How to Write a LinkedIn About Section with AI (Recruiter's Formula)

Most LinkedIn About sections are bad. Either they’re too short (“Experienced marketer with a passion for storytelling.”) or too long (“I am a results-driven, passionate, dynamic professional who leverages cross-functional synergy…”). Both get scrolled past.

The good ones — the ones I remember after I click away — share a structure. They hook you in the first 2 lines, give you enough context to decide whether to keep reading, then tell a story that’s memorable and useful.

Below is the 5-part formula, the ChatGPT prompt that produces About sections that don’t sound like ChatGPT, and 4 real examples by role type.

What recruiters actually read (the first 200 characters)

When I click on a candidate’s profile, LinkedIn shows me:

1. Their photo and banner
2. Their name and headline (always visible)
3. Their location and connection count
4. The first ~200 characters of their About section before “See more” hides the rest

I decide whether to click “See more” based on those first 200 characters. If they’re generic, I don’t click. If they hook me, I keep reading.

So your About section’s first 2 lines are 70% of its value. The rest of the section is for the recruiters who’ve already clicked “See more” — they’re already interested, so the rest just needs to be solid, not spectacular.

This changes how you write it.

The 5-part formula

Part 1: HOOK (60-150 chars — the visible part before “See more”)

Your first 1-2 sentences. Must earn the click.

Good hook:

“I’ve spent 8 years making B2B payments feel less terrible. Last year I rebuilt Stripe’s merchant onboarding — the thing that reduced time-to-value from 14 days to 4.”

This opens with a specific domain (B2B payments), gives concrete proof (Stripe, onboarding rebuild), and includes a metric (14 → 4 days). A recruiter reads this and wants to see more.

Bad hook:

“Results-driven product professional with a passion for creating delightful user experiences across dynamic, fast-paced environments.”

Zero information. Could describe 50,000 PMs. Gets scrolled.

Part 2: CREDENTIAL / AUTHORITY (1-2 sentences)

After the hook, briefly establish credibility. Where you’ve worked, what you’ve done, what you’re known for. Skip this if the hook already covers it.

Good credential:

“Previously at Airbnb and Uber, both as IC5 PMs on the growth teams. Shipped or contributed to products used by 100M+ users collectively.”

Concrete companies, specific levels, scale numbers. This is what a recruiter needs to triage “is this person senior enough for my role?”

Skip this section if: you’re early career or your hook already has your headline credentials. Don’t artificially inflate.

Part 3: STORY / CONTEXT (1-2 short paragraphs)

This is where About sections diverge from resumes. A resume is bullet points; the About is narrative. You get 1-2 paragraphs to tell the story of how you got here.

Good story:

“I didn’t plan to go into product. I started as an engineer at a failing startup in 2018, realized the problems the company needed to solve weren’t technical (they were about positioning), and talked my way into leading the pivot. It worked — the new direction became our Series A story. I’ve been a PM ever since, always drawn to roles where the ‘what to build’ question matters more than the ‘how to build it’.”

This is the part that makes you memorable. Recruiters read thousands of About sections; a real story stands out. Specific details beat generic narratives every time.

Part 4: VALUE (what you deliver / skills)

What you actually bring to a role. Can be paragraph form or a short bulleted list.

Good value section (paragraph):

“I do my best work when I own a product area end-to-end rather than being handed a spec to execute. Strongest at: defining the bet (what to build and why), running discovery (60+ customer interviews last year), and shipping iteratively (6 major releases in 2024).”

Good value section (bullets):

*“What I’m strongest at:

• Product strategy at the area level (defining 1-3 year bets)
• Customer discovery — I ran 60+ interviews last year
• Shipping in increments — 6 major releases in 2024, zero missed deadlines*

Either style works. Bullets are easier to scan; paragraphs feel more personal.

Part 5: CTA (how + what to reach out for)

End with clarity. What should a reader do next?

Good CTAs:

“If you’re hiring for senior PM roles in B2B SaaS (especially post-Series B), I’d love to talk. Best way to reach me: alex@joblabs.ai or a LinkedIn message.”

