LinkedIn profile tips that get you found by recruiters

How recruiters search LinkedIn and how to set up your headline, About section, experience, skills and settings so you appear for the roles you want. 5 min readUpdated 11 November 2026By the Prepper team

Recruiters search LinkedIn the way you search a shop: by typing job titles, skills and locations and filtering. Your profile either matches those searches or it does not.

Headline

It is the most heavily weighted text and appears everywhere your name does. Replace the default with what you do and want:

"Marketing Manager | Subscriptions and CRM | Amsterdam"
"MSc Finance graduate | Valuation, Excel, Python | Seeking M&A analyst roles"

About

Three short paragraphs: what you do and for whom, two or three results with numbers, and what you are looking for. Write in the first person. Put important keywords here naturally.

Experience

Mirror your CV: one line on the role, then three bullets with results. Add media where you can: a presentation, an article, a project.

Skills

List the skills your target roles ask for, with the three most important pinned. Recruiters filter on skills, and they are matched against job adverts.

Photo and banner

A clear, recent head-and-shoulders photo with a plain background. Profiles with a photo get far more views. The banner can show your field or city.

Settings that matter

Location: set it to where you want to work.
Open to work: switch it on, with titles and locations. You can show it only to recruiters.
Custom URL: use your name and put it on your CV.
Contact info: an email address you check.

Activity

Comment thoughtfully on posts in your field once or twice a week. Activity raises your visibility in search, and hiring managers look at it.

Connections

Connect with classmates, colleagues and people you meet, with a one-line note. Second-degree connections see more of your profile and you appear higher in their searches.

Keep it consistent with your CV

Dates, titles and employers must match. Recruiters compare them.

A ten-minute audit

Is your target job title in your headline?
Do your top three skills match the adverts you want?
Does every recent role have at least one number?
Is Open to Work set?

Frequently asked questions

Should I switch on Open to Work?
Yes if you are actively looking. You can limit visibility to recruiters so it is not shown publicly on your photo.
How important is the LinkedIn headline?
Very. It is a main field recruiters' searches match on and the first thing they read in results.

Should I switch on Open to Work?

Yes if you are actively looking. You can limit visibility to recruiters so it is not shown publicly on your photo.

How important is the LinkedIn headline?

Very. It is a main field recruiters' searches match on and the first thing they read in results.