Your headline is the one line that follows your name everywhere: search results, comments, the connection request you send, the message you open with. That makes what goes in it a targeting decision, and the question this page answers is which of the things you have belongs in that line — the role, the specialism, the systems, the scope — and which a reader will get anyway, one click further in.
A count of years is what most people reach for first when there are decades behind them, and it is what pays least in this field. It is not a term anyone searches with, and at the front of the line it spends the only characters every surface shows on a duration instead of a title. Lead with the role you want next, the specialism that role is filtered on, and one proof; the dates in your experience entries do the rest of the telling.
Four slots, in this order
- The role you want next. The title you want to be hired at, in the plain words the postings use — not a title that only existed inside one employer, and not a level below the work you actually do. A headline is a targeting field, and leading with the level you work at is what the field is for.
- Your specialism. The two or three things you are known for in that role: the segment, the systems, the domain. This is what separates you from everyone else carrying the same title, and it is the slot a long career fills most easily.
- One proof. A scope, a number, a credential, or the surface you own. One. This is where decades of work pay off best — a budget, a headcount, a portfolio, a programme gives a reader something concrete to ask about, and it is usually the part of a long career that interviews best.
- The depth, if you want it visible at all. Say it as work rather than as a duration: “Finance transformation & acquisitions” names the depth; “30 years of experience” names a length of time. If a stage has to be said — “retired”, “semi-retired” — it goes in one clause at the end, or in your About section, which has room the line does not.
A LinkedIn headline is limited to 220 characters, and only the opening stretch of it is visible in search results and on the mobile profile card. The headline and About limits — and how much of each field actually displays before it truncates — are set out on LinkedIn headline and About character limits.
What a duration costs in the opening characters
Only the opening stretch of the headline is shown in search results and on the mobile card; everything after it is read by the people who click through. So whatever sits at the front of the line is what a reader sees when they see nothing else — and a length of time spent there is spent instead of the title that reader is looking for.
The same is true of anything that describes a stage instead of a job: “retired”, “between roles”, “semi-retired”, “second act”. None of them is a term a role is searched by, and each one takes the opening of the line from a term that is. Where a stage genuinely needs saying, it belongs in your About section — one plain sentence, after what you do rather than before it.
Before and after
Three more lines you can paste
- Finance Director | FP&A, M&A Integration & Treasury | Three acquisitions closed — the depth stated as work that was done, not as a period of time that passed.
- HR Business Partner | Restructuring & Workforce Planning | Group of 2,500 employees — the scope carries the seniority — which is the part a year count is usually trying to convey.
- Principal Data Analyst | SQL, Tableau & Forecasting | Built the reporting function — one surface you own, stated plainly, in a line that still leads with the title.
Mistakes that keep an over-50 headline out of search
- The year count in the opening slot. “25+ years of experience” is the most common way a long career opens a headline, and it is the least searchable thing you can put there. A reader gets your dates from your experience entries in one click.
- “Experienced” doing the work of a title. “Experienced professional” names nothing to search and nothing to ask about. If the line needs a noun, give it the role.
- Downgrading your level to look hireable. A title below the work you actually do costs you the searches run at the level you work at. Your experience entries already say where you have been; the headline is where you say where you are going.
- A graduation year, or “retired”, in the line. Both are facts about when rather than about what. They belong in the entry that carries them — education, or the role you have finished — not in the one line that follows your name around.
How the free score works on this page
On this page the score reads your pasted text for what the line should be doing with a long career: whether a target role appears and appears early, whether a specialism is named next to it, whether one concrete proof is there, and how much of the line is spent on a duration or a stage rather than on the terms a role is searched by. A line that is mostly years scores low even when every year is real — the score is reading the text for the terms, not for the career.
Paste the headline you run today — plus a couple of sentences from your About if you have them — into the box at the top of this page. The free score is computed from your own words: whether your target role appears early, whether the terms recruiters filter on for your role are present, how concrete the line is versus filler, and whether it carries any evidence of scope or impact. The 0–100 number and a rewritten headline come back immediately, in full and unblurred. The rewritten About and your top 3 experience bullets are the $1 one-time part.
- Paste your current headline — or a few lines of your About — into the box at the top of this page. Text is the input: nothing is fetched, so there is nothing that can fail to load, and a profile URL is accepted in the same box if you have one handy.
- Read your 0–100 visibility score and your rewritten headline — free, in full, no signup and no card. A score in the 80s means the terms and evidence recruiters filter on are mostly there. A score in the 40s means most of them are missing.
- Want the rest? $1, one-time, unlocks the rewritten About section and your top 3 experience bullets, written from the same text — no subscription, no account access, nothing posted anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put my years of experience in my LinkedIn headline?
Usually no. A duration is not a term a role is searched by, and at the front of the line it takes the place of the title a reader is filtering for. If you want the depth visible, state it as the work you did at that scale — the systems, the size, the scope — and let your experience entries carry the dates.
What should I lead with when I have decades of experience?
The role you want next, then the specialism that role is filtered on, then one proof. A long career strengthens the proof slot rather than the opening: a budget, a headcount, a portfolio or a credential you can talk about carries more there than a number of years does.
Should my headline mention my age, or say I am over 50?
No. The headline is a targeting field — the one line every surface shows — and age is not a term anything is searched by, so it costs characters and gains nothing. Write the line for the role you want; the questions a reader has about your history are answered by your experience entries.
Is the score really free, and what does the $1 unlock?
The 0–100 visibility score and your rewritten headline are free — no signup, no credit card, and no email address needed. The $1 one-time charge unlocks the rewritten About section and your top 3 experience bullets. It never recurs: $1 per review, no subscription, and you only pay when you want fresh rewrites.
Do you need access to my LinkedIn account?
No. Standout never asks for your LinkedIn password, never connects to your account, and never posts or edits anything on your profile. You paste text you can already see on your own public profile, and the review is written from that text.
Why paste my headline instead of just my profile URL?
LinkedIn blocks automated reads of public profiles, so a review built from a URL alone would fall back on a public preview and whatever search-indexed copies exist — a thinner picture of you than the ten seconds it takes to paste your real headline or About. The same box accepts a profile URL if you have one handy, and you can paste both.
Do you store my data?
We keep the review we wrote for you — the score, headline, About, and bullets — and the email address you give us. If you pay for a review, we also keep the headline or About text you pasted, so we can deliver it and re-deliver it if anything goes wrong. We never connect to your LinkedIn account, never post or edit anything, and never sell your data.
What if I'm not happy with my rewrites?
If you're not satisfied, email us at [email protected] and we'll make it right — including a refund if needed.
What if my role or situation isn't covered on this page?
Paste your current headline into the box anyway — the score is computed from your own text, and the rewritten headline is written from the same text, so any role works. The role pages exist to tell you which words are worth having, not to limit who can use the tool.
See where your headline stands with a long career behind it. Paste it and get your free 0–100 score and a rewritten headline — no login, no card, no email. Jump to the score box →
Related guides
- LinkedIn headline for a career change
- How LinkedIn recruiter search works
- Free LinkedIn profile review: what recruiters see
- A full sample review (score, headline, About, bullets)
Other situations
Same tool, same free score — copy tuned to the situation you’re in:
- LinkedIn headline for a career change
- LinkedIn headline with no experience
- LinkedIn headline after a career break
- LinkedIn headline when you're between roles
- LinkedIn headline for veterans
- LinkedIn headline when you're relocating
- LinkedIn headline for freelancers and the self-employed
- LinkedIn headline when you're open to work
- LinkedIn headline for international candidates