What recruiters notice in your LinkedIn profile: 5 tips from a professional

Aigul Abdrakhmanova, city — Bishkek, Senior People Operations Specialist at EPAM Kyrgyzstan

At work, I often have to review candidate profiles. To be honest, my eye is so trained that I can literally decide within the first three seconds whether I want to talk to a candidate. That is why I decided to organize my knowledge into a set of rules for maintaining a profile, which I hope will help some of you in your job search. If you can't follow all the recommendations, choose one or two points that resonate with you.

1. Maintain regularity. If you want to increase the visibility of your profile, be more active. To do this, regularly publish posts, like, and comment on other people's posts, especially those from your field of activity. This directly affects search results. In addition, your comment on someone else's post can serve as a "bridge" through which recruiters will visit your profile. In my practice, it often happened that I accidentally noticed a comment with interesting analysis or opinion and went to the author's page to learn more about them.

2. Add achievements or publications that highlight your expertise to the "Featured" section. This will help you stand out from others and make it easier for recruiters who daily review a large number of profiles and work with a significant amount of information. This way, you become memorable and leave a pleasant impression. When I see such profiles, I immediately form an image of a confident specialist who knows their strengths and knows how to present them in the best light.

3. Tell your unique story. Use the "About" section not only for a short list of skills but also for creating a memorable story. By sharing your career history, you allow recruiters and potential employers to better understand you as a professional and a person. Your story will help you stand out, make your profile more lively, sincere, and create an emotional connection with those who view it. Again, such profiles are memorable. Recently, I have noticed that profiles are becoming similar to each other. Moreover, many posts are written with the help of AI. Undoubtedly, AI is a useful and necessary tool, but I recommend using it for spell-checking and, above all, preserving your unique authorial style in your profile.

4. Request recommendations. People need people. I always check if a person has recommendations and what comments are left under their posts. This helps me understand how the audience reacts to them. Therefore, request personalized recommendations and do not forget to share your own. It is important that recommendations from colleagues and managers are specific, not general, and highlight professional qualities and achievements.

5. Personalize your URL, that is, put your name at the end of the page address line. Such an address looks more neat and professional than a random set of numbers and letters, it is easier to remember and use, especially in resumes or emails. I will reveal a small secret: in CRM systems installed in many companies, there is a separate field for the LinkedIn URL, and a personalized address simplifies integration into such systems.

Bonus: try to use all LinkedIn features to your advantage. For example, such a seemingly simple feature as "Who viewed your profile" can be a good basis for a small analysis. You can find out which companies and positions viewed your profile and adjust your page accordingly if necessary. Also, this is a way to expand your network and add people who were interested in you to your contacts. Thus, you will have potential employers and recruiters among your friends who can react quickly when you are open to changing jobs.

To summarize, maintaining a LinkedIn profile takes time, but it helps structure information about yourself, remember your strengths and achievements, expand your network, and find information useful for your development. Dedicate time to this, and your efforts will certainly yield results.