I used to have three emojis in my own LinkedIn headline. A rocket, a trophy, and a globe. I also called myself a "Business Growth Strategist," which sounds impressive but tells nobody anything useful about what I actually do.
I have been reviewing LinkedIn profiles for over ten years. I have worked with hundreds of business owners, I have written a book on LinkedIn, and I teach the subject on an MBA programme. Even I got this wrong.
So if you have a star, a lightning bolt, or a row of coloured symbols in your headline right now, you are in good company. But it is worth fixing, and here is why.
What the research says
A team at the University of Ottawa published a study in April 2026 in the journal Collabra: Psychology. They tested 243 adults, asking them to rate workplace messages that included emojis against those that did not.
Messages with no emojis were rated as the most professional by a significant margin. Positive emojis used alongside critical feedback or bad news made people trust the sender less, not more. And negative emojis, even when mismatched with a neutral message, made the sender appear less competent.
The researchers concluded that emojis are not neutral. They influence how people perceive you, particularly in terms of competence.
What this looks like in practice
Here is my old headline, the one I used for longer than I care to admit:
🚀Business Growth Strategist | 🏆Award-Winning Coach | 🌐 Published Author | Enthusiastic LinkedIn Trainer | Loves Builder's Tea and Hobnobs
Here is my current one:
LinkedIn Trainer and Business Coach | Helping time-poor business owners turn LinkedIn visibility into leads and sales | DM me to book a £90 LinkedIn Power Hour | Qualified Educator and Coach | Author of "A to Z of LinkedIn"
The second version tells you exactly who I help, what I do, and how to take the next step. The first version tells you I like biscuits.
I cannot give you a before-and-after on the numbers because I did not track them at the time. What I can tell you is that the inbound messages I receive now are from people who already understand what I do and are ready to talk. That was not always the case.
But everyone does it
They do. In my experience, emojis in headlines are most common among coaches, consultants, and creatives, exactly the people who most need to appear credible to a sceptical buyer. It is also the group most likely to use five different titles in one headline, none of which mean anything concrete.
Common does not mean effective. Your headline appears in LinkedIn search results, in Google, next to every comment you leave, and in every connection request you send. It is your professional label, repeated hundreds of times a day. Every emoji in that space is nudging the reader's perception of your competence in the wrong direction, before you have said a single word about what you do.
What to do instead
Write your headline in plain, specific language. Answer these three questions:
1. What problem do you solve?
2. Who do you solve it for?
3. What does life look like for them after working with you?
One clear, specific headline built around those answers will always outperform a string of symbols.
One honest caveat
The study only tested two emojis, a grinning face and an angry face, and found that a positive emoji paired with a warm, positive message was not damaging. So if you occasionally add an emoji to a social post, the research does not say that is fatal.
But your headline is not a social post. It is your professional label. Keep it clean.
Want help with yours?
If your headline is not working as hard as it should be, a Sparkle Sprint session is the fastest way to fix it. In 60 minutes we will sort your headline, your about section, and the rest of your profile so that the right people find you and know immediately that you are the right fit.
Book at scheduler.zoom.us/esther-partridge-warner/catchup or drop me a message at esther@onlinemediaworks.co.uk.