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Using LinkedIn to find a job: going from an ignored profile to one people reach out to

Your profile is written for a search bar

Most people write their LinkedIn profile like a decorative CV, and it's an understandable but costly mistake. Your profile isn't a fact sheet, it's first and foremost a search-results page. Recruiters don't read LinkedIn top to bottom: they type keywords into a search bar, something like "logistics project manager Lyon", and look at who comes up. If your keywords aren't in your profile, you simply don't exist to them.

The habit I'd suggest building: for each section, ask yourself what word a recruiter would type to find someone like you, then make sure that word is present. In the headline, in the About, in the experiences, in the skills. A good profile isn't one stuffed with keywords, that would be unreadable. It's one where your role, your tools and the value you bring are clearly named, right where the algorithm goes looking.

The headline and photo: your shop window in two seconds

Your headline, that text just under your name, is the single most important field on all of LinkedIn: it weighs heavily in search and it's the first thing people see. Most people just write "Role at Company" there, and that's a waste. The formula that works better comes in three parts: your role, your key skills, and the value you bring.

A concrete example. Before: "Sales rep at Acme." After: "B2B SaaS Sales | Prospecting & closing | I help teams beat their sales targets." On the photo, no need to over-invest: a professional, sharp shot framed on your face, with a neutral background, is plenty. No studio needed, good natural light and an honest smile do the job. And most often, a profile with a photo gets significantly more views than one without.

Networking is the long game, and it's on you to build it. In the meantime, Kyns covers the published market: it scans the jobs every day and gathers them for you in a daily digest, at the time you choose, across France and internationally. You miss no openings, and you keep the energy for the real work: reaching the right person.

The About and Experiences: tell, don't list

The About section is better written in the first person, in a conversational tone, rather than the cold jargon of a CV. Talk about what you do, about quantified results, and end with a forward-looking line about the present: "right now I'm interested in..." or "I'm open to opportunities in...". It humanises you, and it signals your availability without sounding like you're begging.

For each experience, don't stop at the title. Add a short context paragraph, for instance "[Company] is a 50-person SME in sector X", because a recruiter may not know your company. Then list two to four quantified achievements. Before: "Managing social media." After: "Ran the brand's social media: +60% followers in a year, 3 viral campaigns." Context plus numbers is what makes an experience readable and credible.

Skills, Open to Work and activity: the neglected levers

Three levers often left aside make a real difference to your visibility. The Skills section feeds recruiter searches directly. The "Open to Work" mode noticeably increases your chances of being contacted, provided you set it up smartly. And your activity, comments and shares, keeps you visible in the algorithm even on the days you're not applying. Here's how I'd handle each one.

  • Skills: pin the 3 most-searched terms for your role at the top (check them against job ads), and ask for targeted endorsements on those specific skills.
  • Open to Work: turn on the visible-to-recruiters-only mode. You signal your availability without your current employer seeing the badge.
  • Activity: comment on 2-3 posts a week in your field, with a real opinion, not a "great post!". The algorithm then pushes your profile to your network and beyond.
  • Share something from your field now and then with your own take: you become an active, findable person, not a dormant profile.

The hidden job market and referrals: the fastest route

A large share of jobs are never posted, or are filled before the ad even closes: that's what's called the hidden job market. Reaching it goes through people, not forms. And there's a shortcut whose power I used to underestimate myself: referrals. An application recommended by an employee of the company most often goes ahead of many cold applications sent into the void. The weight isn't comparable.

How to do it without being pushy? Spot someone on LinkedIn who works at the target company, ideally in the team. Send a connection request with a short, sincere note. Then, once accepted, ask a real question about their role or their team before talking about yourself. Most often, people like to help when you approach them with respect and curiosity, not with a CV attached on the first message. A single good introduction can be worth weeks of classic applications.

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