Optimizing your professional headline on LinkedIn

You know clients and prospects are looking for you on LinkedIn, so you created an account. That’s great. You even remember to post an update every now and then or participate in group conversations . . . but there’s one more thing you need to do: Create a better professional headline.

Your professional headline should speak to your experience, not list your current job title. Why?

That little blurb offers great business development potential, when used appropriately. How? When searching for your services, do you think folks are using search terms like “partner” and “associate” or more specific, descriptive terms like “patent attorney based in D.C.” or “litigation attorney for technology companies?” You guessed it – they’re specific. And attorneys who tweak their headlines to include descriptive phrases come back in search results, while the rest are never found.

Don’t worry – you can still add “founding partner” to your description; just don’t let that be your only description.