Get noticed on LinkedIn: a recruiter’s insights from Kate Taylor, Taylormade Career

When it comes to LinkedIn, everyone has an opinion, but very few people have the day‑to‑day, recruiter‑level insight that shapes who gets found, who gets approached, and who gets ignored. So, we put our biggest questions to someone who truly knows how the platform works behind the scenes: Kate Taylor, Director of Taylormade Career. A long‑standing wealth planning recruiter with Cranleigh Personnel and a true LinkedIn guru, Kate shares what really matters if you want your profile to be discoverable, credible and compelling.

1. When you land on a LinkedIn profile, what do you look at first — and what makes you keep reading or click away?

The first things I look at are your headline, photo, your summary and number of connections. If there isn't a photo, a bare profile and hardly any connections, I would click away immediately. If your headline gives me clarity on your experience, you have a professional-looking photo and a completed summary, I will keep reading.

2. What will make my profile more attractive/noticeable to recruiters and hiring managers?

Your photo and headline should do the heavy lifting in any profile. A professional-looking photo gives the right first impression, then your headline is there to give a recruiter clarity on what you do, your specific experience, whether that's the level or niche sector you are in and any impact statement.

3. How do you show impact rather than just listing duties?

Ok, so whenever you are running through your various jobs, think about how you added value to that business rather than what you did day-to-day. Did you make improvements on processes, save money or time, or bring value through mentoring and developing junior team members. If you start each bullet point with an action verb, it will help you show impact rather than just listing the duties, e.g., Implemented, developed, mentored, etc. Also include metrics to support the impact wherever possible.

4. How 'salesy' should my LinkedIn profile headline and summary feel?

It doesn't need to be salesy at all. The common misconception most job seekers have is that recruiters see and scroll through the same LinkedIn feed as they do. We don't find candidates this way - we have a paid-for recruiters’ version, and we find and select candidates through keyword searches only. Your headline and summary need to include the keywords we would use if we were trying to find a candidate just like you. You can have the best experience in the world, but if you don't include the right keywords, recruiters can't find you.

5. How should someone write their profile so it works for a recruiter searching keywords, but still feels authentic?

The easiest way is to add all your keywords at the bottom of your summary, separated by a vertical line. It keeps all the keywords in one place, rather than worrying about sounding robotic. The summary is often an underutilised space, as LinkedIn allows you to write up to 2000 characters.

6. How do you position career breaks, maternity leave, or redundancy on your LinkedIn profile?

Ok, this is a question that comes up regarding CVs as well. Recruiters know life happens, and candidates often have a career break for travelling, redundancy, family, health reasons, etc. - it doesn't affect our views on whether to approach a candidate or not. What does affect selection is a lack of explanation for any gaps. So always make sure you make the reason clear for any career gaps. You can also mention any reasons in the summary section.

7. What do I do if my official job titles don't match the seniority/level I want to convey?

Again, this is something that I get asked a lot. You must bear in mind that your LinkedIn profile needs to match the dates, etc., as your CV, but your job title listed on your contract does not have to be the same as the one you give on LinkedIn. Lots of companies have their own in-house job titles, which don't necessarily match industry-wide terms. Use the job title that recruiters would use to find you for the level of seniority you have, not what in-house job title you have in your contract.

8. How much does the profile photo matter to a recruiter, and what's the standard people should be aiming for?

This is honestly one of the most important parts of your profile, together with your headline. The reason is that it follows you wherever you go on LinkedIn - when you send a connection, if you post content, if you send a message, your photo is what that person sees. You absolutely do not need to hire a professional photographer. You need a clear, simple background and a head and shoulder shot of you facing the camera and smiling.

9. There's a lot of pressure to post constantly. For someone who isn't a content creator by nature, how often do they need to post to stay visible?

I would say you don't need to post at all to be visible to recruiters if you are searching for a new job - that's what your keywords in your profile are there for. If you want to be more visible to your wider network to build awareness in your sector, once a week is more than enough. However, it is not essential for job seeking. What's more important is getting a keyword-rich profile with a professional-looking photo and building up your connections. Connections are how LinkedIn works, so there is no point in posting more frequently if you aren't building your network connections.

10. What's the one thing most professionals believe about LinkedIn that is simply wrong?

That recruiters scroll through the main feed looking for candidates, so to stand out, you have to post or be a social media expert. We search on completely different systems based on keyword searches, so you don't have to spend hours worrying about posting content. I promise!

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