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You have many years of experience behind you, but there are almost no replies to your LinkedIn applications? Perhaps your LinkedIn profile is simply invisible to recruiters and clients? Indeed, if it is not fully completed and does not contain the necessary keywords, visitors may not understand who you are and what expert value you represent.
A well-designed LinkedIn profile is not just a “social media page.” It is a full-fledged marketing tool and, in the end, a potential ticket to an interview. Below, we will tell you how to make sure you are found, invited, and chosen by employers on LinkedIn.
A LinkedIn profile is a kind of professional showcase that operates 24/7. However, to attract recruiters, clients, and business owners, it should:
At the same time, unfilled fields, an unclear headline, and the absence of a photo or description make a LinkedIn profile invisible and unreliable – both for the platform’s internal algorithms and for its users.
If you are targeting the international market, and in general, if you are connected to the IT field, it is better to fill out your LinkedIn profile in English from the start. This will expand your reach and make your account visible in the global search. Moreover, it is the English-language accounts that HR managers and IT recruiters pay attention to first, so you definitely should not neglect this rule. The same applies to experts in design, digital marketing, and management.
As for lawyers, accountants, doctors, and other specialists whose profession is closely tied to the legislation of the region where they work, they should focus on the language commonly accepted in that region on LinkedIn.
Finally, to maximize reach, you can create two LinkedIn profiles at once (you can do this through the “Add profile in another language” feature).
So, what should your LinkedIn profile look like so that it is quickly found for relevant queries? Let’s figure it out.
Your LinkedIn account photo should be clear, professional, without bright backgrounds and filters (although photos from conferences and other professional events are acceptable – those where you are alone). A slight smile is also encouraged.
If we are talking about a brand/company LinkedIn account, it is important to reflect this – for example, you can take a photo with the logo in the background.
Finally, a few words about the LinkedIn profile headline – instead of indicating only your specialization, it is also worth highlighting the tools and technologies you work with. For example, if you are a frontend developer, instead of the dry “Frontend Developer,” it is better to write “Frontend Developer | React/TypeScript | Building responsive B2B apps.” And yes, do not forget about keywords.
On LinkedIn, use your real name, just like in a regular resume. Provide up-to-date contact information: e-mail, website, Telegram (first make sure they are named professionally – no “bigguy666@gmail.com”). Also, do not forget to set up your LinkedIn URL – linkedin.com/in/yourname (by default, “yourname” will be a random set of characters that you will need to replace with your name/surname).
The About (or Summary) section is the first (and possibly the only) text that an HR, client, or colleague will read before deciding whether to continue looking at your profile or leave it. To ensure that the text in this section works in your favor, stick to a simple structure:
Here is how this structure can be implemented in examples for different professions:
LinkedIn for a Middle/Senior-Level Developer:
I am a backend developer with 5+ years of experience in Python/Django. For the last two years, I have been working with microservices and Kubernetes, mainly focusing on building resilient APIs. I have participated in developing e-commerce platforms with a daily user load of up to 1 million people. Open to remote project offers or relocation to Europe.
LinkedIn for a Student/Entry-Level Specialist:
I am a 4th-year student studying UX design and already working on real projects: conducting interviews, creating prototypes, and running A/B tests. I work in Figma on user flows and user research. In 2024, I completed an internship at an agency where I helped launch a new website for an educational platform. Currently looking for my first full-time position in a product team. Open to offers and mentorship.
Now, about what you should avoid:
When describing work experience and cases, use lists instead of continuous text. You need to explain in as much detail as possible what exactly your work consisted of (i.e., instead of “developed a website,” it is better to write “developed a responsive landing page for an e-commerce brand, increasing conversion by 25%”).
In general, when filling out LinkedIn, it is important to indicate as many technologies used and metrics as possible (additionally, if you are a developer, you can place a link to your GitHub) so that those who come to view your profile can immediately see how effective a specialist you are.
Three sections of the LinkedIn account are considered mandatory to fill out (in terms of ensuring profile visibility): education, courses and certificates, and skills. Otherwise, it is unlikely that the profile will appear in search unless someone directly enters your name and surname.
So, education, even if it does not relate to your current specialization, must be indicated. You also need to add courses and certificates (these can even be online courses from Coursera, Google, Meta). And yes, do not forget about skills – in the corresponding LinkedIn field, you can place as many keywords as possible, especially in the first three, and ask colleagues for endorsements, as this affects the profile’s visibility.
The easiest way to upload a resume to LinkedIn is to attach it as a PDF file. However, from a ranking perspective, manually filling out your profile is much more effective – this will make it readable for the platform’s search bots.
Choosing your LinkedIn industry affects how job matching is performed, what offers you receive, and how your LinkedIn account ranks in search. Therefore, if you are not completely sure what exactly to indicate, just choose the industry in which you are currently working. For example, it could be “Information Technology & Services” or “Marketing & Advertising.”
Now that you know how to fill out LinkedIn correctly, it is important to double-check your account for the following mistakes:
A properly designed LinkedIn profile is only half the battle. To maximize your chances of achieving your goal, whether it is hiring a specialist or, on the contrary, looking for a job, you also need to be active within the social network.
To be more precise, it is worth starting with your own publications. Here is what you can post:
Even if you post such publications on LinkedIn once a week, it will already give a significant increase in reach. After all, the main thing here is consistency.
Next, we move on to activity on other people’s profiles. It will be great if you find at least a dozen profiles whose topics are relevant to yours and start actively commenting and liking them. In addition, you can repost while adding your own insights, especially when you have something to add from personal experience.
Finally, if you decide to seriously engage in promoting your personal brand, you should consider the most complex type of publications for your profile – articles. Unlike posts, they contain formatting and sections typical for this format of materials (introduction, main part, and conclusion).
What is important: content on LinkedIn should work for recognition so that after a few months of regular publications, subscribers can identify them among dozens of others in their feed. Therefore, work on a unique, recognizable storytelling style and always rely on your experience (even if you are a student). Because everything else can be googled.
Finally, we would like to share some non-obvious LinkedIn tips for finding job vacancies that both beginners and experienced users may overlook.
A LinkedIn account is a specialist’s landing page on the professional social network LinkedIn, aimed at managing a personal brand. Here, you can subscribe to and interact with colleagues and classmates, present your professional experience and achievements, as well as publish everything that often goes beyond a standard resume.
Activating a LinkedIn Premium account is advisable only if you are looking for a job, hiring specialists, or developing a personal brand. In all other cases, the basic (free) account is quite sufficient.
No, because LinkedIn’s policy prohibits duplicates. This is why it is better to optimize one account for several purposes at once.
The first thing you need to do is check your privacy settings, as your account may be closed. Next, if it turns out that it is public, you will need to check whether the key fields are filled out, in which language the account is managed, and whether activity is maintained on it (i.e., whether you participate in discussions and post your own content).
This option is available only to LinkedIn Premium account holders.
The informally “mandatory” fields for a perfect LinkedIn profile include a photo, headline, about/summary section, education, and skills. Even if you do not have professional achievements and are not yet working anywhere, there is still a way to make your LinkedIn profile attractive.
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