Why your LinkedIn Headline Should not Include the Word ‘Mum’
Hang on a minute? This is a total contradiction to everything else you tell us’, I hear you say… Yes, you’re right.
If you know me and what I stand for with my business and course Kids to Career, this is probably not what you expected me to say. I totally advocate shouting about your parenting experience and using it to highlight all your transferable skills. Don’t worry, this still stands. I don’t want you to hide this part of your life at all. However, when it comes to your LinkedIn profile, the rules change slightly. Let me tell you why.
Keywords
LinkedIn needs to be optimised for keywords that get you found. Your LinkedIn headline and summary are the places you want to fill with all the searchable terms, your best achievements and things relevant to getting your next position. Unless you want another baby, which doesn’t usually require the use of LinkedIn, adding ‘mum’ ‘stay at home mum’ etc won’t put you at the top of the searches. Put it in your summary to explain a gap and to tell your story by all means, but save your headline section for the words that are going to get you seen by the right people.
Don’t go with the default
If you go with the default setting on LinkedIn, your headline will simply be your current job. I don’t recommend the default in any situation, but I would be especially sure to change it if your most recent professional experience entry is ‘stay at home mum’ or similar. While this is absolutely valid and worthy, if this is your headline, you won’t get many hits on the searches. Recruiters will not be searching for ‘stay at home mum’ (unless they are trying to sell you some dodgy pyramid scheme that can be done from home) so don’t waste the valuable space. Yes, you are a mum, but you are still a professional with a wealth of valuable experience that will get you found on LinkedIn, for the right reasons.
So, what should you say instead?
For your headline, highlight your most relevant experience relating to what you’re looking to do. For example, ‘Experienced HR Manager’ or ‘Award winning freelance writer’. It doesn’t have to be your most recent job, just the one you’re going to be using to get you to the next step in your career.
When it comes to your summary, you need to tell a story about how you got to where you are. It doesn’t have to omit your recent life as a parent, but just make sure it focuses on the professional image you’re trying to get across and that it uses key words relating to the industry you’re targeting.
Tell your story, talk about your career to date and your skills. If you’ve taken time out to raise a family, make sure it’s very clear you’re now ready to take on a new challenge.
Project section
I always say that you have gained valuable skills as a parent that can be hugely helpful in your career pursuits. The project section is the best place for this. If you are on the PTA, ran a toddler group, held any volunteer positions, add them with pride to the project section highlighting everything you did and the skills you’ve gained.
Winning profile
Your time out doesn’t need to look like a shortfall on your profile. Make sure you highlight the experience for the what it was. A fantastic time to learn new skills, time out to decide what you really want and game changer in terms of personal development.
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