How recruiters search LinkedIn
Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter narrow their search with filters for job title, location, company, skills, school, industry, and language. Each filter can be set so a term may appear, must appear, or must not appear. A job title filter can look only at your current title, only at past titles, or at people who are open to work.[1]
Recruiters can also type a keyword search with AND, OR, and NOT. LinkedIn does not support wildcards, so a search for "developer" does not also find "development". A recruiter has to type each spelling.[2]
Our advice: use the plain, common name for your job, since that is the spelling a recruiter is most likely to type.
What AI search reads
Recruiters can now describe the person they want in plain words, or paste a job description, and LinkedIn turns it into a search. Its advanced version can match qualifications that rarely appear as keywords on a profile.[4]
LinkedIn's engineers describe how Hiring Assistant, its AI recruiting agent, finds people. It reads your profile text along with your title, seniority, location, career path, and whether you are open to work. It picks up profile changes daily. LinkedIn built it because keyword search returned no results for nearly half of the searches it studied.[3]
Our advice: keep your title, seniority, and location accurate, because they still act as filters. Describe what you did in concrete terms rather than listing buzzwords, because AI search reads that text too.
Photo, headline, and location
LinkedIn says members with a profile photo get up to twice as many profile views, and that a complete profile is easier to find.[10] The photo sizes LinkedIn accepts are in the table in the checklist section.[9] For the background photo behind it, LinkedIn notes that photos generally look better than logos.[21]
Your headline is the line under your name, and it appears in search results. It does not have to repeat your current job title.[5] LinkedIn's help pages do not state a headline length limit.
Location is one of the main Recruiter filters[1], and Hiring Assistant reads it alongside your profile text.[3]
Our advice: use a recent, clear photo of your face. Lead your headline with the title you want and the skills that go with it, in the words a recruiter would type. Set your location to the city or metro area where you want to work.
Your About section
The About section holds up to 2,600 characters. LinkedIn's own advice is to make the first sentence count, use keywords from job descriptions you want, show traits with examples instead of words like "motivated", and write in the first person.[6] Its help center suggests one or two paragraphs, and bullet points are fine.[10]
You can also pin up to five top skills to the About section.[8]
Experience and skills
Recruiters filter on the titles in your Experience entries, current and past,[1] and AI search reads the text you write under each one.[3]
You can list up to 100 skills. Skills you add to a job in Experience do not count toward that limit.[7] LinkedIn says 75% of hirers want context on how a skill was used, and that members with at least one skill get up to twice as many profile views and up to four times as many messages.[8] Only your 1st-degree connections can endorse a skill.[7]
Our advice: use the title your employer used, or the common name for it. Describe each job with what you did and what changed because of it. Add each skill to the jobs where you used it.
Featured, recommendations, and certifications
The Featured section shows posts you wrote, articles you published on LinkedIn, and images, documents, or links you add. If you feature nothing, the section is hidden from people who view your profile.[15]
You can request a recommendation from a connection's profile, under More, or from the Recommendations section of your own profile. You can have one request open with each connection at a time, and requests use your primary profile language.[16] Once you accept a recommendation it is visible to your network, and you can hide any you choose.[10]
Licenses and certifications is one of the sections LinkedIn recommends, added from Add profile section along with Featured, Projects, Courses, and Recommendations.[17] Recruiters can also filter by school.[1]
Our advice: feature work a hiring manager can open, such as a portfolio, a writing sample, or a project write-up. Ask for recommendations from people who saw your work directly, and say which skills or results you would like them to mention.
Contact info, profile URL, and verification
Contact info sits in your profile's introduction and can hold your profile link, email, phone, website, messaging accounts, and birthday. Some of it is visible only to your connections.[19] You choose who sees your email, from only you to anyone on LinkedIn, under Settings and Privacy, then Visibility.[20]
A custom profile URL can be 3 to 100 characters with no spaces, symbols, or the word LinkedIn, and you can change it up to five times in six months.[11] LinkedIn says a custom URL helps your profile show up in search engines.[10]
LinkedIn offers free, optional verification of your identity, workplace, or school. It is available only in some countries and at some employers and schools, and the ID or work email used to verify you is not shown to anyone.[18]
Our advice: if recruiters outside your network should be able to email you, widen your email visibility. Put your custom URL on your resume. Verify if it is offered to you, since it costs nothing.
Open to Work: who sees it
Open to Work has three settings:[12]
- All LinkedIn members, which adds the #OpenToWork frame to your photo. Coworkers can see it.
- Recruiters only, which shows it only to people using LinkedIn Recruiter.
- Visible only to you, which uses your preferences for job recommendations and shows nothing to others.
With Recruiters only, LinkedIn tries to hide your status from recruiters at the employer you list as your current job, but says it cannot guarantee complete privacy. If you stop answering recruiter messages, LinkedIn asks whether you are still looking, and turns the feature off if you do not confirm.[12] Recruiter can also filter for people who are open to work.[1]
Our advice: if your current employer must not find out, remember that no setting guarantees it. Answer recruiter messages while the feature is on, even to say no.
