Top 6 Terms Mid-Career Female Leaders Cut from Their LinkedIn Bios

If you're anything like me, you do things fast in the name of efficiency, so 75% of the time you're reading, you're skimming and 90% of the time you say "I read somewhere that..." you mean: I read the headline.

In 2010, researchers at the University of California - San Diego calculated that Americans take in 3.6 zettabytes of information per day.

1 zettabyte = one billion trillion bytes. And that was 10 years ago. Imagine how much that's grown

When we consume info we're looking for solutions to a specific problem we need to solve. In the realm of conference bio, LinkedIn profile, resume, or any kind of professional self-summary those "problems" are:

  • Hiring
  • Promoting
  • Partnering
  • Investing
  • Following

And because we're overloaded with a zillion zettabytes, we're scanning for certain search terms. And because there's a zettabyte's worth of people out there hocking their wares, the search must be hyper-targeted.

Imagine your bio or elevator pitch as a mystery package for your audience. When they open it, they're hoping for the answer to their problem. So when you serve the same terms everyone else does, you've sent a package that's 99% packing peanuts.

If your audience can't find the answer to their problem in your bio, they'll move off and find someone who uses the search terms they’re looking for.

I have looked at a LOT of LinkedIn bios, help career women tell a cohesive story about all their experiences and leadership through that medium. I’ve even written a guide on how to tell your story for the Harvard Business Review that’s the top hit on “How to Write Your LinkedIn bio.” So, without further ado, here are the: TOP 6 WORST OFFENDERS IN LINKEDIN BIOS

  1. "Cara is a (strategic/creative) problem solver" What kind of problem do you solve? What's your particular strategic/creative approach?

  2. "Meredith is known as a results/solutions driven marketer" What results? Profits? Efficiency? Global Happiness Index? How do you measure it? What are your stats?

  3. "Lena prides herself on being a builder/connector" Of what? Of whom? What's the specific end result you get with your building & connecting?

  4. "Kate is a known business leader/expert" Which industries? What's your niche?

  5. "Mei's work concentrates on growth" This is like "results" -- what kind of growth? What are your metrics? Name them.

  6. Her specialties include: then you name 10 specialties If you have more than 4-5 specialties, they aren't special. You're still projecting “generalist.” Which are the top 3 that define you? The ones you could do all day and love? Name those. Cut the rest.

There's a lot of reasons this happens. No time to concentrate on your brand. Hard to see the forest for the trees. Fear of pegging yourself as a specialist. Lack of clarity on what you want out of your career.

It’s normal. But it keeps you from connecting with the people you want to influence most.

Alex Cooley