LinkedIn for NZ job seekers: the six changes that get you found

Headline that says the role, not the title

LinkedIn shows your headline in search results, and it can be different from your current job title. That makes it one of the most important lines on your profile. LinkedIn's own Talent Blog says it has 220 characters.

Use it to say what you do and the role you want, in the words a recruiter would search for. "Operations Coordinator at Harbour Freight" tells a recruiter where you work. "Operations and logistics coordinator | Freight and supply chain | Auckland" tells them what you do, the field and the place. Keep it true, and keep it readable: two or three phrases, not a list of every skill.

Open to Work, public or recruiters only

Open to Work tells recruiters you are looking, and you choose who sees it. Shown to all LinkedIn members, it adds the #OpenToWork frame to your photo, and LinkedIn notes that this audience includes people at your current company. Shown to recruiters only, there is no frame, and LinkedIn takes steps to hide it from recruiters at your own company, but says it cannot guarantee complete privacy.

If you are between jobs, showing it to everyone is usually sensible, because it invites approaches. If you are employed and your search is confidential, recruiters only is the safer choice, with that caveat in mind. Our article on job hunting while employed covers the other settings to check.

Set your job preferences at the same time: the titles, locations and workplace types you want, so the approaches you get are for the work you are looking for.

The About section in plain English

The About section has room for 2,600 characters, but most readers will only see the first few lines before choosing whether to read more. Put the important part first: what you do, what you are good at, and what you are looking for next.

Write it in the first person, as you would speak, and in plain English. Two or three short paragraphs work well: your work and field, two or three results you are proud of with real figures where you have them, and a closing line about the role you want and how to contact you. Leave out the phrases every profile uses, such as "passionate" and "results-driven", and let the results make the point.

Recruiter search and the words they use

Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter filter by job titles, location, companies, skills, schools, industries and languages. Your profile is found when its words match theirs.

• Job titles. Use the standard title for each role. If your employer's title was unusual, add the common equivalent in the description, such as "Client Success Lead (account manager)".
• Skills. List the skills that appear in ads for the roles you want, if you have them, with the most important first.
• Location. Set the city where you want to work. A profile set to the wrong city can drop out of a recruiter's search.
• Job alerts. Turn on alerts for your target titles and locations, daily or weekly, so you see roles as they are posted.

If you are employed, check Settings and Privacy, then Visibility, before you change your job title or education: the "Share profile updates" setting controls whether your network is told. Our guide to working with recruitment agencies explains how recruiters use what they find.

Logging every recruiter contact so you remember who said what

A good profile brings messages from recruiters, often for roles they cannot name yet. A month later it is hard to remember which recruiter called about which role, what you said about pay, and who has your CV. That matters, because two agencies putting you forward to the same employer can cost you the role.

Note each recruiter as they get in touch: their name and agency, the role, what was said, and when to follow up. In jobtracker.co.nz, each recruiter is a contact linked to the jobs they relate to, with notes on who they are and a date to follow up, and in Everything mode each job keeps a dated log of calls and messages. The demo opens with no account and shows a job hunt with its recruiters already in it.

Remember every recruiter who calls