How to build a killer LinkedIn profile that gets you hired

If you're a corporate communications professional who hasn't touched your LinkedIn profile in a while, you're not alone. Managing others’ reputations comes first, and we know you're advising your clients and stakeholders to ‘sort it out’. Well, it’s our turn to get bossy! Don’t let your online presence slip, as it could literally be costing you a job!

LinkedIn is now the first place hiring managers and many recruiters look. It's where hiring decisions begin to form before a single interview invitation is sent. Many professionals still treat their profile as if it doesn’t matter, rather than as the strategic career asset it needs to be.

The good news? You don't need to become a content creator or reinvent yourself to stand out. You just need to be intentional. We've pulled together our own expertise alongside insights from two specialists we recently interviewed: Kate Taylor, Director of Taylormade Career and a seasoned recruiter who knows exactly how LinkedIn works behind the scenes, and Sophie Milliken MBE, CEO of Moja and one of the UK's leading personal branding experts. Here's what actually moves the needle.

Start with the basics – and be honest about whether you've done them

We say it every time someone comes to us for job search advice: before you contact anyone, there are two things you must get right - your CV and your LinkedIn profile. Future employers, HR professionals, and recruiters will overlook you if these don't showcase your expertise, experience, and achievements in a clear, compelling way. It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many senior comms professionals have profiles that are half-filled, years out of date, or – worse – completely lacking a photo.

Sophie Milliken MBE puts it well: "If you only do one thing, make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete. A complete profile with headline, photo, summary, experience and skills builds instant credibility and helps you get found in searches. Think of it as your online shop window: if it looks unfinished, people will move on."

Complete isn't a nice-to-have. It's the baseline.

Your photo and headline are working harder than you realise

What you may not know is that a recruiter or hiring manager is likely just to brush past your profile and not contact you about a potential job because there is no photo, and you look out of date instantly. You are losing out on hearing about job roles because of this.

Before anyone reads a word of your experience, they've already formed an impression. Kate Taylor is direct on this: "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."

Crucially, your photo doesn't just sit on your profile page - it follows you everywhere on LinkedIn. Every connection request, every comment, every message you send carries it. Kate's advice: "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."

As for your headline, resist the urge to simply paste in your job title. Think about the level of seniority you're at, the niche you operate in, and the impact you deliver. What words would a recruiter type if they were searching for someone exactly like you?

Recruiters aren't scrolling your feed - they're running keyword searches

This is where most professionals get it completely wrong, and it's something we've covered in our guide on getting found in the AI recruitment whirlwind. Recruiters aren't browsing your posts and stumbling across your profile. They're using LinkedIn's paid-for search tools to find candidates by keyword – and if those keywords aren't in your profile, you simply don't appear.

Kate Taylor is emphatic: "You can have the best experience in the world, but if you don't include the right keywords, recruiters can't find you." Her practical tip is to add your key terms to the bottom of your summary, separated by a vertical line – it keeps your prose readable while ensuring every relevant term is present. Think: corporate communications, internal communications, stakeholder engagement, crisis communications, media relations, ESG, investor relations, public affairs – whatever your specialism. LinkedIn allows up to 2,000 characters in the summary alone; most professionals use a fraction of that.

And if you're worried your official job title doesn't reflect the seniority you've actually operated at? Kate has a clear answer: "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."

Show impact, not just duties

Once your profile is discoverable, it needs to be compelling. This is where a lot of comms professionals undersell themselves, and we see it constantly. As we advise in our going about your job search guidance, you should decide on your three main messages before you write a single word. What do you want people to remember? What have you actually delivered?

Kate Taylor's advice is actionable: "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 – implemented, developed, mentored, and so on. Also include metrics to support the impact wherever possible."

For comms professionals, this might mean quantifying media coverage secured, the reach of an internal communications campaign, stakeholder engagement at scale, or the measurable outcome of a crisis that was successfully managed. Numbers make your profile memorable in a way that a list of responsibilities never will. We know it can be hard to demonstrate specific value, but just think ‘show impact’.

Build your own brand, not just your employer's

Here's a challenge many senior communications leaders will recognise. Sophie Milliken describes it bluntly: "Communications leaders are brilliant at positioning others but often neglect their own visibility. The irony is that by not telling their own story, they miss opportunities to amplify both their career and their company's reputation."

We've made exactly this point ourselves. As we noted in our piece on personal vs professional sharing on LinkedIn, silence is a missed opportunity. If you're advising leaders on visibility, influence, and storytelling, your own absence from the conversation raises questions. A well-filled profile signals attention to detail, strategic thinking, and confidence in your professional identity.

Sophie frames the longer-term stakes clearly: "Your personal brand is one of the few things you truly own in your career. Job titles, companies, and roles can change, but your reputation and credibility move with you."

The question of how personal to get is one that divides opinion – but not as much as you might think. When we polled comms professionals on LinkedIn, 54% said they take a strategic approach, weaving in carefully chosen personal touches to add to their personality and brand. Not a single person voted for the 'open book' approach. As we concluded, LinkedIn may no longer be just a digital CV, but it isn't Instagram either. Share enough to be human; keep a professional lens on everything you post.

Connections matter more than posting frequency

If you've been stressing about not posting enough, stop. Kate Taylor is reassuring on this: "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. 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."

This aligns with what we cover in our LinkedIn network building guide – quality consistently beats quantity. A vast network of loosely connected contacts is worth far less than a carefully built network of people who genuinely know your work and will put your name forward. Send personalised connection requests. Engage thoughtfully with others' content. Be generous with your insights and introductions.

Sophie's framing is one we come back to often: "Influence isn't just about who you know – it's about who knows you." Building your profile through thought leadership, speaking, or writing means your network starts to extend beyond the people you've met directly, and that's where the real opportunities begin.

The bottom line

Applying for roles on LinkedIn has become harder than ever. As we set out in our analysis of why LinkedIn job applications are so challenging right now, the best opportunities for senior comms professionals often come through relationships and referrals rather than clicking the Apply button. Your LinkedIn profile is a critical part of making that happen – it needs to be discoverable, credible, and compelling whether you're actively looking or not.

Set aside an hour this week. Update your headline. Refresh your summary and load it with the right keywords. Make sure every section is complete. Then start being more intentional about the connections you're building and the conversations you're joining.

Done well, your LinkedIn profile will be working for you every single day. The question is whether yours currently is.

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