I recently talked through your CV and applying—how to show impact, and what to stop wasting time on.

Today I’m covering LinkedIn and how to turn your profile into a magnet for recruiter inbound.

In a future issue, I’ll cover top questions about leveraging the platform effectively. Reply with questions you have and I’ll address them.

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Before jumping in, I want to remind you about my upcoming Resume Workshop.

I’ve just finished a custom GPT and tested it with clients to improve their CVs and get more interviews. This thing is magic and applies the framework that works and saves you time.

Workshop attendees will go hands on with it and more.

Save your seat — spots are limited.

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Your LinkedIn profile is where recruiters find you when they search for candidates.

It’s also where your profile is judged.

With 2 million+ PMs on the platform, being discovered and standing out requires intentional choices across a few high‑leverage sections.

Think more of your profile as a way to attract recruiters first, and a place to compliment your CV second.

What matters most

Just like with the CV, remember who your customers are: recruiters and hiring managers.

On LinkedIn, though, it’s mostly recruiters we’re optimising for.

They have a completely different version of LinkedIn to find you called LinkedIn Recruiter.

I know and work with countless experienced recruiters, have done workshops with them, spoken alongside them, seen how they use these tools.

I use the tool myself, so I know exactly how it works, and how you show up.

So the questions you should be asking yourself are:

I’m going to answer those questions for you by going through various elements of the profile that matter.

Here they are, in rank of importance:

1. Profile photo
2. Headline
3. Skills
4. Experience
5. About you
6. Cover image

Let’s go through each, covering what to do and why.

1. Profile photo

This is number 1 because getting it wrong leaves the wrong impression.

Nothing else will matter if this is done wrong.

If you don’t have a profile photo, maybe you’re a bot or maybe you’ve not been on the platform in years.

Recruiters will skip over you.

So, take a photo and put it there.

If you’ve already got a photo, make sure it is:

• High quality
• Showing only you
• Instantly recognisable

When you get on that Zoom call, they should recognise you.

The photo doesn’t have to be a professional headshot.

Just have good lighting, cropped to your face.

You can use your smartphone camera (not the selfie one, though).

If you’re daring, you can try an AI headshot generator (though I had my own mixed results).

For executives, the bar is higher.

Directors and above: you’ll be judged with more scrutiny if your profile photo looks like an afterthought.

2. Headline

This is the most valuable real-estate and critical to leverage.

It shows up everywhere your name shows up on the platform.

You need to make it value‑forward, not just a title.

Include some specifics.

The tl;dr.

Here are some good (real) examples:

These are very clear.

Title, industry, outcomes.

Some even reinforce you’re ready to talk about a new job—this matters to recruiters (and to your network who can help).

Don’t waste this space or make it confusing.

Here are some bad (also real) examples:

These are vague.

They talk about old news.

They make it unclear what you’re good at.

If you have more than one job function in your headline, you’re not demonstrating you can do multiple jobs, you’re signalling you don’t know what you’re a good fit for in the market.

Need a custom GPT to write yours? Reply letting me know.

3. Skills

Unlike the CV, these matter on your LinkedIn profile.

A lot.

“But James, you said to remove them from my resume!”

Yes I did and yes you should.

But here’s why they matter on LinkedIn:

Skills are metadata.

They affect your search ranking on the platform.

Recruiters use them when searching for candidates.

Think of it like SEO for your profile.

You can have up to 100 skills, and can associate them with each of your individual jobs.

Browse mine if you need inspiration.

Prioritise skills that show up in job descriptions.

For example:

• Product strategy
• Product vision
• Experimentation
• A/B Testing
• Product Management

Don’t waste skills on meaningless tools (like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop).

You also don’t have to max for the sake of it. 100 is the max, not the target.

Finally, make sure you set the top 5 skills in your About section (more on that below).

4. Experience

This is where you’ll probably spend the most effort.

If you’ve followed my advice on the CV, though, you’ll already have what you need.

This section matters because it is where recruiters find the evidence of your impact.

If you have no details under each role, your customers have no idea what you did there.

