LinkedIn has revolutionized the recruiting world and has made it easier to reach out to candidates directly, whether they’re actively or not actively job hunting.

How are you using LinkedIn? If you’re just updating your profile every now and then, you’re missing out! Many professionals only update their LinkedIn profiles when they are actively searching for a job. Recruiters are constantly searching on LinkedIn’s 460+ million profiles to identify top candidates. Having a sub-par profile, which is essentially your online resume, could mean you’re missing out on job opportunities.

There are several things you can do on LinkedIn to catch the attention of recruiters, employers, and former coworkers. Check out our tips that will help you get noticed and attract the right type of job opportunities.

#1 Use a nice LinkedIn profile picture
This small circular image of yourself transmits a lot about who you are. People form an impression about you from your profile photo, and they will also form one if one is missing.

According to LinkedIn, profiles that include a photo are 21 times more likely to be viewed than those without one. They are also nine times more likely to receive connection requests.

Opt for a flattering, professional photo that best represents you. Skip ones that are poorly cropped, low-resolution, or include another person (or your pet).

#2 Optimize Your Headline
Your headline is the job title or brief job description listed to the right of your profile picture. Employers begin their search here. Hiring managers search for a variety of job titles that closely align with their vacant role to uncover potential candidates. If your headline does not reflect the titles they’re looking for, you’re probably not going to show up in the search queue. To increase your chances of surfacing to the top, you’ll want to:

• Use your headline to communicate what you do, your specializations, or the role you’re pursuing. LinkedIn will automatically default to your last job title, but you can always edit it yourself.
• Use your headline real estate wisely. There are only 120 characters allowed, so you want to make all of your words count.
• Don’t get too fancy with job titles. Only include the most relevant phrases that mirror your expertise.
• Insert common keywords that align with the roles in your field so your name and job title are easily recognizable and searchable. This will increase your chances of showing up in different searches.

#3 Optimize Your Summary
The summary section on LinkedIn is a great place to showcase your achievements and professional goals. In fact, recruiters consider it the most important section of your profile, according to LinkedIn (and oddly enough, a lot of people don’t fill it out!)

Use it as an opportunity to talk about your experience, motivations, interests, and skills.

#4 Indicate that you’re ‘Open to opportunities’
Even if you’re not actively looking, this feature allows you to place a digital flag on your profile to identify you as ‘open to chat about an opportunity’. You never know when a recruiter might have an amazing opportunity you might be a perfect fit for.

#5 Make Your Experience Measurable
Your experience should reflect your expertise in a meaningful and measurable way. Here are a few ways to demonstrate your professionalism in a concise, clear and compelling manner:

• Unlike your resume, you’re not limited to 1-3 bullet points. List relevant experiences that tell your professional story.
• Write a quick 1-2 sentence summary of what you accomplished in that role.
• Stats are your friend. Employers love seeing how you intentionally measured your impact. It demonstrates that you’re self-aware, accountable, and goal oriented.
• Use strong action verbs that indicate the strength and weight of your involvement and impact on that role.

Here are some examples of measurable accomplishments:

• Grew email subscriber list from 200 to 3,000 in 11 months without expanding the monthly budget.
• Assisted headteacher in overseeing and educating 25 students for three months. Exceeded partner development sign-on goals by 30% in Q1 2022.

To reap the benefits of recruiters relying on LinkedIn more and more, do what you can to improve where you come up when recruiters are searching, and make sure your profile is compelling enough to click. You never know what opportunities might come your way if you set yourself up to be open to them.