Hi there,

If I was only allowed to give you one piece of advice to fix your LinkedIn, it’d be this:

If you have the words “Aspiring” or “unemployed” in your headline, delete it. Your headline is your digital first impression, and you want to make it a good one.

“Aspiring” sounds like, “maybe one day, but not right now.” Instead of calling yourself an aspiring Data Engineer, just call yourself a Data Engineer. It’s the difference between saying, “One day I’d love to go see the Northern Lights” and “I’m flying to Alaska next month.”

Your headline is the first thing anyone sees, and it has two jobs:

Get people to click through to your profile
Help you appear in recruiter searches (that search bar that says “I’m looking for…”)

Recruiters aren’t searching for “Aspiring” or “unemployed.” They’re searching for copywriters, data engineers, nurses, etc. Your headline should include relevant job titles and skills related to the field you’re pursuing, to maximize your chance of showing up in those searches.

Plus, it makes it easier for your network to help you out! When you comment on posts, the characters in your headline get cut off — so most people will never see what you’re aspiring to.

Don’t just aspire to a role — pursue it. Because chances are, you already have transferable skills that belong in the room. To get recruiters’ attention, you need the confidence to present yourself as someone actively pursuing that field.

As Aibileen in The Help says, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”
And you is more than ready to own your new career.

If you want help brainstorming a stronger headline, feel free to hit reply.

Take care,
Caitlin

P.S. I’ll be running a 30% off sale for the Career Change Catalyst on December 15th, 2025, which now includes access to Cathy (a custom GPT and your new writing assistant). I’ll send you a quick note when it opens (use code SLEIGHRIDE to get the discount).

P.P.S. If you ever have the chance to see the Northern Lights, I highly recommend it! I recently traveled to Alaska to see them, and it was breathtaking.

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