Recruiters search, they do not browse
Most recruiter outreach starts with a keyword search inside LinkedIn Recruiter, filtered by title, skills, location and activity. Your profile is a search result before it is a story. Optimise for retrieval first, persuasion second.
The five fields that drive ranking
- Headline — the highest-weight field. Use the role you want plus specialisms.
- About — first three lines are visible before "see more"; front-load evidence.
- Experience titles — use recognisable industry titles, not internal ones.
- Skills — up to 50; the top three are pinned and heavily weighted.
- Open to work (recruiters only) — increases visibility in recruiter filters.
Headline formulas
- `Backend Engineer | Node.js, Go, PostgreSQL | Remote (GMT+1)`
- `Customer Success Manager | SaaS Retention & Onboarding | EMEA remote`
- `Data Analyst | SQL, Power BI, Experimentation | Open to global remote`
Include your time zone. Recruiters staffing distributed teams filter on it.
Rewrite your About section
Three short paragraphs: what you do and for whom, two or three quantified results, and what you are looking for next with a clear contact line. Avoid third-person prose and avoid buzzword strings.
Activity signals
- Post or comment thoughtfully twice a week in your professional area.
- Follow target companies; recruiters see followers first.
- Ask two former managers for recommendations that mention outcomes.
Common mistakes
- Job titles copied from internal HR systems that nobody searches for.
- No location or an unclear remote preference.
- A skills list dominated by soft skills.
- A profile photo that is a group shot or a low-resolution crop.
FAQs
Does 'Open to Work' hurt me? The recruiter-only setting is invisible to your network and increases inbound. The public green banner is a personal choice.
How often should I update? Refresh your headline and skills whenever your target role changes, and add results quarterly.