Keep it consistent with your resume
Before you edit a job or school, check the Share profile updates setting under Settings and Privacy, then Visibility. With it on, LinkedIn tells your network about job changes, education changes, and work anniversaries. Anyone who opens your profile sees saved edits either way.[13]
Our advice: a recruiter can see both your resume and your LinkedIn profile, so use the same employers, job titles, and dates in both. Your resume can be tailored to one job, but the facts under it should match your profile.
Example: a headline and About section
A fictional example, written by BespokeJobs to show the advice above. Jordan is a data analyst at a regional grocery chain who wants a supply chain planning role. The names and numbers are invented.
Passionate, results-driven professional | Team player | Always learning
Supply Chain Analyst | Demand Planning, SQL, Tableau | Cut stockouts 18% across 40 grocery stores
I forecast demand for 40 grocery stores and turn the numbers into orders that stores can act on. At Harvest Lane Markets I rebuilt our weekly forecast in SQL and Tableau, which cut stockouts 18% in a year without raising inventory.
Before that I spent three years as a store operations analyst, so I know what a late truck costs a store manager on a Saturday morning.
I am looking for a demand planning or supply chain analyst role in the Denver area. Skills: demand forecasting, inventory planning, SQL, Tableau, Excel, vendor management.
- The headline appears in search results.[5] Following our advice, it leads with the title Jordan wants.
- The first sentence of About says what Jordan does, with no greeting.[6]
- A result with a number replaces "results-driven", showing the trait instead of naming it.[6]
- About is written in the first person and ends with a list of skills from the job descriptions Jordan wants.[6]
- Following our advice, the location named in About matches the location Jordan sets on the profile.
Advice that is out of date
- "Turn on creator mode." LinkedIn removed the creator mode switch in 2024. Every member keeps the same posting tools, and you choose Follow or Connect as your main profile button.[14]
- "You can list 50 skills." The limit is now 100.[7]
- "The About section holds 2,000 characters." It holds 2,600.[6]
- "Recruiters only match exact keywords." Keyword filters still exist, but AI search also reads what your descriptions mean.[3], [4]
Common questions
How long can a LinkedIn headline be?
LinkedIn's help pages do not state a headline limit. They say the headline appears in search results and can differ from your current job title. Our advice, not LinkedIn's: lead with the title you want and the skills that go with it.[5] Headline and About limits in detail.
How many characters fit in the LinkedIn About section?
The About section holds up to 2,600 characters. LinkedIn's help center suggests one or two paragraphs, and you can also pin up to five top skills there.[6], [8], [10]
How many skills can I add to my LinkedIn profile?
Up to 100 in the Skills section. Skills you add to a job in your Experience section do not count toward that limit.[7]
Do recruiters use AI to search LinkedIn?
Yes. LinkedIn Recruiter can turn a plain-language request or a pasted job description into a search, and its Hiring Assistant reads profile text along with title, seniority, location, and open to work status. Recruiters also still use filters and Boolean keyword search.[1], [2], [3], [4] How Boolean search works, with examples.
Should I turn on Open to Work?
You choose who sees it: all LinkedIn members, which adds the #OpenToWork photo frame, recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter only, or only you. With recruiters only, LinkedIn tries to hide the status from recruiters at your current employer but says it cannot guarantee complete privacy.[12]
Will my network be notified when I update my LinkedIn profile?
Only if Share profile updates is on, under Settings and Privacy, then Visibility. It covers job changes, education changes, and work anniversaries. Anyone who opens your profile sees saved edits either way.[13]
Does LinkedIn creator mode still exist?
Not as a setting. LinkedIn removed the creator mode switch in 2024. Members keep the same posting tools and analytics, and choose Follow or Connect as their main profile button.[14]
What size should my LinkedIn profile and background photos be?
A profile photo between 400 x 400 and 7680 x 4320 pixels, and a background photo of 1584 x 396 pixels. Both must be PNG or JPG files under 8 MB.[9]
How do I ask for a LinkedIn recommendation?
Open the connection's profile, select More, then Request a recommendation, or use the Recommendations section of your own profile. You can have one request open with each connection at a time, and requests use your primary profile language.[16]
Can I change my LinkedIn profile URL?
Yes. A custom URL can be 3 to 100 characters with no spaces, symbols, or the word LinkedIn, and you can change it up to five times in six months. The old URL stays linked to you for six months.[11]
A checklist for your profile
| Part of your profile | What LinkedIn allows |
|---|---|
| Profile photo | 400 x 400 to 7680 x 4320 pixels, PNG or JPG, up to 8 MB[9] |
| Background photo | 1584 x 396 pixels recommended, up to 8 MB[9] |
| About | 2,600 characters[6] |
| Top skills in About | Up to 5[8] |
| Skills section | Up to 100, not counting skills added to a job in Experience[7] |
| Custom profile URL | 3 to 100 letters or numbers, changed up to 5 times in 6 months[11] |
| Featured | No limit on items, and up to 400 shown[15] |
| Recommendations | No limit on how many you request, one request per connection at a time[10], [16] |
From LinkedIn's pages
- Add a profile photo. LinkedIn says it brings up to twice as many profile views.[10]
- Pin up to five top skills in About.[8]
- Choose who can see your email address.[20]
- Set a custom profile URL.[10], [11]
- Pick who sees Open to Work. LinkedIn turns it off if you stop answering recruiters.[12]
- Check Share profile updates before you edit jobs or schools.[13]
Our advice
- Use a recent, clear photo of your face.
