As a senior recruiter at Nicholas Howard, I spend 90% of my time searching for candidates that may be interested in our exciting new opportunities.
These candidates may not be actively looking for new roles, but in our experience, the most successful candidates, who enjoy the most rewarding careers, can often be the ones who manage best the opportunities that come their way out of the blue.
For this reason, whatever your current work situation, it is vital to remain visible, and relevant to the career that you are looking to develop.
When people think about job hunting, they often imagine sending applications and waiting for responses. In reality, a huge proportion of hiring now happens the other way around — recruiters search for candidates directly.
Where do they search first?
LinkedIn.
Every day, recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn search tools to identify potential candidates for roles they are hiring for. If your profile isn’t optimised to appear in those searches, you could be missing out on opportunities without even realising it.
Here are a few simple ways to make sure you’re visible when those searches happen.
- Your Headline Is More Important Than You Think
Many LinkedIn users simply list their job title in their headline. While that’s fine, it often means you’re missing an opportunity to include keywords recruiters actually search for.
For example, instead of:
“Project Manager at ABC Ltd”
Consider something more descriptive such as:
“Project Manager | Agile Delivery | Digital Transformation | Financial Services”
This helps LinkedIn’s search function understand what you actually do and where your expertise lies.
- Use the Right Keywords Throughout Your Profile
Recruiters don’t search for names — they search for skills, industries and experience.
For example, a recruiter might search for things like:
- “Clinical Research Associate”
- “Financial Controller”
- “Mechanical Design Engineer”
- “Business Development Manager UAE”
If those terms appear naturally within your headline, summary and experience sections, you are far more likely to appear in search results.
Think of your profile as your digital CV that also needs to work for search engines.
- Make Your Skills Section Work for You
The skills section is more important than many people realise. Recruiters frequently filter candidates by specific skill sets, meaning your profile may only appear if those skills are listed.
Adding relevant skills — and ensuring they reflect the work you actually do — can significantly improve your visibility.
- Keep Your Profile Active and Up to Date
LinkedIn’s algorithm also tends to favour active and current profiles.
Simple actions like:
- Updating your experience
- Adding new achievements
- Engaging with posts
- Sharing industry content
- Adding recommendations and referrals
can all help signal that your profile is active and relevant.
- Make It Easy for Recruiters to Contact You
It sounds obvious, but many candidates forget to check that their contact details are visible and current.
You may also want to turn on the “Open to Work” feature (which can be visible only to recruiters), signalling that you’re open to new opportunities.
Final Thoughts
LinkedIn has become one of the most powerful recruitment tools available to employers and recruiters.
The good news is that you don’t need to spend hours optimising your profile — a few small changes can dramatically improve how easily you are found.
And when you’re visible in the right searches, the right opportunities can often find you before you even start applying.
At Nicholas Howard, we run free online optimisation sessions for anyone looking to enhance this area of their digital presence. Contact me, or any of my colleagues now to book an appointment with one of our career experts.
Engage with experience at Nicholas Howard.
