The perfect LinkedIn for job search: a 10-point audit

A recruiter spends on average 8 seconds on a LinkedIn profile before deciding whether to keep reading. In those 8 seconds, they scan 3 things: the photo, the headline under the name, and the first 2 lines of the About section. If those 3 zones say nothing, they close the tab. Here's the 10-point audit that turns a "present" profile into a "recruited" one.

Why your LinkedIn works for you (or against you) 24/7

When you apply, 80% of recruiters check your LinkedIn before calling. When you don't apply, some recruiters find you through direct search — on keywords you have (or don't have) on your profile. A well-done LinkedIn means:

• More applications passing the first human filter
• Recruiters reaching out directly (the hidden market)
• Solid social proof before every interview

A poor LinkedIn does the opposite — it sows doubt about your seriousness and blocks opportunities you'll never see.

The 10-point audit

1. The photo: sharp, recent, professional (but human)

What works: shoulders-up portrait, neutral background, natural smile, eyes to the camera. Photo less than 2 years old. Good resolution (at least 400×400 px).

What hurts: cropped party photo, mirror selfie, group photo, no photo at all (50% fewer views without one), photo too "stiff studio".

2. The headline under your name: not your role, your value proposition

This is the most-read line of your entire profile. Most people put their job title there (Product Manager at X). Useless: that's already right below in the experience section.

Instead: use this headline to say what you do, for whom, with what result.

Before	After
Product Manager at X	B2B SaaS Product Manager · Scaled 5 to 50K clients · Looking for Lead PM role
Marketing student	Future Master's grad in Digital Marketing · Growth intern at X · Available September
Project manager	Digital transformation project manager · 12 projects delivered · Looking for scaling role

3. The About summary: 3 paragraphs, not an essay

The summary is truncated after 3-4 lines — you need to click "see more" to read the rest. Your first lines are decisive.

Structure that works:

• Paragraph 1: what you do today, your through-line, a quantified proof
• Paragraph 2: your background in 2-3 sentences, your angle (what sets you apart)
• Paragraph 3: what you're looking for or what you want to collaborate on

Avoid: "passionate about", "looking for new challenges", "natural leader". Everyone writes it, it means nothing.

4. Experiences: rooted in results, not in missions

Nobody reads "My missions included team management and KPI tracking". Everyone reads "Led a 12-person team, grew revenue from €1.2M to €4.8M in 3 years".

For each role, ask yourself: which number, which specific project, which measurable impact is tied to this role?

5. The Skills section: 15-25 max, in order of relevance

Beyond 25 skills, you lose credibility (you can't be expert at everything). Reorder your skills to put the 3 most relevant for your target first — those are the ones shown in the preview.

Tip: ask 5 colleagues to endorse your top 3 skills. A skill with 50+ endorsements ranks better in recruiter searches.

6. Recommendations: 2-3 real ones, not 15 generic

A recommendation copy-pasted by your cousin counts for nothing. A detailed recommendation from your former manager describing a specific project is gold.

How to ask for a real reco: send a message suggesting 1-2 angles to your recommender ("if you could mention project X and result Y, it would really help"). 90% of people will write what you suggest — it's easier for them.

7. The Education section: short but clean

Your main degrees, your recent useful certifications (Google Analytics, HubSpot, recognized Coursera courses). No need to go back to high school unless you're early in your career.

8. Projects or external links: add 2-3 concrete proofs

LinkedIn lets you add links, articles, videos, PDFs in each experience. Use them. An article you wrote, a presentation you gave, a GitHub repo, an online portfolio — any proof beyond words.

9. Recent activity: show you're alive

Recruiters often check your recent activity to see if your profile is active. If your last interaction was 2 years ago, bad signal.

Minimum: 1 like/comment per week on content in your sector. Ideal: 1 post per month sharing a reflection, an experience, an analysis.

No need to be a "LinkedIn influencer" — be present.

10. The custom URL: /in/firstname-lastname

By default, LinkedIn generates a URL with random digits: linkedin.com/in/marie-dupont-7a3b4c2. Change it to linkedin.com/in/marie-dupont (or add a job suffix marie-dupont-product). It's in Settings → Custom URL. Immediate pro effect on CV and email signature.

The 3 most common mistakes

1. Everything in French when also targeting English roles — use the bilingual version (LinkedIn handles it natively).
2. Forgetting to enable "Open to Work" — either public mode (green badge) or private mode visible only to recruiters. Visible to recruiters = recommended (you stay discreet vis-à-vis your current employer).
3. Profile not aligned with CV — date inconsistencies, different titles, missing projects. Recruiter compares, you lose trust.

The Woodle Career method

Optimising your LinkedIn is necessary. But it's a one-shot — you don't redo it every week. What you do every week is apply, follow up, manage your interviews. Woodle Career is built for that: a tracker designed so nothing slips through the cracks, with Kanban, journal per application, email reminders for interviews and follow-ups, and stats on your rhythm. The free plan is enough to start.

And Sirius for the rest

Once your LinkedIn is sharp, the recruiter will read your cover letter and CV. That's where Sirius (the AI built into Woodle Career, Pro plan) comes in: it reads your CV, the offer you're targeting, and structures the letter plan with you — angle, sections, strengths to highlight, prompts for the parts that resist. No generated text: you keep your voice. Same for reviewing your CV before an important send, or preparing a contextual follow-up email.

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