Optimizing Your LI Headline

?I want to give you a recruiter’s perspective on what I see when I look at any profile – which is no different than what YOU see when you look at mine. This is specifically when I am looking through my LinkedIn feed, for whatever reason.

What does this thumbnail tell you?

• Someone that is open to work, has not been getting any responses to their job search, and a bunch of former companies.

What information do you see just by looking at my thumbnail?

• My name; my pronouns; LGBTQ flag; and my title (Senior Technical Recruiter) followed by my personal branding slogan (“Purple Squirrel Hunter” and my the first few letters of my current “mission”).

You have a FINITE amount of space on your LinkedIn profile that the world sees. As a recruiter, I am interested in what role/s you are looking for – and this is why your headline is critical if you truly want to catch recruiters’ attention. It makes no difference to me if you are ex-BigTech ex-Fortune100 ex-BlueChip whatever if I don’t know what job family you are targeting.

You could have worked at Amazon, Meta, AND Google – but unless I know what you did at any of those employers, I really don’t CARE. If I hire for Financial Analysts and you are a Product Manager – I am not interested.

• Recruiters generally hire based on job titles/skill groupings. WHAT you do is the first thing we look at, WHERE you did it may or may not be of interest. But guess what? I can see the WHERE if I’m intrigued enough by the headline to open your profile all the way.
• Your headline - if you are looking for a new role - should be reflective of the role/s you are targeting. And it should be cohesive - not five distinctly DIFFERENT job families.

I have discussed this point several times over the last few weeks, and the ex-whatevers are getting mighty defensive. Responses are generally “I’m proud to have worked at XYZ”! Well, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be; what I AM saying is that I don’t care until I know what YOUR INDUSTRY PROFESSION IS. And most of my peers have expressed similar opinions.

Another piece you may want to contemplate? Putting “Ex Amazon” or “Ex Google” or “Ex Twitter” or “Ex Microsoft” in your headline could give recruiters a reason not to explore further – especially if we know our comp isn’t going to match what the MAAMA/FAANG companies paid. Do you really want to remove yourself from consideration based on an assumption? (Before you get your knickers in a twist - I work for a CO-based company and I live in WA – both states with pay transparency laws, meaning all our compensation is listed on the job postings.)

Also consider A/B testing; this is where you change things up every now and then to see what gets more response.

Ultimately it is certainly your choice how you brand yourself – but you may want to consider the fact that recruiters are the ones that are your current target audience if you are looking for a job.