Your LinkedIn headline is 220 characters of prime digital real estate. It shows up in search results, connection requests, comments you leave on other people's posts, and every single recruiter search query. And yet, most people fill it with the professional equivalent of white noise.
"Passionate thought leader leveraging synergies to drive innovation." Congratulations, you just described absolutely nothing. -- Sally
Sally has reviewed thousands of LinkedIn profiles, and the headline is where most people lose the game before it even starts. Here is what goes wrong, why it matters, and how to fix it so recruiters actually stop scrolling when they see your name.
Mistake 1: Your Job Title and Nothing Else
"Marketing Manager at Acme Corp." That is a fact, not a headline. Recruiters already know your job title because it is listed in your experience section. Your headline is the one place where you get to say what you actually do and what makes you worth clicking on. A job title alone tells a recruiter nothing about your specialization, your results, or whether you are even relevant to the role they are filling.
Mistake 2: Buzzword Soup
"Results-driven professional passionate about leveraging cross-functional synergies to drive transformational outcomes." Read that again. Does it tell you anything? No. It tells a recruiter you copied it from a template. Buzzwords are the LinkedIn equivalent of filler words in a conversation. They take up space and communicate zero substance.
Buzzwords that mean nothing on their own:
- Results-driven (as opposed to what, results-avoiding?)
- Passionate (everyone claims passion, nobody proves it)
- Thought leader (if you have to say it, you probably are not one)
- Ninja / Guru / Rockstar (it is not 2014 anymore)
- Leveraging synergies (this is a parody of itself)
"If your headline sounds like it was generated by shaking a bag of corporate Scrabble tiles, start over. -- Sally"
Mistake 3: No Keywords for Search
LinkedIn is a search engine. Recruiters type specific terms: "React developer," "product manager fintech," "UX researcher enterprise." If none of those terms are in your headline, you are invisible. Your headline needs to contain the exact words recruiters search for. This is not about gaming the system. It is about speaking the same language as the people trying to find you.
Mistake 4: Being Cute Instead of Clear
"Making the internet less ugly, one pixel at a time." Sure, it is clever. But if a recruiter searching for "Senior UI Designer" or "Figma design system" cannot figure out what you do from your headline, clever works against you. Clarity always wins over creativity on LinkedIn. Save the personality for your About section where people are already invested enough to read it.
Mistake 5: Not Showing Proof of Impact
The best headlines include a number or a result. Numbers are specific, concrete, and impossible to fake (well, harder to fake). They instantly separate you from the sea of generic headlines. "Grew organic traffic 340% in 12 months" is infinitely more compelling than "SEO specialist with proven track record."
The anatomy of a strong LinkedIn headline:
- Role or expertise area (what you do)
- Industry or vertical (who you do it for)
- A result, metric, or proof point (why anyone should care)
- Relevant searchable keywords
The Formula That Works
Here is a simple structure: [Role] | [Specialty / Industry] | [Proof or Result]. Examples: "Frontend Engineer | React & TypeScript | Built design systems used by 200+ devs." Or: "Sales Director | Enterprise SaaS | $18M quota, 127% attainment FY25." Or: "Product Designer | Health Tech | Led redesign that cut user drop-off by 40%."
Notice how each of those tells you exactly who the person is, what they specialize in, and why they are credible. A recruiter can decide in two seconds if this person is worth clicking on. That is the entire point.
How Sally Scores LinkedIn Headlines
When you submit your LinkedIn profile to Cynical Sally, the headline is one of the first things she evaluates. In a Level 1 free roast, Sally will call out vague, buzzword-stuffed, or missing headlines with her signature wit. In a Level 2 SuperClub scorecard, your headline gets scored on clarity, keyword relevance, impact proof, and recruiter appeal, with specific rewrite suggestions and evidence for each score.
"Your headline says 'Experienced Professional.' Experienced at what? Professional at what? This is the LinkedIn equivalent of a blank stare. -- Sally"
Quick Checklist Before You Publish
Run through this before saving your headline:
- Does it say what you actually do (not just your title)?
- Would a recruiter searching for your role find you?
- Is there at least one specific result or proof point?
- Could you remove every buzzword and still have a complete sentence?
- Is it under 220 characters?
- Would someone outside your company understand it?
Your headline is not your autobiography. It is your billboard. Make every character count, or accept that recruiters will keep scrolling right past you.