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Writing a Compelling LinkedIn Post: How Do You Tell Your Story?

Writing compelling posts for LinkedIn will:

  • get you noticed by recruiters,
  • make your company and work colleagues proud that you’re visible and active,
  • build leverage for your next move,
  • increase your network with smart, like-minded people, and
  • position you as someone who goes beyond scrolling in silence to offering value.

More simply: If you’re learning in school, the lab, on your own, or on a job, you have something worth sharing. LinkedIn is a surefire way to build your visibility and enhance your professional reputation.

Keep Your Post Simple and Focused

It’s tempting to include everything you are thinking about in a single post, especially if you don’t post often. Before your post turns into an essay, ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Be strategic. If you are intending to:

  • Document your career: Write a post that will be one of a dynamic series over time recording your projects and achievements.
  • Hone your job search and boost career growth: Showcase your work and personality in your post to help you stand out to recruiters (up to 95 percent of recruiters say they vet candidates by looking at their LinkedIn profiles and posts).
  • Amplify your professional presence: Share a professional lesson, project update, or opinion on industry trends to help establish yourself as a thought leader in your field.
  • Increase your network and your visibility: Show up across LinkedIn by posting regularly, boosting your profile views and staying on the radar of industry peers with a variety of engaging posts.
  • Generate business and sales leads: For entrepreneurs and sales professionals, it’s important to build trust, share insights, and attract potential clients through posts that offer helpful content.

If you’re a student, you will likely be focusing on documenting career moves, boosting career growth, and establishing a professional presence online.

Once you know your purpose, consider what one to three ideas you want to include in this post. Remember that the most engaging posts tell a story. Include enough detail so your reader understands the essentials of your experience, then focus on the skills, growth, and future readiness this experience has offered you.

LinkedIn Post Outline

1. Hook (First 1–2 lines)

Grab attention by highlighting your biggest growth moment or a surprising lesson from your experience. See more about hooks under best practices.

  • Example (internship/job): Five active client projects this summer taught me about client care, marketing best practices, and how to think on my feet.
  • Example (self-directed/learning): Even though beach time was calling, I spent June completing the Microsoft certificate for project management on LinkedIn Learning. (For a touch of whimsy, a post with a lead like this might end with: And I caught some big waves, too.)

2. Context (Setup)

Briefly introduce what you did to set the stage.

  • State your role, company, or your specific self-study goal.
  • Keep it to 1–2 short sentences.

3. Core Lessons (Value)

Break down 2–3 key professional takeaways using a brief bulleted list. Feature both transferable and technical skills.

  • Skill 1 (technical skill): Mention a specific tool, methodology, or software you learned or used successfully.
  • Skill 2 (transferable skill): Highlight skills like teamwork, time management, or navigating ambiguity.
  • Skill 3 (industry insight): Share a new perspective you gained about your chosen field.

4. Thank You (Gratitude and Networking)

Demonstrate professionalism by publicly thanking those who helped you.

  • Tag your manager, mentors, professors, peers, and anyone who helped you get this opportunity or assisted with your work.
  • Keep it genuine: The words “thank you” work every time.

5. Future Outlook (What’s Next)

Connect your summer experience to your upcoming school year or career goals.

  • State how you will apply these skills in your next semester.
  • Signal your availability if you are looking for post-grad roles.

Optional Add-ons

Call to Action

If you’d like to make your post more interactive, end with a question to invite your network to engage in the comments. The more comments a post has, the more impressions it will get, warming up the LinkedIn algorithm.

  • Example: Grinnellians: What was your biggest takeaway from this summer?
  • Example: I’d love to hear from everyone: What advice do you have for a rising senior entering the field?

Or

Whimsical Quip

Here’s a place to add just a hint of personality, mentioning something else you accomplished (I learned to make Irish soda bread) or some fun you had (all of this AND I enjoyed game night with my housemates each Tuesday).

Best Practices

  • Include the most engaging fact you know. Dropping a compelling data point or surprising metric in your first sentence builds instant authority and intrigue.
  • Don’t bury the lead. If you find yourself starting with I am excited to announce… or I spent my summer…, you’re burying the lead. These phrases can be useful to get the writing rolling, but can you cut them before you post?
  • Connect with your reader. Can you write a post that invites your reader to be happy for you, to think about something new, or to connect with you (“That’s exactly how I feel”)?
  • Add value to the online conversation. If you have the answer to a question or problem, your audience wants to know. You might even use the question as your opening hook and let the answer play out in your post. You could also invert this strategy: start with the answer and then show how you arrived there.
  • Stick to clear, action-oriented language. Write straight-forward sentences and short paragraphs. Think about mobile users; they should be able to scan your post effortlessly. Optimize your post with white space where appropriate.
  • Keep your field accessible. Avoid overly dense jargon in your brief project description. The goal is to relate your work to everyone and not leave out people who work in other fields.
  • Add a visual. A photo of you at your desk or with your team, a company logo, or a graphic summarizing your project will significantly increase post reach. Note: you won’t need a graphic if you are including a link. LinkedIn will turn a URL into a visual preview.
  • Compose off-line. Write on your favorite word processor and then copy and paste your post onto the platform. Note that LinkedIn’s native interface does not support text effects like bold, italics, and bullets.
  • Protect proprietary information. If you’re not sure whether you can share certain types of information, check with your supervisor or the primary researcher before you post. Familiarize yourself with any social media restrictions your company maintains.

Still Pondering What to Post About?

Here are 20 post ideas inspired by LinkedIn content expert Lasse Palomaki, founder and CEO of The Strategic Student. While Lasse’s original post targeted interns specifically, these ideas work for anyone seeking to create engaging posts (if you’re not already, follow Lasse on LinkedIn for helpful career-enhancing guidance).

  • How has your experience impacted your career goals?
  • What’s one exciting project you’ve completed and what did you learn from it?
  • What’s one piece of advice you wish you knew during week one?
  • How has your experience improved your confidence?
  • What was the most memorable moment from your experience?
  • What’s one challenge you faced and how did you conquer it?
  • What’s an impactful mindset shift you’ve learned/adopted and who was your inspiration?
  • What’s one unexpected lesson you’ve learned?
  • What is one tool or resource that has significantly helped you?
  • What goal have you set for developing a new skill or knowledge and how is your progress (doesn’t have to be finished)?
  • How has networking improved your experience?
  • Is there someone who is helping you? A shout-out of gratitude makes a great post.
  • Have you recently completed a training? What were you key takeaways?
  • What’s one piece of advice you have been offered or have figured out for yourself?
  • What’s the most powerful piece of advice you’ve ever received?
  • How did you find and land this opportunity?
  • What feedback have you received on your work and how has it helped you to improve your performance?
  • What kudos to your team or organization can you highlight?
  • Who among your work or research peers can you show appreciation for?
  • Have you had a failure? (A failure is data in disguise!) How did you recover? What are the key takeaways from making a mistake?

Reminders

  • Share, but don’t overshare. Keep your organization’s proprietary information private.
  • For International Students, keep these posting guidelines in mind.
  • Your CLS adviser can help! Make an appointment to share a draft or talk through posting strategy.