Your LinkedIn Headline is the first thing many people see when they look at your LinkedIn profile. Does yours stand out?

As I looked through my recent articles and posts on LinkedIn this morning, the evolutionary shift in Information Technology loomed large in the topics I’ve been covering – a significant amount of my writing now covers Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing – two topics I’m very excited about.

Unfortunately, I’m not a data scientist or AI / machine learning developer. What I can do, however, is learn about these new technologies and use my communication and consulting skills to help other leaders make good decisions.

So, I went to look at how others in IT wrote their headlines. Many of them were some version of title, position, responsibility and skills. These were fine – told me something about the person but I didn’t get a really good feel for how to differentiate them from others with similar titles/positions/skills. In some cases, however, I found some really compelling headlines. Here are some samples from my connections – not c-level executives, people kind of like me – minus the names, but you might be able to figure some of them out:

So, I needed a new headline in LinkedIn. I started with what’s really getting me moving right now… AI + Quantum. You can get my skills and background by looking down a bit in my profile. So, I’m adding a bit about those two things… I’m on a journey of discovery to understand how AI and Quantum Computing and Cloud can help us transform how Information Technology is both delivered and used – I want that in my headline. Here it is – my brand-new headline:

Azure Evangelist ☁ Technologist & AI/Quantum Enthusiast

Scott Cameron’s New LinkedIn Headline

So, it says a bit about what I do, who I am, and something eye-catching that differentiates me. Don’t be afraid to show yourself a bit your headline – this is the one part of your profile that is 100% you! You should think about keywords, certainly, and who your audience is, but they don’t need you to be a perfect robot… people are interested in connecting to people that are authentic, interesting, funny, intelligent, and that have something amazing to share. Let your headline blaze a path through LinkedIn that people will want to follow!