4 Changes to Make on Your LinkedIn Profile Now: Update these items on your phone while on vacation.

A recruiting expert told me this week that “head-hunters” may have 10,000 applications, including resumes and LinkedIn profiles, on their virtual desks at any one time. They could have 10 open job orders and 1,000 candidates to fill each one. No one wants to read all that. Automated tools that scan for keywords are essential for them to get this job done.

You, as a jobseeker, can help by making your LinkedIn profile easier to find. LinkedIn’s recruiting software has to find it. Then, the profile has to grab attention so the recruiter reads it.

Here are four initial suggestions we make most often:

1. Add or update your intro card section images,
2. Get a verified LinkedIn account,
3. Create a stronger LinkedIn headline, and
4. Turn creator mode off.

LinkedIn is a social media platform, so you will get the best results with effective images, headlines, and account setup.

Start with images to get noticed.

Often, the LinkedIn profiles we look at appear bland. The profile will not grab a recruiter’s attention. It’s an easy problem to fix.

You can grab attention by uploading a headshot and a background image. Those of us that use social media regularly have headshots or similar images, along with background images on our other social media profile pages. Follow a similar practice on LinkedIn.

Headshot: LinkedIn Help tells us a headshot is not required. You can upload an “illustration, caricature, or other artistic rendering of yourself”—but hiring teams expect to see your photo.

A professional headshot is not needed unless you are in a creative business where headshots are commonly expected. Have someone snap the headshot with your phone—it will look better than a selfie.

Paradoxically, hiring teams do not want headshots on resumes. Photos could lead to conscious or unconscious bias during the hiring process. Resume scanning software employers use typically read text only so the company will not have a photo of you in their records until they hire you. But images are an integral part of social media profiles, so your audience expects to see pictures.

A marketing maxim comes to mind here: “if you can’t avoid it, feature it.” Add a photo of yourself in appropriate attire for your line-of-work.

Background image: Your background image, or banner, gives you an opportunity to promote your personal brand. A software engineer we have collaborated with on resumes uses his banner image to promote the “99.9% accuracy” of an optical character recognition (OCR) app he developed for the financial technology (FinTech) industry. A profile for someone who did PR for professional bicycle racers used the image of an open road for his banner.

Your photo and banner will increase the chances you will be found in searches. Some experts say your photo will increase your appearance in searches 25 times or more. A recruiter told us that she skips search results without photo or banner.

While we understand that jobseekers may not want to include their photo on a profile for a variety of reasons, we suggest weighing the benefits of doing so.

Verify your profile.

Early last year, we noticed that an increasing number of profiles were marked “verified.” Once again, LinkedIn was following a trend we’ve seen on other social media sites.

We looked into the verification process last year and found out other coaches had difficulty getting their profiles verified. But when we noticed many verified profiles, we tried the process again.

Finally, in February 2024 we verified our profile without significant glitches. Members need only scan in a photo ID, and take a selfie to show that they are the same person. A site called “Clear.com” verified our ID and sent us back to LinkedIn. Clear is the same company that works with TSA on their pre-check program.

The verification process has to be done using a smartphone. It can be a nuisance to the minority of us that prefer doing business on a laptop or desktop computer.

You need ID to get a job, so showing ID to become a verified LinkedIn member seems like a reasonable “ask” for better results.

Beef-up your LinkedIn headline.

The LinkedIn algorithm places a high value on your profile headline. Your headline, along with intro card images, are also the only things recruiters see in their initial searches. So, a strong headline is crucial.

LinkedIn allows 220 characters for your headline. Write a keyword-rich phrase that represents your personal brand and job target. The site may have entered your most recent job title by default when you set up a profile. Change it now to better reflect what you do. And, do not leave this valuable space blank!

Turn Creator Mode off.

“Creator Mode” is a relatively new LinkedIn feature According to Sprout Social, “A social media content creator is an individual who creates and shares content intended to educate or entertain an audience across social media platforms.”

The problem with creator mode, from a jobseeker’s point of view, is that it pushes your “About” and “Experience” sections further down your profile page. That means a busy hiring team member may not scroll down to see the information about your career that you have carefully crafted for them. As a result, we recommend turning Creator Mode off for the duration of your job search.

Concluding Comments

LinkedIn is a business social media platform. It is not a static online resume site, so do not treat it that way. You have to grab attention with images and write a powerful headline. And you have to set up your profile so employers won’t have to scroll too far for the best information.