LinkedIn advice is unusually full of confident claims about how the algorithm works. Most of it is unverifiable. What is verifiable is how recruiters actually search and what they see when they do, and that is enough to make sensible decisions.
How you get found
Recruiters typically search by job title, skills and location, then skim the results. That means three fields do most of the work: your headline, your skills, and your location. Everything else matters after someone has already clicked.
Your headline is the single most valuable field. The default — your current job title at your current employer — is a wasted opportunity if you are searching. Use the title you want to be found for, plus a short qualifier. "Frontend Developer · React & TypeScript · open to junior roles" is searchable and immediately answers what you are.
If you are a student or between roles, say what you are rather than what you lack. "Computer Science graduate seeking a first developer role" is fine. "Unemployed" and "Seeking opportunities" are not searchable for anything useful.
Skills are matched against recruiter searches directly. List the ones you would actually be hired for, and put the most important first. A list of fifty diluted skills is worse than fifteen accurate ones.
Location should be the city you can realistically work in or from. If you are open to remote work, say so in the headline as well, because remote filtering on LinkedIn is unreliable.
What people read once they click
The About section. Three or four short paragraphs, first person, no third-person biography. What you do, what you have worked on, what you are looking for. Break it into short paragraphs — the section is truncated on mobile and a wall of text does not survive the "see more" click.
Experience entries. Same principle as a CV: responsibility and outcomes, not duties. Two or three lines per role is enough. Include part-time, freelance and volunteer work, especially early in a career.
Featured section. Underused and genuinely useful. Pin a project, a portfolio link, or a piece of writing. It is the fastest way for someone to see evidence rather than claims.
The photograph
You need one. Profiles without a photo get materially less engagement, and the bar is low: a clear, well-lit picture of your face, looking approachable. It does not need to be professionally taken, and it should not be a cropped group photo or a picture with sunglasses.
Turning on "Open to work"
You can signal availability to recruiters only, without the green frame visible to everyone. If you are currently employed, use that setting. It is not a guarantee of privacy — LinkedIn says recruiters at your own company are excluded, but the mechanism is imperfect — so weigh it accordingly.
What does not deserve your time
Posting daily for visibility, if you have nothing to say. Endorsement swapping. Buying connections. Writing an About section in the third person because it sounds more formal. Adding every recruiter who appears in your feed.
Connection count barely matters for being found. A complete, accurate, searchable profile matters a great deal.
The message that gets replies
If you message someone at a company you want to work for, keep it short and specific: who you are, what you noticed about their work, and one clear question or request. Do not attach a CV to a first message. Do not open with "I hope this message finds you well".
Most messages go unanswered. That is normal and is not about you.
A reasonable weekly rhythm
Fifteen minutes a week is enough: check messages, update anything that has changed, and add one piece of evidence to Featured when you produce something. Profiles decay through neglect, not through insufficient posting.