Some will skip on you for this single reason alone.

Every time I look at a client’s LinkedIn profile, it’s the most notable thing missing.

Here’s what to do:

For each role, add in the impact-first bullets. Just use the strongest 3-5 from your CV.

You can add context the CV can’t fit.

Make sure your roles are associated with the right company page.

Like the CV, if you’ve been promoted within a company, you need two roles there which make it clear.

While you can add media and URLs, I tend to suggest keeping people on the platform as the action you want them to take is to DM you—sending them off-site puts that at risk.

“But James, your profile has media and URLs!”

Yes it does, but I’m not a job seeker.

5. About you

This space is a bit ambiguous to many of my clients.

But like the Experience section, if you’ve followed the CV tips, you’ll have a professional summary which can be repurposed here.

Here’s one example:

This includes years of experience, the types of businesses, and some of their work.

It’s good, but could be better.

Here’s how:

• Remove first-person language
• Outcomes > Responsibilities

Also, they’re using Top skills, but none of them include product management, and some are really long.

“Cross-functional leadership & commercial alignment” probably won’t be searched for by recruiters.

Don’t waste this space with something vague or push down what matters below the “…see more”—which almost nobody clicks.

In this example, they’ve done a great job selecting Top skills.

But they wasted space with a quote a recruiter probably won’t finish reading (and likely missing the important bit below about YOE) and a blank line.

You’ve got 4 lines of text to fill, so make it count.

Want to add some personal bits?

That’s fine, include it for those who want to “see more.”

6. Cover image

This is your marketing billboard.

I’ve directly heard a recruiter say they will skip people who don’t use this space.

I think that’s a bit harsh, but my job isn’t to change people’s opinions, my job is to get you a job.

Don’t overthink this. But don’t skip it, either.

Here are some ideas for how to use this space:

• Include a crisp message and implicit CTA
• Add logos for credibility
• Use a relevant quote that resonates

Skip design perfection.

Message > polish.

If you need a template, here are some from Canva to start with.

Here’s an example that’s totally fine to model off of:

What matters less

There are more attributes of the profile I haven’t covered in as much detail because they don’t make as much of a difference.

But if you’re thinking you want to squeeze every little bit of value out of your profile on the largest professional network, here are some rapid fire things to consider:

Education

Should go without saying, add your schools here.

You can associate some skills but unless it’s a specialised degree related to the field you’re in, not worth the time.

Licenses & Certifications

If you’ve got them, add them!

Just know they don’t make a huge difference in getting interviewed.

But, they are a signal that you invest your time (or money) in continuous learning.

Volunteering

If you’ve done it, add it!

This is a way to show a bit more about the type of person you are.

Recommendations

I’ve not seen these make a meaningful difference in getting inbound.

But, social proof can matter a lot.

The best way to get recommendations is to give them.

Pick 5 people you worked with, one level above you or higher, and go give them a recommendation. If they accept, politely ask for one in return. Draft it for them if you want.

Publications

Have you launched an app? Written an article? Had research published? It should go here.

Honors & awards

If you’ve got them, add them!

Any award can go here. You can also associate it with a company.

Languages

Speak more than one? Put it here.

I’ve personally had a recruiter contact me for a job in South Korea. I asked why me and they mentioned this attribute. So, it can make a difference.

Organizations

Have an affiliation with a company or group that’s not “work experience”? Add it here.

Causes

Never heard these come up in conversation, and there’s only a short list you can select from.

But if it resonates with you, check those boxes.

Interests

This is more of an “FYI” than anything. Just know the “Top Voices” you follow will show up here. Maybe don’t follow those controversial people…

How to get more help

Next week I’ll talk about how to better use LinkedIn on the job search.

If you have questions, reply to this email and I’ll address them directly.

Want me to help you with your profile directly? Tell me, and I’ll build a new workshop to help.

Wishing you success,

James

Upcoming events Here's where you can catch me live in the coming weeks Dec 16 | Online: How to Get Hired as a PM in Today's Job Market

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