A LinkedIn profile optimized for job hunting comes down to four things: a headline carrying the words you want to be found by, an About section that makes sense in its first two lines, experience told as results rather than duties, and a decent photo. Everything else helps, but that's what moves the needle.

It matters because the real order of things is rarely what people picture. When you apply, plenty of people — recruiters included — look you up on LinkedIn before or after reading your resume. And there's a second, quieter and more valuable route: the recruiter who doesn't know you exist and finds you by searching the platform. That one only opens if your profile is written with the words that person types.

What does a recruiter look at, and in what order?

In a list of results all that shows is your photo, your name, your headline and your location. That's what decides whether you get opened at all. Once inside, the typical pass takes under a minute: the first two lines of your About, the titles of your last two roles, and a quick glance at education.

Which sets this article's priorities. There's no point polishing the volunteering section if the headline says nothing — nobody gets that far down.

The headline: your most valuable asset

Your headline shows up in every search, comment, and message. Don't waste it by just repeating your job title. Use a simple formula: what you do + for whom + your value or specialty, and include the keywords you want to be found by, because the platform's search uses them.

Instead of "Analyst", better: "Data Analyst · SQL, Python, and dashboards that cut decision time".

Three things worth avoiding there: adjectives without evidence ("passionate", "proactive", "results-oriented"), motivational lines that never say what you actually do, and a pile of emojis. If you're between jobs you can say so plainly — "Data Analyst · available for new projects" — without making it the centre of the headline.

The "About" section

Write it in the first person. In the first two lines — what shows before "see more" — say who you are and what you bring; then expand with two or three concrete achievements and close with an invitation to reach out. Spread your industry keywords naturally.

A structure that almost always works: one sentence on who you are today, a paragraph on what you can do plus proof that you can, a paragraph on where you're heading, and a closing line on how to reach you. Four short paragraphs — neither a wall of text nor three stray lines.

Avoid the About written in the third person ("María is a professional with…"). It reads oddly, and nobody else is writing it.

Experience: achievements, not tasks

"Responsible for social media" says little. "Grew the community 40% in 8 months and generated 120 leads" says a lot. Turn each role into three to five bullets with action verbs and numbers. These are the same rules as for an ATS-friendly resume: evidence and keywords.

Two clarifications that save arguments. Not every bullet needs a percentage: magnitudes work too — how many people, how many clients, how much budget, how much time. And your profile doesn't have to be identical to your resume: the resume gets tailored to each posting, the profile speaks to the whole market at once. What they must never do is contradict each other on dates or titles.

How much do skills and recommendations actually count?

Skills count more than people assume, because they're a filterable field: someone hunting for profiles with a specific tool can narrow by exactly that. Order them so the top three match the role you want, and delete the leftovers from an earlier stage of your career.

Recommendations count less for being found and quite a lot for being believed. Two or three well-written ones beat ten generic ones. The way to ask that works is specific: message the person reminding them of one particular project and suggesting what would be useful to mention. Almost nobody minds being asked; what stalls people is not knowing what to say.

Should you turn on "Open to Work"?

It's the most repeated question, and the answer depends on which of the two versions you mean, because they aren't the same thing.

The private signal, visible only to recruiters, carries little risk and plenty of upside: it puts you into the searches of people who are hiring, and your current employer doesn't see it. Turn it on unless you have a specific reason not to.

The green photo frame, visible to everyone, is a different decision. In favour: it's honest, your network finds out, and sometimes someone messages you without you lifting a finger. Against: it publicly labels you as looking, and there are recruiters — not all, but some — for whom that dims the interest. If you've just come out of a restructuring and have nothing to hide, the frame usually pays. If you're employed and quietly exploring, it can cost more than it returns.

There's no universal answer. What is plainly a mistake is having it switched on with the profile not updated: you're drawing attention to something that isn't ready yet.

What finishes the profile

  • A professional photo — face visible, clean background, clothes close to what you'd wear at work — and an unfussy banner.
  • A custom URL (linkedin.com/in/your-name). It takes a minute and looks better on your resume.
  • Location filled in, and the open-to-work signal switched on if that's your case.
  • Activity: commenting or posting now and then keeps you visible. Thoughtful comments on posts in your field pay off more than posting for the sake of it.

Five things that hurt a profile

  • The wrong photo. A cropped party shot, or one from fifteen years ago. The second is worse: when they see you on the video call, the first impression is that something doesn't add up.
  • Empty roles. A title with dates and not one line underneath. If you aren't going to say what you did, that role isn't working for you.
  • A profile that doesn't match the resume. Different dates or titles that don't line up make someone stop to check — and you don't want them stopping there.
  • All in English when you're searching in Spanish, or the reverse. Write it in the language of the market you're targeting; if it's both, the platform lets you keep the profile in several languages.
  • Stock phrases instead of facts. "Passionate professional who loves a challenge" takes a line and says nothing. That line is worth more with a number in it.

How often should you update it?

The most common mistake isn't a bad profile: it's one frozen at the job you left three years ago. A review every six months is enough, even when you're not looking. And there are two moments where it's non-negotiable: when you change roles, and when you finish a project you can pull a number out of.

If you're job hunting actively and would rather your current employer didn't notice, check the privacy settings first: profile-change notifications to your network can be switched off.

How to improve it without guessing

If you don't know where to start, LinkedIn optimization suggests five headlines, rewrites your About and experience with keywords, and shows a before/after per section. And if you're targeting a specific opening, first check your skill gap against that posting.

Once the profile is presentable, the next thing is having the rest in order: what you applied to, with which resume, and where each process stands.

One last thing

A LinkedIn profile doesn't get you jobs; it gets you conversations. Its only job is to make someone who doesn't know you decide to message you or open your resume. Judged by that yardstick, deciding what to keep and what to cut gets a lot easier.