Updating Your LinkedIn Headline After Leaving a Company

A CFO came to me with one question: “Why isn’t LinkedIn bringing me opportunities?” I didn’t need more than 10 seconds to see why. Their profile read like a basic career chronology: past-focused, dense, full of jargon. It didn’t give anyone a reason to reach out today. Don’t approach LinkedIn as just a ‘resume-like’ database. Look at it more like a giant search engine. If you want it to bring you opportunities, your profile must be built for search, connection, and positioning. Start with these 4 checks: 1.     Headline: Does it project your next move, not just your current job title? Most executives leave their headline as “CFO at XYZ Corp.”, which doesn’t help them in searches. Instead, use a value-driven headline with appropriate keywords: Chief Financial Officer | Fortune 100 | $50B P&L Oversight | Drove 18% EBITDA Growth and $4B Free Cash Flow | Global M&A, Capital Markets, Digital Finance Transformation This makes you keyword-rich for search and gives readers a reason to click. 2.     About Section: Does it read like a compelling conversation starter, or like a dull corporate bio? The best About sections: * Lead with a hook that makes people want to read more. * Share the kind of leadership problems you solve. * Spotlight strong impacts and results. * Close with a clear invitation to connect. 3.     Top 5 Skills: These should never be random; instead, they should be strategically selected and aligned with the skills that your future employers are looking for. Choose keywords that match your target roles (e.g., “Mergers & Acquisitions,” “Financial Strategy,” “Organizational Transformation”). 4.     Experience Section: Are your results front and center? Are you providing enough context to appease and interest a reader? Replace generic “responsible for” statements with quantified impact: “Delivered $120M in cost savings through operational restructuring”. People scan profiles, and numbers and specifics stop the scroll. When you treat your LinkedIn profile as an active marketing asset, it begins generating warm leads even when you’re not online. A strong profile isn’t just a biography. It’s your 24/7 business development tool. 🔁 Share this to help someone who is due for a LinkedIn refresh. #LinkedIn #Jobsearch #ExecutiveSearch

Most people overthink their resume but underthink their LinkedIn headline. I worked with a designer recently, 9+ years of experience, projects with Google, Apple and PepsiCo. Amazing portfolio! Her headline though? “Visual Designer | Brand-Rooted, System-Minded.” Not wrong but it didn’t say what kind of work she wanted next and it didn’t sound like someone ready to lead in-house brand design at scale. When you’ve worn a lot of hats or bounced between freelance projects, it makes sense if your headline feels a little vague. It’s not that you don’t know what you do, it’s just hard to own it out loud when things have felt uncertain for a while. So we rewrote it to: Senior Visual & Brand Designer | Brand Systems & Digital Campaigns | Global Consumer Brands Now it says: I’m senior, I do brand + digital, and I’m ready to contribute to something global. If your headline is stuck in the past, here’s a simple way to rewrite it: [Level] + [Role] | [Key Skill #1] & [Key Skill #2] | [Audience or Type of Work] Examples: Senior Brand Designer | Identity Systems & Campaigns | Consumer Brands Visual Designer | Web & Marketing Design | Wellness + Tech Startups Senior Product Designer | UI & Design Systems | SaaS & Growth-Stage Teams Start by asking: What kind of work do I want to be doing a year from now? Then write a headline that leads you there.

If you’re pivoting out of clinical work, do yourself a favor: Make your LinkedIn headline draw attention to where you’re going instead of where you’ve been. I can’t tell you how many times a few years ago I would get recruiter messages that started out with …“We love your background and think you’d be a great fit…” Only to end with “…for this clinical pharmacist role.” Cue the disappointment 😅 Even years after moving into health tech, I was still having to double-check when it wasn't clear: “Quick question — is this for a clinical position?” Here's the lesson I learned the hard way: If you don’t spell out what you want, people will default to what they see. Your headline isn’t just for your past — it can be a billboard for your future. Make it obvious: list your target roles, your industry, your aspirations. I know it might feel awkward to own something that still feels kind of new to you, but it'll avoid the confusion (and the awkward follow-up emails). 😬