How a recruiter finds you
- The searchTitle, skills, location, company
- The resultsYour name, photo and headline
- Your profileThe first lines of About, your current role
- A messageThey write, or they move on
What recruiters search for
Recruiter search runs on filters and keywords. Each of these is something a recruiter can type or tick.
Job titles
The title of the role they're filling and its variations: "VP of Product", "Head of Product", "Product executive". Your headline and current title are matched first.
Skills and keywords
The terms from the job description: the domain (payments, supply chain), the work (P&L, platform, go-to-market) and the tools that matter at your level.
Location and work preference
Where you are and whether you'd work on-site, hybrid or remote. Keep your location current.
Company and industry
Your current and past companies, and the industries they're in. Recruiters often search for people from a kind of company, not just a title.
Your headline
Lead with the title you're targeting
Use the title you hold or a fair market equivalent of it. LinkedIn shows only the start of a headline in results and comments, so the first words do the work.
Add your domain
Where you do it: "payments and risk", "B2B software", "consumer health". It narrows a search to you.
Add your scope
Team size, budget or markets, in numbers you can stand behind in an interview.
Skip the slogan
"Passionate about innovation" matches no search and tells a reader nothing.
Your About section
Open with what you do, at what scale
The first lines show before "see more". Put your role, your domain and your scope there.
Give two or three results
Outcomes with numbers you can back up: revenue, cost, growth, time to launch, team built. Every number should match your resume.
Say what you care about next
The problems you want to work on. If you're employed, keep it about the work rather than a job search.
End with how to reach you
A line inviting people to get in touch, and an email if you're comfortable sharing one.
Your Experience section
A scope line for each role
Start each recent role with one line: team size, budget, remit, and who you reported to. Recruiters check scope against the level they're hiring.
Outcomes, not duties
Three to five results per recent role. "Responsible for the roadmap" describes the job; "took payments into three new countries" describes you.
Titles as you held them
If your company's titles are unusual ("Principal", "Group lead"), keep the real title and add the market equivalent in the role's first line. Don't rename a job you held.
Shorter as you go back
Your last two or three roles carry the story. Earlier ones can be a line each.
Skills and the rest of the profile
Skills that match the jobs you want
Read three job posts for your next role and add the skills they name that you have. Pin the most important ones to the top.
Open to Work, set to recruiters only
It lets recruiters see you're open without a banner on your photo. It isn't fully private, so read the last question on this page before you turn it on.
Featured
A talk, an article, a launch or a press mention. It shows how you think, which a list of jobs can't.
Recommendations
One from a manager and one from someone who worked for you, both about a specific result. Ask them to name it.
A custom profile URL
Set it to your name so it reads cleanly on a resume and in an email signature.
What each section is for
Your profile
Headline
- The title you want next (highlighted)
- Your domain
- Your scope
About
- What you do, at what scale
- Two or three results
- How to reach you
Experience
- A scope line per role
- Outcomes, not duties
Skills
- The terms in the job posts you want
- Your top skills, pinned
A strong answer, line by line
The questionA VP of product headline, piece by piece.
VP of Product
The title a recruiter types, first, because results show only the start.
Payments and risk for B2B fintech
The domain, which narrows the search to people like you.
6 teams, 3 new markets
Scope, in numbers you'd happily explain in an interview.
Built the fraud platform behind our expansion
One result, so a reader knows what you're known for.
Say this, not that
Weak: “Product leader | Passionate about innovation | Coffee lover”
Strong: “VP of Product · Payments and risk for B2B fintech · 6 teams across 3 new markets · Built the fraud platform behind our expansion”
Title, domain and scope: the words a search matches and a reader can place.
Weak: “I'm a results-driven leader with a passion for transformation.”
Strong: “I run product for payments at a mid-size fintech: six teams, about 40 people, and the roadmap for three new markets.”
Role and scope in the first line, before "see more" cuts it off.
Weak: “Responsible for the product roadmap and stakeholder management.”
Strong: “Took payments into three new countries in a year and rebuilt fraud review along the way.”
An outcome says what you did; a duty says what the job was.
A headline and About you can fill in
A starting point, not a script. Replace every bracket with something true and specific.
Headline: [Title you're targeting] · [Domain or function] · [Scope: team, budget or markets] · [One result] About: I [lead or run] [function] for [domain] at [kind of company]: [team size], [budget or markets], and [the decision you own]. Recently: - [Result with a number] - [Result with a number] - [Result with a number] I'm most interested in [the problems you want to work on next]. Get in touch at [email], or message me here.
Worked examples
You're a senior director and want VP roles.
A strong answer- Keeps the true title in Experience, and leads the headline with the function and level that are true: "Senior Director of Product".
- Puts VP-sized scope right after it: the size of the organization, the budget, a seat on the leadership team.
- Adds VP titles to Open to Work job preferences, visible to recruiters only.
- Uses the About to show the decisions owned, not just the teams managed.
A common missChanges the headline to "VP of Product" without having held the title.
Recruiters search VP titles but check the history. Scope makes the case for the step up; an inflated title raises a question in the first call.
Your company's titles don't match the market.
A strong answer- Keeps the real title on the role, for example "Principal, Product".
- Adds the market equivalent in the role's first line: "Equivalent to a director of product: led three teams and the platform roadmap."
- Uses the market term in the headline as the function: "Product leader · Platform and payments".
- Adds the skills the market uses for that level.
A common missRenames the past role to a title the company never used.
It shows up in the searches for your real level without a mismatch a background check would catch.
You're employed, not looking, and want to stay findable.
A strong answer- Keeps the headline and About current as results happen, a line at a time.
- Sets Open to Work to recruiters only, or leaves it off if being seen at work would matter.
- Answers recruiter messages briefly, even to say not now.
- Logs wins as they happen, so the next update is quick.
A common missTurns on the public Open to Work banner, or leaves the profile untouched for three years.
A current profile gets found without a public sign that you're looking.
What senior profiles get wrong
A headline that's just the current title
"Director at [company]" matches thousands of profiles and says nothing about what you lead.
An About that reads like a mission statement
Values and adjectives with no scope or numbers. A recruiter can't place you from it.
The resume pasted in
Every bullet from every role. Recruiters skim; give them the recent scope and results.
Skills left from years ago
A skills list from an earlier career sends searches for your old job to you, and misses the new one.
Updating it only when you're looking
A full rewrite the week you start a search is more work and more visible. Small updates as things happen keep it current.
Questions people ask
How do I set up my LinkedIn profile for recruiters?
Lead your headline with the title you're targeting, then your domain and scope. Open your About with what you do and at what scale, give two or three results with numbers, and match your skills to the job posts you want.
What should a senior LinkedIn headline say?
The title you're targeting, your domain and your scope, for example "VP of Product · Payments and risk for B2B fintech · 6 teams across 3 new markets · Built the fraud platform behind our expansion". Skip slogans; they match no search.
How long should a LinkedIn About section be?
Long enough to say what you do, prove it and say how to reach you. 150 to 300 words is a good range, with the most important lines first, since only the start shows before "see more".
Do recruiters look at LinkedIn skills?
Yes. Skills are one of the things recruiters can search and filter on, so list the skills from the job posts you want, as long as you have them, and pin the most important.
How often should I update my LinkedIn profile?
When something changes: a new role, a launch, a result worth a line. A quick review each quarter keeps it current without a big rewrite when you start looking.
Should a senior leader turn on Open to Work?
If you use it, set it to recruiters only, which shows your interest to recruiters without a banner on your photo. LinkedIn says it can't guarantee recruiters at your company won't see it, so if that risk matters, leave it off and keep your profile current instead.