- Lead your headline with the title you want and the skills that go with it.
- Set your location to where you want to work.
- Use plain, common job titles in Experience, and describe what you did in concrete terms.
- Add each skill to the jobs where you used it.
- Feature work a hiring manager can open, and ask for recommendations from people who saw your work.
- Put your custom profile URL on your resume.
- Match the employers, titles, and dates on your resume.
Related guides
- How we tailor resumes and cover lettersHow BespokeJobs drafts a resume and cover letter from your profile and a job description, with the career advice it follows.
- Resume examples by field, tailored to a job postingFictional profiles and job postings by field, from nurse to electrician, with the tailored resume and cover letter for each and a note on every change.
- How applicant tracking systems read your resumeWhat Workday, Greenhouse, and Oracle Taleo document about reading a resume, and what to check before you apply.
- Free ATS resume checker: instant, no sign-inCheck how easily software can read your resume and how it follows common resume practices. No account needed, and we do not keep your file.
Sources
- 1LinkedIn Recruiter Help: search filters
Job title, location, company, skill, school, industry, and language filters, each set to can have, must have, or does not have, and title filters for current, past, or open to work.
- 2LinkedIn Help: Boolean search on LinkedIn
AND, OR, and NOT in capitals, quotes for exact phrases, parentheses for grouping, and no wildcards.
- 3LinkedIn Engineering: semantic search for Hiring Assistant
Encodes profile text with title, seniority, location, career path, and open to work status, picks up profile changes daily, and found keyword search returned nothing for nearly half of queries. Published June 11, 2026.
- 4LinkedIn Talent Solutions: AI-assisted search and projects
Turns a plain-language request or a job description into a search, and can match qualifications that profiles rarely state.
- 5LinkedIn Help: add or edit your profile headline
The headline appears in search results and can differ from your current job title.
- 6LinkedIn Talent Blog: profile summaries that we love
A 2,600 character About section, a strong first sentence, keywords from job descriptions, and examples instead of buzzwords. Published April 30, 2024.
- 7LinkedIn Help: skills on your profile
Up to 100 skills, not counting skills tied to a job in Experience, and endorsements only from 1st-degree connections.
- 8LinkedIn Talent Blog: how to add skills to your LinkedIn profile
Members with at least one skill get up to 2x more profile views and up to 4x more messages, 75% of hirers want context on how a skill was used, and up to five top skills in About. Published April 4, 2024.
- 9LinkedIn Help: profile and background photo requirements
Photo sizes, the recommended 1584 x 396 background, PNG or JPG, and an 8 MB limit.
- 10LinkedIn Help: tips for a strong profile
A photo brings up to 2x more profile views, a complete profile is easier to find, a custom URL helps search engines, and recommendations have no limit.
- 11LinkedIn Help: customize your public profile URL
Rules for length, characters, and how often the URL can change.
- 12LinkedIn Help: let recruiters know you are open to work
The three visibility settings, hiding the status from your current employer without a guarantee, and removal after you stop answering recruiters.
- 13LinkedIn Help: share profile changes with your network
The Share profile updates setting, which changes it covers, and that viewers see saved edits either way.
- 14LinkedIn Help: changes to creator mode
The creator mode toggle and profile hashtags were removed in 2024, and members choose Follow or Connect as their main button.
- 15LinkedIn Help: Featured section on your profile FAQs
Posts, LinkedIn articles, images, documents, and links can be featured, up to 400 items show, and an empty section is hidden.
- 16LinkedIn Help: request a recommendation
Ask a connection from their profile or your own, one request per connection at a time, in your primary profile language.
- 17LinkedIn Help: add sections to your profile
Featured, Licenses and certifications, Projects, Courses, and Recommendations are recommended sections you add from Add profile section.
- 18LinkedIn Help: verifications on your LinkedIn profile
Free, optional identity, workplace, and school verification, available only in some countries and at some employers, with the verifying data kept private.
- 19LinkedIn Help: Contact info section of your profile
Contact info holds your profile link, email, phone, website, messaging accounts, and birthday, and some of it is visible only to connections.
- 20LinkedIn Help: manage who can see your email address
Email visibility settings, from only you to anyone on LinkedIn.
- 21LinkedIn Help: add or change your background photo
Background photo steps and specs, and that photos generally look better than logos.
Sources last reviewed .