How to Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile So Recruiters Find You

Let’s be honest—job searching can be exhausting. Scrolling job boards, firing off applications, and waiting for replies that never come. But what if recruiters were the ones reaching out to you with job offers instead?

The truth is, a huge number of jobs never get advertised. Instead, recruiters are actively searching LinkedIn, looking for candidates to approach. If your profile isn’t set up properly, they won’t find you—simple as that.

But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to optimise your LinkedIn profile so recruiters can find you, message you, and put job opportunities in front of you—ones you might not even know exist. Let’s get into it.

How Recruiters Use LinkedIn

Recruiters—whether they’re working for a company or an agency—spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. In fact, some don’t even know how to source candidates anywhere else.

They use a tool called LinkedIn Recruiter, which lets them filter and search for candidates based on things like job title, skills, location, and experience. That means if your profile isn’t set up correctly, you won’t show up in their searches. And if you don’t show up, you don’t get the message.

So, let’s make sure your profile is doing the heavy lifting for you.

Use the Right Job Title

Now, I get it—companies love to get creative with job titles. Brand Evangelist, Happiness Coordinator, Systems Engineer—but here’s the thing: recruiters don’t search for quirky job titles.

They search for standard, widely recognised job titles. So, if your contract says Systems Engineer but in reality, you’re working as a Software Engineer—use Software Engineer on LinkedIn.

It’s not about changing your experience—it’s about making sure your profile matches what recruiters are actually searching for.

Set Your Location Correctly

Now, you might think, well, I’ve already got my city listed, so I’m good, right? Not necessarily.

Recruiters search for candidates based on cities and regions. If your LinkedIn location is set to a small town instead of the nearest major city, you might not appear in their search results at all.

For example, let’s say you live in Wimbledon, but a recruiter is searching for candidates in London. If your profile says Wimbledon, you won’t come up. But if they search by radius, you will.

The easy fix?

Set your LinkedIn location to the nearest major city—provided you’re happy commuting there.

Add the Right Skills

This one is massively overlooked.

Most recruiters filter their searches by skills. That means if they’re looking for a Marketing Manager with Social Media Strategy experience, and you haven’t explicitly listed that as a skill—even if you’ve written about it in your work history—you won’t show up.

What you need to do:

Head to your LinkedIn profile and add all the key skills that are relevant to your job.
Check job descriptions for roles you’re interested in and make sure the right skills are listed on your profile—but only if they’re skills you actually have.

This simple change can make a huge difference in how often you appear in recruiter searches.

You’ve probably seen the green Open to Work banner on people’s profiles. But did you know you can turn on Open to Work just for recruiters?

When you do this, recruiters can filter their searches to see only candidates who are open to new roles. If you don’t have it switched on, many of them won’t even see your profile.

And don’t worry—LinkedIn hides this from your current employer, so they won’t know. Even if you’re not actively job hunting, turning this on makes sure opportunities still come your way.

Upload a Profile Picture

This one sounds simple, but it’s important. Recruiters almost never message candidates who don’t have a profile picture. Why? Because no picture makes it look like you’re not active on LinkedIn. And if they think you’re inactive, they won’t waste their time reaching out.

You don’t need a fancy professional headshot. Just a clear, well-lit photo where you look approachable and professional. That’s it.

Final Checklist

If you want recruiters to find you and actually reach out with job offers, make sure you’ve done the following:

✅ Use a job title that recruiters actually search for.
✅ Set your location to the nearest major city.
✅ Add all your relevant skills—so you appear in more searches.
✅ Turn on Open to Work, even if you’re passively open to opportunities.
✅ Have a profile picture—so recruiters know you’re active.

These tweaks take five minutes, but they can put you in front of the right recruiters and make opportunities come to you instead of you constantly chasing them.

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