LinkedIn is so many things, and it’s definitely a vital tool during the job search. It’s not, however, a “build it and they will come” situation. Knowing how recruiters find you—through LinkedIn Recruiter as well as on the front side of the platform—is imperative to find success.
The reality of LinkedIn is that most recruiters aren’t just browsing LinkedIn. They’re using Recruiter to search for people to fill the jobs for which they’re sourcing. If you don’t have the right skills on your profile and don’t clearly illustrate how you’re able to solve problems, they’ll move on pretty quickly.
Recently, I attended a presentation with Resume Writers and Coaches Association where a top recruiter walked us through LinkedIn Recruiter to tell us what they’re really looking for and how they’re finding people. I’m sharing here so you’ll know how recruiters find you on LinkedIn and can optimize accordingly.
An Optimized Profile Is the First Step
Completing your profile on LinkedIn is one thing. Optimizing it is something else entirely. From a recruiter’s perspective, LinkedIn is a database. They are searching for candidates (aka, you, the job seeker) by using filters and keywords. If you don’t have the right keywords on your profile, you can give up being found by recruiters.
What you need to understand here is that LinkedIn Recruiter is text based. All the “extras” you put on the front side of LinkedIn don’t even show up on the back side. These include:
- banner image
- portfolio components
- featured section
- testimonials
They see your picture, if you’re open to work (and yes, they DO look for that), and your headline, about section, experience, and education. Focus on filling these out with content that helps you be found.
(As an aside, just because recruiters don’t see these things on Recruiter doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included. Plenty of hiring managers use the front side of LinkedIn and like to see all these components.)
Share Clearly What Position You Want
When a recruiter is looking for candidates, the first thing they’re looking for is a title. That means your title must be in your headline. Period. No excuses. Put multiple titles, if you must, but make sure the position you’re looking for is in your headline.
When it comes to your headline, think of the titles you would apply for when looking at roles. Put those in your headline. Skip things like:
- Marketing Manager at XYZ Company: This is standard fill-in material provided by LinkedIn.
- Operations Leader | Driving Results: Aside from being vague, there aren’t many (if any) titles called “operations leader.”
- Experienced Professional Seeking New Opportunities: There’s no title at all here.
Even if you’re fully qualified and undeniably awesome, if a recruiter can’t find you, you won’t get any opportunities.
Highlight How You’ve Solved Problems
There’s a quiet assumption that if your experience is strong enough, it will naturally stand out. That may be true when you’re speaking directly with someone in an interview, but you need to get to that meeting first. Your experience section is part and parcel of how recruiters find you on LinkedIn because it tells them how you’ve solved problems.
Much as your resume’s experience section is split into your overall job scope and bulleted accomplishments, this is an ideal pattern to follow on LinkedIn as well. Here, you have 2,600 characters per experience to share those details. Bullets naturally draw the eye, which is why we resume writers only really bullet accomplishments. We also frontload them with results and add numbers in numerical format, so they stand out. This is how your experience section should be built.
(If neither your resume nor your LinkedIn profile looks like what I’ve just described, or it feels as if I’m speaking in a different language, let’s talk. I’m pretty sure I can help.)
Skills Matter on LinkedIn
About a year ago, I stopped adding a skills section to the resumes I write. That’s because I heard from several recruiters and hiring managers that skills on a resume need context—and most core competencies or areas of expertise sections just share a list of words. Not helpful.
However, when we move to LinkedIn, skills are a huge part of how recruiters find you.
The skills tie to job postings and run across the platform—on the front side and LinkedIn Recruiter—to match people with jobs. I guarantee you that recruiters are typing in skills they’re seeking, so you need to have them on your profile.
Here’s where to put skills on your profile:
- In the skills section. Load ‘em up with up to 100 of your skills.
- In your about section. Here, you can highlight only five of your top skills. Make them count.
- In your experience section. You can attach skills to each position you’ve had. Aim for your top five to ten.
- In education. If you’re a new grad, this is a great place to tout some of your abilities.
Two things to note about adding skills:
- Only use the ones already on LinkedIn. Enter a word and choose something from the dropdown. Remember, they’re tied to jobs, so recruiters do the same thing when they put a job description on the platform.
- The 100 skills in your skills section are shared. There aren’t separate skills in each section. You’re just highlighting them there.
Sometimes, recruiters don’t make it down your profile to the actual skills section, so don’t skip adding pertinent skills to your about section and each role.
How Recruiters Find You on LinkedIn
You know what’s needed on your profile, but how does all that translate to the searching that recruiters are doing? Simply put, it’s like Google.
Recruiters often use Boolean code to look for candidates. They can also use the AI feature that’s integrated across LinkedIn. And they have the option to choose all kinds of parameters, including:
- open to work
- education
- current company or role
- location
- years of experience
Rarely will a recruiter search for just one parameter. They’re more likely to look for something like “project manager AND construction” and then click a four-year degree plus a location.
Layer Your Value
Did you know that Boolean code gives preferential place to results that have the keyword more than once? While you don’t want to sprinkle keywords across your profile haphazardly, you do want to repeat them where they make sense. For instance, if you’re looking for a specific title—say, project manager—you’ll repeat it in your:
- headline
- about section (including top skills)
- current or most recent job title
- description of your current or most recent job
- skills associated with the current job
You can mix it up and include “project manager” as well as “project management” to ensure you’re hitting on all cylinders.
This is an easy way to help recruiters find you while also sharing how you add value.
Strategy Always Beats Games
Understanding how recruiters find you on LinkedIn isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about recognizing that visibility is intentional.
The job seekers who consistently show up in searches aren’t necessarily more qualified; they’ve just learned how to position their experience in a way that aligns with how those LinkedIn Recruiter searches actually works. Once you follow that strategy and get intentional in your usage of LinkedIn, you’ll see a change in outcomes.
Remember, if recruiters aren’t finding you, it may not be because you’re not qualified. It could have more to do with your profile not including the key components for which recruiters are searching. And that’s something you can change.
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Need help optimizing your LinkedIn profile so recruiters can actually find you? That’s exactly what I do. Learn more about how I can help here.