How Recruiters Actually Use LinkedIn (And How to Get Found)

How Recruiters Actually Use LinkedIn (And How to Get Found)

How Recruiters Actually Use LinkedIn (And How to Get Found)

Dan Bentivenga

Jun 15, 2025

Most job seekers think LinkedIn is their online resume. It’s not. It’s a search engine. If you’re not optimized for it, you’re invisible.

Let’s set the stage

Recruiters aren’t scrolling their feeds all day. They’re in LinkedIn Recruiter, which is a completely different platform from the one you see.

It looks like a CRM. Think: filters, boolean strings, search results, and saved lists. There’s no scrolling. No random outreach. Just search.

So here’s what happens when I’m trying to fill a role:

1. I open LinkedIn Recruiter
2. I enter 6–10 keywords for skills, titles, and tech stacks
3. I filter by location, industry, current company, past companies, and years of experience
4. I hit search
5. I get a ranked list of profiles that match the query
6. I open a few of the top ones
7. I send out some InMails
8. I wait

If you’re not in that list, you’re not getting that message. Period.

Even if you’re the Michael Jordan of your craft, I can’t ping you if you don’t show up in my search.

This is why you’re not getting recruiter outreach

It’s not your background. It’s your visibility.

You can’t win the game if you’re not even on the court. I’ve seen top engineers with incredible pedigrees get zero InMail. Why? Because they didn’t optimize their profile.

Here’s how to fix that.

1. Start with your headline

This is your billboard.

It’s the most important 120 characters on your profile.

Bad headline

“Software Engineer at XYZ”

Why it doesn’t work: Generic. No keywords. No clarity.

Better headline

“Senior Backend Engineer | Java, Spring Boot, AWS | Building scalable fintech platforms”

Why it works:

1. Keywords are front-loaded
2. It explains what you do
3. It matches how recruiters search

Put yourself in a recruiter’s shoes: They’re hiring for a backend Java role. They search: (“backend engineer” OR “software engineer”) AND Java AND AWS

If those words aren’t in your headline or experience section, you don’t show up.

2. Optimize your “About” section

Think of this as your elevator pitch. The goal is not to tell your life story. The goal is to give context and keywords.

Here’s a 3-part formula that works:

1. Who you are
2. What you’ve done
3. What you’re targeting

Example:

Senior backend engineer with 7+ years building high-availability systems in finance and healthcare.

Experience leading distributed teams, optimizing backend performance, and migrating monoliths to microservices.

Specialties: Java, Spring Boot, Kubernetes, AWS, PostgreSQL

Open to senior roles at product-focused companies in fintech, healthtech, or B2B SaaS.

Now your profile is not just searchable. It’s also skimmable.

3. Bulletproof your job experience

This is where most profiles fall apart. They either copy-paste a job description or leave it blank. Both are mistakes.

Here’s the move:

Take the best 2–4 bullets from your resume and rewrite them for keywords.

Example:

Bad:

1. Worked on backend systems
2. Improved performance

Better:

1. Designed and deployed Java-based microservices on AWS, reducing latency by 40%
2. Led migration from monolith to Spring Boot architecture for a high-traffic insurance platform
3. Collaborated with product and QA to release 12+ new features in 2024
4. Mentored 3 junior engineers and conducted 20+ technical interviews

You’re not just showing results. You’re embedding keywords that recruiters actually search.

4. Skills section: less fluff, more relevance

You get 50 skill slots. Use them wisely.

Don’t fill this with soft skills like “Team Leadership” or “Time Management.” Use technical skills, tools, and technologies that match your actual job target.

Here’s a good stack for a backend Java engineer:

1. Java
2. Spring Boot
3. AWS
4. PostgreSQL
5. REST APIs
6. Kubernetes
7. Microservices
8. Git
9. CI/CD
10. Kafka

This section feeds the algorithm. Get specific. Get relevant.

5. Make it active, not passive

If you’re actively job hunting, your headline or About section can include:

Actively exploring backend roles | Java | AWS | Spring Boot

or

Open to new opportunities — fintech, SaaS, and high-growth startups

Just make sure your settings reflect that.

Go to: Settings > Job seeking preferences > Signal to recruiters > Turn it ON.

6. Bonus: Make your profile look “alive”

Post something once a week. Comment on a few posts. Even if it’s small.

Why?

Because the LinkedIn Recruiter algorithm favors profiles with recent activity.

A dead profile looks like a ghost. An active profile looks like someone worth reaching out to.

Final Word

Most job seekers treat LinkedIn like a digital resume. Recruiters treat it like a search engine.

If you don’t build your profile with keywords, structure, and intent, you’re playing hide-and-seek with people who have jobs to give you.

Fix that, and you stop chasing jobs.

They start chasing you.