Your Headline Is the Most Important Field

Your headline appears in search results, message previews, and connection requests. The default 'Job Title at Company' is a missed opportunity. Use the full 220 characters to position yourself: title, specialty, key technology or industry, and target outcome. 'Senior Product Manager | B2B SaaS | Pricing & PLG | Scaled $14M ARR product line at Series C startup' tells a story; 'Product Manager at Acme' tells nothing.

Photos: What Actually Works

A professional headshot is non-negotiable for active job seekers — profiles with photos get up to 21x more views. The photo should be: clear, recent, professional but warm (smiling beats stoic), and consistent with industry norms (a hoodie may work in tech, not in finance). Banner image should support your positioning — industry imagery, your company logo, or a clean branded image.

The About Section

Write in first person. Open with a hook — what makes you different. Follow with 2-3 paragraphs covering your background, key accomplishments, and current focus. Close with a clear call to action ('Open to senior PM roles in B2B SaaS — DM me if you'd like to connect'). Use line breaks for readability — walls of text don't work on mobile.

Experience Section: Mirror Your Resume but Richer

Your LinkedIn experience can be longer than your resume. Include the same bullets as your resume but add context, links to projects, media (case studies, presentations, videos), and richer detail on your scope and outcomes. Each role should have at least 3-5 bullets with measurable impact.

Skills: Order Matters

LinkedIn lets you list up to 50 skills. Order them strategically — top 3 are pinned and appear prominently. Lead with the skills most relevant to your target role. Endorsements from credible peers add weight. Get specific endorsements from people you've actually worked with on those skills, not from random connections.

Keywords for Recruiter Search

Recruiters use Boolean search to find candidates: skill names, certifications, industry terms, and job titles. Make sure these keywords appear naturally throughout your profile — headline, about, experience bullets, skills. The same keyword discipline you apply to your resume applies here, with even more space to work with.

The 'Open to Work' Setting

LinkedIn has two modes: visible to all (green banner on profile photo) or visible only to recruiters. The visible-to-all mode signals you're actively job seeking but can be a flag if you're employed. The recruiter-only mode is more discreet — recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter can see you, others can't. For most active candidates, recruiter-only is the right choice.

Activity and Engagement

Profiles with regular activity get more views. You don't need to become an influencer — commenting thoughtfully on a few posts per week, sharing relevant industry content, and posting occasionally about your work or learning is enough. Engagement signals you're active in your field, and your profile appears more often in feeds and recommendations.