I was on a call recently with a C-suite executive. The person noted that they were frustrated by my comment about their headline because they had taken the time to change it “about a dozen times”.
What was remarkable to me was that their current headline did not convey the thing they wanted to do NOW.
It had lots of good things in it. They were all related their impressive list of accomplishments, but it was missing the key ingredient: the NOW thing.
The value of having a clear LinkedIn headline is not new information and you could probably list the top reasons why you should.
But you haven’t done it yet.
Because
You don’t want to miss out on pivotal opportunities.
So, let’s talk about it.
Many executives default to their current job title and/or their current company.
And, that’s fine.
But you’re better than fine.
So, let’s dig a little deeper.
Sometimes, in my calls with executives looking to advance their career, I hear a chorus of:
But Sue:
I’ve done a lot of things!
I’m willing to do lots of things at the right company.
My experience is varied.
I want to change industries.
If you want your headline to be better than fine and have LinkedIn work for you so you don’t miss out on pivotal opportunities, I’ve got good news.
Honing your headline is not about ALL the things you did, it’s about getting specific about what you want to do NOW.
Still not convinced? Let’s talk about it a little more.
I’m confident that you’ve got the receipts for your success.
You’ve been promoted, referred, and contacted by a former colleague to work with them again.
And, you grew your career that way
In reactive mode.
Or, you’re a heads-down high achiever doing the work, one who doesn’t have time for LinkedIn.
It’s just a bunch of spam anyway.
I don’t want to be more noise out there.
My work should speak for itself.
I wish I could look every one of you in the eyes and say this with the compassion I feel
But that would take a really long time.
And, some of you would run the other way (that’s fair, you don’t know me like that).
If I did look at each of you, I would say this
It’s not enough.
It’s not enough in 2024 to rely on someone else to be responsible for your next move.
It’s not enough in 2024 to expect your work to speak for itself.
Because
Information is streaming at us more ferociously than ever before,
Expecting your work speaking for itself is like a whisper in the wind,
No one will hear it.
Or, expecting that reactive mode will still be effective today means you have ignored the news of the thousands of layoffs from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses that you didn’t even know existed.
On the other hand, why would you?
Why would you rely on someone else to give you the permission and the opportunity to do the NEXT thing?
Your talents and expertise do not exist without you.
You are the reason those multi-million dollar savings happened.
You are the reason that top line revenue is the highest it’s ever been.
You are the reason that the operations are humming along.
And, yes, you could not have done it without your team.
But, they couldn’t have done it without you.
I recommend bringing your receipts with you because when your next opportunity meets your track record of success, wonderful things happen.
Honing your headline is not about ALL the things you did, it’s about getting clear on what you want to do NOW.
Because
Self-reflection guides career direction.
It’s time to reflect.
One final thought
I’m not waving my pom poms at you, hoping you’ll pay attention to me.
I would much rather you pay attention to you.
The more clear you are on the thing you desire to do NOW, the more effectively you will hone your headline.
Oh, and when I helped the executive in my network hone their headline with a simple formula and a couple of ideas they could copy and paste, their response was:
I feel better already.
That was a pretty cool moment.
Get out there.
You’ve got this.