On LinkedIn, recruiters look for people themselves. A good profile works like a CV that's public around the clock and gets found by the right words. Below: a profile checklist, job search settings, a simple posting routine and messages you won't be embarrassed to send.
Most of this advice comes from B2B sales. Salespeople spend years learning to turn a profile into a landing page and to write to people who don't know them. Job search works the same way: you offer value to someone who has a problem to solve.
Profile checklist
Photo and banner
- A portrait where your face fills most of the frame, neutral background, good light. No group shots or holiday photos.
- Banner 1584 × 396 px. A colour and one line are enough: your stack and focus, for example
React · TypeScript · Design systems.
Headline
Your headline shows up everywhere: search, comments, invitations. And LinkedIn search indexes it, so it needs the keywords people will search for.
Formula: role and level | stack | how you're useful.
- Weak:
Developer at Company - Better:
Senior Frontend Engineer | React, TypeScript, Next.js | Design systems and web performance - Junior:
Junior Frontend Developer | React, TypeScript | Open to first commercial role
The limit is 220 characters, but the important part has to fit in the first 60-70, because the rest gets cut off.
About
Four short blocks, in the first person:
- Who you are: role, years, focus.
- What you're good at: 2-3 topics.
- Proof: 1-2 results with numbers.
- What you're looking for and how to reach you: type of role, format, email.
Short paragraphs, no wall of text. The first two lines show without "see more", so put the strongest bit there.
Experience
- Same bullets as your CV: action, object, result. Not "responsible for", but what changed because of you.
- Titles and dates must match your CV. Recruiters compare.
- Attach media to roles: product link, case study, demo, article.
Skills
- Add the skills from your stack and pin the top 3. Those match recruiter filters.
- Spell them the way job posts do:
TypeScript,Next.js,React.js. - Ask 2-3 colleagues to endorse the key skills and, if you can, write a recommendation with a concrete result.
Featured
- 2-3 best items: a pet project with a demo, an article, a talk, a post breaking down a hard problem.
- Refresh every few months or after something notable.
Contacts and small things
- Custom profile URL:
linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname. - Email in contact info, so people can reach you in two clicks.
- Languages with levels.
- Location: the city you're in, or city plus remote. Recruiters filter by location.
Open to Work
Open to work has two modes:
- Recruiters only. Visible to recruiters using the paid LinkedIn Recruiter tool. Your current employer could in theory have access too, and LinkedIn says openly it can't fully prevent that.
- All LinkedIn members. The green photo frame. Works well for juniors and people between jobs. For seniors opinions differ: some recruiters read the frame as "will take anything". If you're senior and employed, pick Recruiters only.
Fill in: up to 5 job titles, format (remote, hybrid, on-site), locations, start date. Use titles as job posts spell them: Frontend Engineer, Frontend Developer, React Developer.
How recruiters search
A recruiter in LinkedIn Recruiter searches by title, skills, location, years of experience and keywords across the whole profile. A few practical consequences:
- A keyword should appear in the headline, About and Experience. Once in Skills isn't enough.
- Your current title matters. If your company calls you "Software Engineer II" but you do frontend, add it:
Software Engineer II (Frontend). - Active profiles rank higher. Posts, comments and updates make you more visible.
- You can search the same way with boolean in people search:
"frontend" AND ("react" OR "next.js") AND "recruiter".
Posting routine
You don't have to post, but it's the cheapest way to get noticed. A few rules tested on B2B audiences:
- Consistency beats volume. 1-2 posts a week, every week, beats 10 in one week and then a month of silence.
- Links go in the first comment, not in the post. Posts with outbound links get less reach.
- Expert post structure: problem → cause → example from your work → takeaway.
- End with a question. Posts that start conversations get shown to more people.
- Comment on posts from people in your niche and companies you want to join. A thoughtful comment under a big author often brings more profile views than your own post.
Topics that work for developers:
- A bug that took two days to find, and what you learned.
- How you made a page or a build faster, with before and after numbers.
- What you understood after your first year in a new job.
- A breakdown of an interview question. You can take questions with explanations from ShortLesson interview practice.
Messages to recruiters and hiring managers
The main rule from cold sales: learn about the person first, then send one short message with one goal. Don't pitch in the connection request.
Before you send a request, view the person's profile and react to a recent post. Your request then doesn't look like a mass blast, and it gets accepted more often.
Note: on a free LinkedIn account, invitations with a personal note are capped at a few per month. For some people you'll send the request without a note and write after they accept.
1. Connection request to a recruiter (under 200 characters)
Hi [Name]! I see you're hiring frontend developers at [Company]. I'm a [middle React developer] and follow your openings. Happy to connect.
2. First message after they accept
[Name], thanks for connecting.
I saw the [title] role at [Company]. I've worked with React and TypeScript for [3 years], and last year I [built a design system used by three teams]. It looks close to what you need.
Can I send my CV here, or should I apply on the site and let you know?
3. To a hiring manager or team lead
A hiring manager cares about their problem, not your wishes. Show you understood it.
Hi [Name]! I read your post about [migrating to Next.js / performance problems]. I did something similar at [Company]: [we moved 180 pages without freezing releases].
I see you have an open [title] role. I applied on the site but wanted to reach you directly too. Happy to share details in 15 minutes if that's useful.
4. Follow-up (after 5-7 days with no reply)
[Name], circling back on my message. Is the [title] role still open? If the timing's off, no problem, just let me know.
5. After a rejection
Thanks for letting me know, [Name]. I'd be glad if you kept me in mind when a similar role opens. Good luck with the hiring!
How many follow-ups
For a job search, two follow-ups are enough: after 5-7 days and a week after that. Then stop. Salespeople run 5-6 step sequences, but a recruiter isn't a client, and some replies arrive weeks later when a new role opens.
How to tell something is off
Keep a simple sheet: requests sent, accepted, replied. If fewer than 1 in 5 requests are accepted, the problem is usually your profile or who you're writing to, not the message text. How to run that sheet and what to automate is in How to automate your job search.
What not to do
- Automating invitations and messages with extensions and services. LinkedIn explicitly prohibits third-party software that acts on your behalf and can restrict or close your account.
- "Hi dear" and "Please check my CV" with no context.
- Sending your CV in the connection request.
- The same text to ten people at the same company.
- Withdrawing and resending requests that weren't accepted.