InterviewHack.ai

A LinkedIn recruiters find

Recruiters search LinkedIn by exact terms and skim in seconds. Set up your profile so their search surfaces you — and their skim keeps them.

3 modules · 22 min · free

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01 · 8 min

How recruiters actually search

If you don't show up in the search, nothing else on your profile matters.

Recruiters use LinkedIn Recruiter with keyword and boolean searches: a title, a stack, a location. The engine matches mostly against your headline, your current title, and your skills — not the deep text of your experience. So the exact terms you'd want to be found for have to appear in those high-weight fields, spelled the way recruiters type them ("React", "PostgreSQL", the real job title).

Think of your profile as a landing page with SEO. First job: rank in the search. Second job: survive the 5-second skim once they click.

  • Search weights headline, title and skills most
  • Use the exact terms recruiters type, not clever synonyms
  • Location + open-to-work settings gate whether you appear
  • Rank first, then win the skim

List the 5 exact keywords a recruiter would type to find someone like you. Are all 5 in your headline or skills?

If not, add the ones you honestly have to those fields — that's the single highest-leverage LinkedIn edit.

Boolean search
Searching with AND/OR/NOT to combine terms — how recruiters filter candidates.

02 · 8 min

A headline and About that convert

The click is won by the headline; the reply is won by the first two lines of About.

Your headline is not your job title — it's ad copy that also feeds search. Pattern: what you are + strongest proof + what you target, keyword-dense but human. "Backend engineer · scaled payments to 2M users · open to senior platform roles."

The About section's first two lines are all most people see before "see more", so put the hook there: who you help and the proof, in plain language. Below that, spell out your stack (recruiters search exact terms) and one line of direction. Short paragraphs, first person, zero corporate filler.

  • Headline = what you are + proof + target, keyword-rich
  • About's first two lines must hook before 'see more'
  • Spell out the exact stack recruiters search
  • First person, short paragraphs, no filler
  1. 1Rewrite the headline to the pattern
  2. 2Put the hook in About's first 2 lines
  3. 3List your real stack terms
  4. 4Add one line of direction

Write your headline in the pattern: [what you are] · [strongest proof] · [target].

e.g. 'Full-stack dev · shipped 3 products end-to-end at a scale-up · open to remote senior roles.'

The fold
On LinkedIn About, the first ~2 lines shown before 'see more' — your hook zone.

03 · 6 min

Signals that rank you up

A few settings and habits change how often you surface and how you read when you do.

Beyond keywords, LinkedIn rewards signals of an active, hireable profile. Turn on "Open to work" (recruiter-only mode if you're discreet) so you appear in their open-to-work filter. Keep a complete profile — photo, skills filled, experience with results — because completeness affects ranking and trust. A little activity (a post, a comment) keeps you visible. Endorsed, relevant skills reinforce the terms you want to rank for.

None of this is about being a LinkedIn influencer. It's a handful of one-time setup moves plus "open to work" that quietly move you up the recruiter's list.

  • 'Open to work' (recruiter-only) puts you in their filter
  • A complete profile ranks and reads better
  • Skills you list + get endorsed reinforce your keywords
  • Light activity keeps you visible — no influencing required

Which of these are you missing: open-to-work on, photo, 5+ relevant skills, results in your latest role?

Fix the missing ones in one sitting — they're one-time moves with lasting payoff.

Open to work
A LinkedIn setting that flags you to recruiters; can be shown to all or recruiters only.

Now do it for your real interview

InterviewHack builds a course tailored to your CV and every interview — with who's interviewing you and a live mock to rehearse out loud.

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