“Open to chatting about: (1) senior PM roles, (2) advising early-stage B2B startups, (3) anything related to pricing strategy. DMs open.”

“Not actively looking right now, but happy to talk to exceptional teams. Best contact: email in the Contact Info section.”

The CTA tells recruiters what’s worth a cold message and what isn’t. Makes your inbox better and signals seriousness.

The AI prompt

Help me write a LinkedIn About section using this 5-part structure:

1. HOOK (2 sentences, 150 chars visible before "See more"): specific fact +
   concrete proof
2. CREDENTIAL: 1-2 sentences of companies/scale/years
3. STORY: 1-2 short paragraphs on how I got here — specific detail over
   generic narrative
4. VALUE: what I do best, with evidence (paragraph or bulleted list)
5. CTA: clear ending stating what to reach out for + how

Rules:
- Total under 1,500 characters
- First person ("I'm", never "Alex is")
- No buzzwords: passionate, results-driven, leveraging, strategic,
  synergistic, dynamic, cross-functional, innovative
- Concrete numbers where I've provided them — never invent
- The hook must be under 200 characters (that's what recruiters see before
  clicking "See more")

My inputs:
- Current role + specialty: [paste]
- Most impressive specific outcome: [paste with metric]
- Career highlights (2-3 sentences): [paste]
- The short story of how I got here (any specific detail that makes me
  memorable): [paste]
- What I'm best at (2-3 things with evidence): [paste]
- What I'm looking for / open to: [paste]

Output: one version, then flag any sentences that might sound AI-generated
so I can rewrite.

Run this, edit for voice, paste into LinkedIn. 20-minute task total.

Real examples by role

Example 1: Senior Product Manager

“I’ve spent 8 years making B2B payments feel less terrible. Last year I rebuilt the merchant onboarding flow at Lumen — reduced time-to-funded from 14 days to 4.

Previously at Airbnb and Stripe, both as PM on growth teams. Shipped or contributed to products used by 100M+ users collectively.

I didn’t plan to go into product. I started as an engineer at a failing startup in 2018, realized the problems we needed to solve weren’t technical, and talked my way into leading the pivot. That experience taught me why the ‘what to build’ question matters more than the ‘how.’

I do my best work when I own a product area end-to-end. Strongest at: defining 1-3 year bets, running discovery (60+ customer interviews last year), and shipping in increments without missing deadlines.

Open to: senior PM or Head of Product roles in B2B SaaS (post-Series B). Best contact: LinkedIn DM or alex@email.com.”

1,050 characters. All 5 parts. Specific throughout.

Example 2: Software Engineer (mid-level)

“Backend engineer, 5 years in fintech. I built the payment processing service at Finchly that handles 2M transactions a month — my code is in every merchant payout the platform sends.

Before Finchly, 3 years at Threadly (B2B SaaS). Started on frontend, gradually moved to backend because the problems were more interesting.

Most of my career has been about one thing: writing systems that don’t break under load. I’ve been on-call for services handling 1,000 req/s and services handling 100,000 req/s — the difference is mostly discipline about error budgets, not technical skill. The places I’ve worked best were the ones with a culture of measuring rather than guessing.

Technically strongest at: Go, distributed systems, event-driven architectures. Weakest at (being honest): front-end work beyond basic React. I outsource that.

Reach out if you’re hiring backend or platform engineers at companies with serious scale. Open to senior IC or tech lead roles.”

1,115 characters.

Example 3: Designer (senior IC)

“Senior product designer, 7 years in. I’ve shipped the hiring manager workflow at Oakwood — the most-used surface in our B2B HR product — with 3 end-to-end redesigns.

Previously at a design agency for 3 years across fintech, healthcare, and consumer products. That breadth is why I moved in-house; wanted the depth.

I’m a designer who likes ambiguity. The best work I’ve done has been on problems where the right answer wasn’t obvious and I had to drive the discovery myself — customer interviews, competitor teardowns, quick-and-dirty prototypes to test hypotheses. I’m less interested in pixel-perfect execution of someone else’s vision.

