Do you write your professional statement on LinkedIn in first or third person? The previous post below with LinkedIn tips has generated a number of responses and emails direct to my inbox.
I went back to Andy Lopata for clarification, when media man, Michael Dodd raised an argument as to the wisdom of putting your LinkedIn profile in first personal singular. Michael focuses on 'getting your message across' and in his opinion - use third person because:
"It seems more objective - it stops the CV being so "I this" and "I that" and makes it easier to write in a way that focuses on what you can do for the reader"
What do you think?
Andy expanded his strategy further by countering:"While it is important, I agree, to focus on what you do for the people you'd like to meet, LinkedIn is a social network and is, above all, about building relationships. People are far more likely to engage and build a relationship with a profile written in the first person than with a cold CV.
In fact, I would argue that the thought that goes into writing something from the heart, would make it more likely that you can get across why people should connect with you in a powerful way than a run-of-the-mill, copy and paste biography.
LinkedIn is about connections, not sales. While your prospects may read your profile, so will your 'Champions', the people who might not buy from you but would, with the right relationship, refer you. A cold sales text won't help you develop that trust and those relationships in the same way as a more personal approach.
While written in the first person, the subject matter should still be predominantly (although not exclusively) focused on what you deliver; that doesn't change.
For objective comment, get people who have personally experienced or witness the quality of your service to post testimonials to testify to that and complement your own profile."
Maybe we can learn from both of these experts and apply a little of each strategy - you can check out my profile on LinkedIn here.
Comments
Third person reads better, I think
25-Oct-2011 03:44 PM
Ian Hudson commented on
There's no doubt in my mind that profiles should be written in first person. Andy's point about building relationships is right: it's difficult to relate to a disembodied persona. Many third person profiles I read are simply self-promoting statements hiding
behind a thin veneer of supposed objectivity. Much better to let your personality shine through - walking CVs collect names; real people make connections.
25-Oct-2011 03:57 PM
Anthony Madigan commented on
Im with Andy. People misunderstand LinkedIn's purpose. The clue is in the phrase "Social network". You link up with friends, (real friends) and help each other reach out. Other commentators have rightly pointed out the importance of the depth of our contacts,
rather than how many we have. Good networking involves building relationships. That's about "You, me and I " far more than "Him, he and she"
25-Oct-2011 05:50 PM
Lee Clarke commented on
I'm with Andy too. I like the way you have an opportunity to speak from the heart about what you do - it allows other people to engage with you as if you were actually speaking to them in a networking situation. Then the third person recommendations can
back up the fact that you do what you say for people by referring to you with objectivity.
26-Oct-2011 12:10 PM
Sue Richardson commented on
Jackie thinks that writing in the third person comes across as pretentious.
27-Oct-2011 02:31 PM
Jackie commented on