Recently I had the opportunity to see an interview with one of my favorite people, actor Bill Murray. I had done a YouTube search for something else entirely—you know how that goes—and suddenly there’s Bill being interviewed by Charlie Rose about what he wants out of life. And more than a few of Bill’s comments stuck with me after that video. Here’s a guy who has every reason in the world to be stuck up and arrogant, but instead he strives to be genuine. He wants people to see the real Bill, which must be tough for a person who so many would remember as the goofy greenskeeper from Caddyshack!

I carried this idea around in my head for a few days, thinking about what “being genuine” would mean to me and how my life might look to others. Do I present myself with a big sales pitch, or do the materials published by my company portray us accurately? I really don’t want to pump the media full of the same overamped stuff you see from every social media “star,” because I’ve seen enough of those hyper sales pitches on LinkedIn and I’ve grown tired of them.

One Saturday, I really dug into the topic after I ran into the “About me” statement of a person who I was looking at on LinkedIn. This fellow’s paragraph in that critical About section at the top of his profile left me saying to myself, “I have to meet this fellow,” and that’s all that you could want out of a networking site. I took his cue and began thinking about my own About statement and how I might reflect more of the real me.

Attributes of “Genuine” in a Job Search
My advice in this month’s column will be a balancing act. I’ll give examples of how people present themselves on LinkedIn so that the reader walks away knowing something more than about those skills in protein folding. Your well-written “About” section will make people feel comfortable that they know something about the real you, but you must keep that tight focus on what you can do for them in their organization. The About section on LinkedIn is important because it helps to break down the barriers between people so that it’s easier to communicate.

The move to show something more about the personal side began ages ago when the first advice came to add hobbies or outside interests to a resume. I never liked that advice because I saw too much awful stuff in that section over the years including, a Microbiologist who added “Loves Winemaking and Wine Drinking,” a salesperson who “Enjoys Partying,” and the scientist who wanted to show some leadership potential, extolling his “Local Carpool Leadership.” None of that does much for anyone, I’m afraid. And often, we’d get the odd hiring manager who would comment negatively, as in “This guy loves to knit?” Believe me, I’ve seen and heard it all in 35 years of headhunting.

So, keep that job-skills focus on your CV. But on the other hand, take a fresh look at your LinkedIn profile, because it is possible through your social media to enhance the reader’s understanding of what really makes you tick. And that’s a good thing to have people interested in the real you.

The ‘About’ Element of LinkedIn and Its Relative Importance
LinkedIn pages begin with an important headline, but that is just a short blurb that ties together all that you do and defines your job type. The big area on the LinkedIn page that can be customized and used to enhance your profile is the “About” section which appears right above current employment. Some people don’t even use this section—they go directly from the headline down to their jobs, and that’s a mistake.

The “About” section, sometimes referred to as LinkedIn’s “Summary,” can be tailored with up to 2000 characters or about 300-500 words. That can go a good distance towards describing you adequately from both a business and personal perspective. When you write these important words, take into consideration that you still have all those paragraphs below to detail specific work experience; “About” needs only to include some of the most important aspects of your qualifications. You want to weave them together with some personal details, as my example below shows.

The key to making this a piece about the real, genuine you will not be your description of being a protein biochemist with 15 years of post-PhD experience in therapeutic product development. Sure, that’s a key line that that will attract the right readers, so it must be there, but it’s the additional information that will get readers to buy into meeting you. You’re not slamming the reader over the head with this stuff, you are simply talking about yourself from the heart and it’s that heart-to-brain connection with the reader that we’re looking for.

Here’s an example of what I mean, from the “About” section that generated my interest in this topic—in this case, from a PhD horticulturist with a professional history of working in a very hot field (vertical farming). Here, my contact blends business and personal together, leaving you with a feeling that you know the whole person. He prefaces these line items with a comment that, like everyone, his life is composed of many elements. (Please note I had to change a few words to keep it anonymous):

• As a father to two young men, I have mentored and now watch them from afar as they seek to find their place in a complex world.
• As a student of human ecology. I am always exploring new ways to understand complex systems and how to intervene for the betterment of people, planet and a sustainable future.
• As a botanical horticulturalist, I lead an amazing team that seeks to create and maintain spaces that conserve, educate and inspire.
• As a partner to Nancy, I try to be the best person I can while sharing the journey in life together.
• As an accordion player, I smile and make noises in harmony with a different but linked musical culture across the waters.
• As a disruptive force for positive change, I ask questions as a child and in the process of answering them sometimes lead novel projects, as I have done in vertical farming.
• As a physical person, I maintain my body and mind through martial arts, exercise and walks with our dogs every day.
• As an academic, I have read many books, have written less words and spoken more than some would have liked but have explored less research questions than I hope to explore in what time I have left.

My LinkedIn contact here could have added another 150-200 more words, but what would that have bought him? It already leaves you with the impression that this is a guy who knows himself and who, as I said earlier, you’d just like to meet. I don’t care whether it’s placing this person in a key job for a client, or just meeting him for a coffee or beer, this is someone I intend to know. We’re all capable of making that connection with readers of our LinkedIn profiles. I’m working on mine now. How about yours?

In Conclusion
As I look at CVs and LinkedIn profiles all day long for my job, I have grown weary of lines about big success and accomplishments that seem to just come out of thin air. “Developed a new market for our company that resulted in over $12.5 million in revenue.” Sounds great, but tell me more about the person behind this and what was actually done to create that end result? Old school, single sentence blurbs like this have just grown tiresome. I think that times are changing and giving me more information about who you are and what’s important to you is the key.

That’s because there is a move afoot, something bigger than my advice and bigger than Contract Pharma, even bigger than the Biotech/Pharma industry. After some of the things we’ve been through as a planet recently—wars and pandemics, politics and upheaval—people around the world are focusing more on being present, being genuine and real.

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David G. Jensen
Contributing Editor
Dave Jensen is CEO and Founder of CTI Executive Search. He can be reached at (928) 274-2266 or via davejensen@careertrax.com; www.careertrax.com.