Every week we look at profiles that should be getting people hired and aren't. Usually it's not the person. It's the profile. Here's what we need to see, top to bottom, before we can do anything with yours.

The top of your profile, decoded - points 1 to 5

1. Your name, in full. Not initials, not just a nickname. If we can't find you, neither can the employer running a proper search on you before a call.
2. Your photo. LinkedIn's casual now, so it doesn't have to be a professional headshot. It does have to be clear, recent, and actually show your face. A blurry group crop where we can't tell which one is you helps no one.
3. Your headline. Clear and simple. "Senior Software Engineer at [Company]," not a paragraph of buzzwords. It's the first thing we read, so it should tell us exactly who you are and what you do.
4. Your location. Set it to where you're based now, not where you used to live or studied. If you'd relocate, say so plainly in your About section, or you'll get filtered out of roles you'd have taken.
5. The "Add section" button. Most people never touch it, and it's sat right at the top of your profile the whole time. It's how you switch on the sections that actually sell you: Featured, Projects, Publications, Volunteering. If you've got a GitHub, a portfolio, a Substack, anything that proves the work, this is where it goes. Anyone can claim they're good. A repo someone can open shows it.
6. Your About section. This is where most people undersell themselves. Don't just repeat your job title. Tell us what you actually do, what you're good at, and what you want next. Put your contact details here too, so we're not hunting for them.
7. Your Featured section. Sits just under your About, near the top, so use it. Pin your one strongest thing: an award, a big project, a piece of press, your newsletter, charity or volunteer work. It's the fastest way to show credibility before we've read a line further down.
 

8. Your activity. Posts, reposts, comments, anything that shows work you're proud of or a view you actually hold. A silent profile makes us wonder whether you're engaged in your field or just lurking until you need something.
9. Your Experience section. What did you actually do in each role, and what changed because you were there? "Responsible for X" tells us nothing. A real result tells us everything. When you fill each role in, add the skills you used against it, LinkedIn drops them into your Skills section automatically, and it's how recruiters filter, so if the skill isn't there you don't show up in the search. And every promotion gets its own entry with real detail. Don't just edit the title on the old one. It shows growth, not just tenure.
10. Recommendations. A couple of honest lines from a manager or someone you've worked with is worth more than anything you'll ever write about yourself. It's a reference built straight into your profile, and almost nobody bothers to ask.
Here's what that looks like in practice.

Here's what that looks like in practice.

Meet Daniel. He isn't a real member, he's an example profile we built to show the ten steps in action.

Before: a default grey banner, no headline, a cropped group photo where you can't tell which one is him. A profile that technically exists.

After: a branded banner, a headline that names his role and where he works, a clear photo of just him. Same person, findable now.
 

We didn't invent his experience to make a point, we built the profile to look like the ones we see every week, then fixed what was hiding him. 

None of this takes long. An hour, probably less so save this for the next time your profile needs updating.