes, relevant new projects and the experiences that formed your judgement over the year come in. Keep the length or shorten it. Resisting the temptation to add without removing is what keeps the block readable.
Every time you change role or proposition, review block 3 (the close). It is where the tactical information (email, call to action, what you are after today) goes out of date fastest.
And always, after any edit, read it out loud. If you stumble over a sentence, the reader will too. Sentences that read awkwardly get deleted without remorse.
Frequent mistakes that crush an About section
Leaving it blank. Still the number one mistake. An empty About section signals that the profile is residual rather than active.
Dumping your CV in as bullets. Stacking job titles, dates and companies in a list. The experience section already exists for that. The About section serves another function.
Writing for everybody. Generic About sections that serve a marketing director and a freelance illustrator equally well. The more specific the ideal reader, the stronger the block.
No paragraphs. A wall of text with no visual breaks is off-putting. Although LinkedIn allows little formatting, line breaks are your allies. Use them without fear.
Too long. The maximum is 2,600 characters, but reaching the ceiling rarely pays off. What reads best is 1,000 to 1,500 characters well threaded.
Contradicting the headline. A headline selling a niche and an About section discussing everything. When the two do not match, the reader decides you are not sure what you offer.