LinkedIn Profile Tips: How to Get Found by Recruiters

Recruiters use LinkedIn two ways. They search it, typing in job titles, skills, and locations to build a list of candidates. And they check it, looking you up after your resume lands on their desk. A good profile has to work for both. It needs the right words to show up in search and a clear story once someone clicks.

Here’s how to handle each section, in the order a recruiter sees them.

Photo

Use a recent, well-lit head-and-shoulders shot where you look like you would on a video call. It doesn’t need a studio. A phone camera near a window works fine.

This is the cheapest fix on the list, and it matters. LinkedIn has reported that members with a photo get up to 21 times more profile views and up to 36 times more messages than members without one. Those figures date from 2017, but the basic point still holds: a profile without a photo looks abandoned, or fake.

Add a background banner too. It can be a simple image related to your field. The default blue strip signals that nobody’s home.

Headline

Your headline is the line under your name, and it follows you everywhere: search results, comments, connection requests. LinkedIn defaults it to your current job title. You can do better within the 220 characters it allows.

A strong headline answers two questions: what you do, and what you’re good at. Compare these:

• “Operations Manager at Acme Corp”
• “Operations Manager | Supply chain, vendor negotiation, ERP rollouts | Cut fulfillment costs 22%”

The second one contains the words a recruiter types into search, and it gives a reason to click. If you’re between jobs, put the role you want, not “Seeking new opportunities.” Recruiters search for job titles. Nobody searches for “seeking.”

About section

You get up to 2,600 characters here, and most people either leave it blank or paste in their resume summary. Write it like a short introduction you’d give in person.

Three short paragraphs work well. First, what you do and for whom. Second, two or three results you’re proud of, with numbers. Third, what you’re looking for next and how to reach you. Write in the first person. “I lead supply chain teams” reads better than “Results-driven professional with a proven track record.”

Only the first two or three lines show before the “see more” link, so put your strongest sentence first.

Experience

Treat each role the way you’d treat it on a strong resume: a line about scope, then a few results. Our resume writing guide covers how to turn duties into results, and the same approach works here.

Two LinkedIn-specific points. First, use standard job titles. If your company called you “Customer Happiness Ninja,” add “(Customer Success Manager)” so you show up when recruiters search for the real title. Second, fill in the skills field on each role. It ties your skills to where you used them.

Skills

This section feeds LinkedIn’s search directly. LinkedIn has said members who list five or more skills are up to 27 times more likely to be found in recruiter searches. That figure is also from 2017, but recruiter search still runs heavily on skills.

List the skills that appear in job postings you want, as long as you actually have them. Pin your three most important skills to the top. Endorsements help a little. A few from former managers and colleagues are worth more than dozens from strangers.

Open to Work

If you’re job hunting, turn this on. You’ll be asked to choose who sees it:

• All LinkedIn members adds the green #OpenToWork frame to your photo.
• Recruiters only shows your status only to people using LinkedIn’s recruiter tools.

If you’re employed, choose recruiters only. LinkedIn says it tries to hide the signal from recruiters at your current company, but it can’t promise that, so assume someone could see it. If you’re not working, the public frame is your call. It tells your network you’re looking, which can bring in referrals. Some people prefer to keep it quieter.

Either way, fill in the job titles, locations, and start date. Those are the details recruiters filter on.

The details that add up

Claim a custom URL. Change the string of numbers at the end of your profile link to your name, then put that link on your resume.

Ask for two or three recommendations. Ask former managers or clients for a few specific sentences about one project. Recommendations are rarer than endorsements, so they carry more weight.

Show some activity. You don’t need to post every day. Commenting thoughtfully on posts in your field a couple of times a week keeps your profile current and puts your name in front of people. It’s also a low-pressure way to start the conversations our networking strategies guide is built around.

Check your work

When you’re done, open your profile in a private browser window, logged out. That’s close to what a recruiter sees after they find you on Google. Then give your photo, headline, and the first lines of your About section a ten-second look, the way a busy recruiter would. If someone could tell from that what you do and what you’re good at, your profile is working.

For more on what recruiters scan for once they have your application in hand, see how recruiters really read your resume. If you’re over 50, our guide to job searching after 50 has specific advice on how your profile can work for you.

Sources: LinkedIn statistics as reported by Social Media Today, “5 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Photo” (January 2017) and “How to Improve Your Discoverability on LinkedIn Through Skills and Endorsements” (May 2017). Character limits reflect LinkedIn’s profile editor as of 2026.