Strongest at: end-to-end IC work on complex products, mentoring other designers (happy to keep doing this), and running user research. Less strong at: traditional art direction / visual systems — not my sweet spot.

Looking for: senior design roles with IC + mentorship responsibilities. B2B SaaS or tools preferred. DMs open.”

1,110 characters.

Example 4: Career Changer

“I’m transitioning from teaching to customer success. Six months into the transition, one full-time CS role completed at a B2B SaaS startup with a 4.7/5 customer NPS from my managed accounts.

Five years as a high-school English teacher before this. No wasted skills — turns out ‘managing 30 teenagers’ is great prep for ‘managing 30 enterprise accounts.’

My pivot story: 2 years ago I started informally advising a friend’s startup on customer communications. Discovered the work was more interesting than teaching, spent 18 months learning the CS craft (courses, shadowing, 40+ informational interviews), then made the switch. Now I’m on the other side and don’t regret it.

Strongest at: customer empathy, complex-explanation-to-non-technical-audiences, stakeholder management under pressure. Learning: advanced CS ops tooling (currently getting fluent in Gainsight and Hubspot).

Open to: CS roles at B2B SaaS, especially where customer-facing teams are growing. Not interested in inbound support. DMs welcome.”

1,170 characters.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1: Starting with “I am” or “My name is”

Your name is already visible on the profile. Don’t waste the first sentence telling me what I can see.

Mistake 2: The generic-trait opener

“I am a results-driven, passionate, and dynamic professional…” Bad in About sections for the same reasons it’s bad anywhere else: zero information. See 13 AI resume buzzwords.

Mistake 3: Writing in third person

“Alex Gouid is a seasoned product manager with…” Feels corporate and robotic. First person always on LinkedIn.

Mistake 4: Paragraph walls

One 600-word block of text. Nobody reads it. Break into 3-5 short paragraphs with visual breathing room.

Mistake 5: No CTA

Ending with “Thank you for reading my About section” or nothing at all. Tell the reader what to do next — it’s not pushy, it’s helpful.

Mistake 6: Life story format

“Born in 1988, I grew up in…” Your About isn’t a biography. Start with what you do NOW, then work backward.

Mistake 7: Buzzword density

If I flagged 5+ of the 13 banned buzzwords, it sounds AI-generated. Rewrite.

Mistake 8: Humble-bragging

“I’m incredibly lucky to have led teams at…” — the humble framing makes the brag more awkward. Just state the fact.

Related reads

• The AI LinkedIn headline formula — the sister article, same pillar
• ChatGPT prompts for resume — parallel prompt-based approach
• 13 AI resume buzzwords recruiters hate — same banned words
• /linkedin/ — full LinkedIn pillar

The 30-minute weekend project

1. Run the AI prompt with your inputs — 10 min
2. Edit the output for voice, strip any AI tells — 10 min
3. Cut to under 1,500 characters if needed — 5 min
4. Paste into LinkedIn → check the preview (what shows before “See more”) — 5 min

If your hook still looks weak in the preview, rewrite the first 2 lines specifically. That preview is the whole game.

A good About section doesn’t do anything dramatic by itself. But it’s what tips a recruiter from “maybe interested” to “let me message them” once they’ve already seen your headline. Tools like Resume Worded score the section against recruiter-search heuristics if you want a numerical sanity check before publishing. Over a year of passive profile views, that’s meaningful — dozens of extra recruiter conversations that wouldn’t have happened with a weak About.

30 minutes once. Benefits for months.

Related reading

• LinkedIn Open to Work: what recruiters see — the visibility flag that sits above the About section.
• LinkedIn Featured section: the 4-item recruiter stack — the portfolio slot directly below About.
• LinkedIn skills to add in 2026 — the Boolean-search layer that works alongside the About copy.
• How to message a recruiter on LinkedIn — the outreach that happens once the profile is doing its job.