Get Recruiters to Find You
By James Bugden, Senior Recruiter
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Based on "LinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide" by Sandra Long
Your LinkedIn profile creates a first impression before anyone meets you in person. 65% of professionals say the impression you make online is just as important as the one you make in person.
This guide gives you Sandra Long's proven framework to stand out, to be the "orange fish" swimming in your own direction.
Your Foundation
Before anything else, hit LinkedIn's "All-Star" profile strength. This is the minimum threshold that makes your profile more visible in search results.
Why it matters: All-Star profiles are significantly more likely to appear in search results. Think of it as the entry ticket — you won't get found without it.
⬜ Action: Check your profile strength indicator. Fill any gaps listed above this weekend.
220 Characters
Your headline and photo are often the only things someone sees before deciding whether to click on your profile. Most people leave the default — their job title. That's a missed opportunity.
| ❌ Before | ✅ After |
|---|---|
| Marketing Manager | Marketing Executive | Growth Strategy | Channel Development | Partner Relations |
| Human Resources Consultant | HR Consultant | Talent Acquisition | Employee Retention | Optimizing Your Workforce for Growth |
| Operations Manager | Operations Manager | Call Center Optimization | Black Belt | Six Sigma | Military Veteran |
| Unemployed Seeking Marketing Role | Marketing Leader | Digital Media | Lead Generation Specialist | Helping Organizations Grow |
⬜ Action: Write 3-5 headline options. Pick the one that's most compelling AND includes your strategic keywords.
2,600 Characters
Your About section is valuable digital real estate. Don't just rehash what's already in your profile. Weave together your story in a way that compels people to want to work with you or refer you.
1. Focus — Craft an excellent introduction. Write it in Word first for spelling and grammar.
2. Set goals — What are you trying to achieve? New clients? A new job? Speaking invitations?
3. Consider your readers — Think about ALL your audiences. What makes them want to contact you?
4. Use the space — LinkedIn says essays of at least 40 words make your profile more likely to be found in search. Most strong profiles include 2-3 paragraphs.
5. Be real and genuine — Let the real "you" come through. Include personal interests.
6. Write in first person — Creates warmth. 40% of recruiters look for personality in profiles.
7. Use strategic language — Include keywords naturally. Add a specialties list at the end.
8. Make it attractive — Use spacing, capitalization, and symbols for visual appeal.
9. Start with a hook — Draw readers in. Make them want to click "see more."
10. Close carefully — End with a specialties list and contact info for a "quick read" option.
Sandra's signature structure for writing your About section:
Hook
Start with a compelling opening that makes people want to read more
Help
Describe how you help your clients, prospects, or employer
Human
Add personality. Share what drew you to your work, your values, or your interests outside work
Hot-Words
Weave in your strategic keywords naturally throughout
Hello
End with your contact information so people can reach you
Sandra identifies six approaches to writing your About section. Pick the one that fits you:
The Historian — Chronological story of your career. If you use this approach, make sure to add personality. Don't just repeat your Experience section.
The Storyteller — Open with a great story that connects to your personal brand. Sandra's favorite approach: "I just love stories."
The Weaver — Perfect if your career path isn't linear. Use the About section to connect the dots and explain why your varied experience makes sense together.
The Themer — Best for senior leaders or people with wide-ranging experience. Pick 3-4 themes that have carried through your career and organize around those.
The Personality — Let your character and working style take center stage. Show how you approach problems and collaborate.
The Business Leader — Write your About as a "preselling document" for prospective clients. Still use first person and tell your story.
⬜ Action: Pick your persona. Write your About section using the Five H's structure. Draft it in a separate document first, then paste it in.
Recommendations & Endorsements
Online reviews can make the difference in being found, hired, and trusted. People who have recommendations and endorsements on LinkedIn have worked at it — it doesn't happen by accident.
LinkedIn Fun Fact: Users with at least 5 relevant skills are messaged 31x more and viewed 17x more than those without.
Make a list — Decide who can describe your work firsthand from working directly with you
Consider timing — The best time to ask is right after finishing a project, leaving a job, or receiving a big compliment
Ask personally — For close contacts, a note works. For others, warm them up first — call or meet for coffee. Make a personalized request to dramatically increase your success rate
Make it easy — Ask if they'd like talking points or if you should draft something for them to edit
Follow up gently — People have good intentions but get busy. A gentle reminder is smart
Show gratitude — Send a thank-you note or LinkedIn message
Goal: Get at least 3 recommendations. Give at least 5. The best ones come from customers, your direct boss, or people with significant titles.
Pro tip from the book: It's perfectly OK to recommend someone who recommends you. After a great project: "I really enjoyed working with you. Let's write a LinkedIn recommendation for each other based on this great achievement."
⬜ Action: Identify 3-5 people to ask for recommendations. Send your first request this week using the 6-step process.
The 80/20 Rule
Sandra's content rule is the single most important engagement strategy in the book.
Spend at least 80% of your content time engaging with OTHER people's content. Be helpful. Provide thought leadership. Share useful insights.
Avoid selling, asking for meetings, or asking for jobs. This helpful approach builds relationships and makes people come to YOU.
❌ Bill walks in and immediately spews his sales pitch. He never comes up for air. Everything revolves around himself. Bill repels.
✅ Mark enters and shows authentic interest in others. He engages with interesting conversation. Mark attracts.
The online world works exactly the same way.
Create — Write original posts, articles, or record native video. Posts of 800-1,200 characters tend to perform well.
Curate — Find valuable content and share it with YOUR unique perspective. Add insightful commentary — don't just hit "repost."
Comment — Sandra's #1 secret. If she could do only ONE thing, it would be to comment daily with meaningful, insightful, or supportive notes.
When you create a post:
You post → Someone comments → You like AND reply to their comment (with @-mention) → Visit their profile and engage with their content → Invite them to connect with a personal note → Continue being helpful → Watch relationships develop organically.
When you engage with others:
Find interesting content in a hashtag stream → Leave an insightful comment with @-mention → They comment back and check your profile → Like their reply → Visit their profile, comment on another post → Let it lead to a natural connection.
⬜ Action: This week, comment on 5 posts per day with genuine, thoughtful insights. Share 1 curated article with your own perspective added.
Being found on LinkedIn requires intentional keyword placement and profile completeness.
Custom URL — Change your LinkedIn URL to linkedin.com/in/yourname
Public profile — Make sure your profile is visible on Google
Location & industry — Fill these in correctly; they affect search results
Featured section — Showcase your best content, media mentions, case studies, or lead magnets at the top of your profile
Rich media — Add videos, presentations, and documents to your Experience sections
⬜ Action: Customize your URL. Add a background banner. Upload 1-2 rich media items to your Experience sections.
🐟
Be the Orange Fish — Most people on LinkedIn look the same. Your unique personal brand is what makes people want to connect, hire, or buy from you. Don't blend in with the blue fish.
🎭
Demonstrate, Don't Tell — Don't say you have "demonstrated leadership." Actually demonstrate it through your stories, accomplishments, and content. Show, don't claim.
✍
First Person Always — Write your About section in first person. It creates warmth and connection. Third person feels cold and impersonal.
💬
Commenting Is King — If you can only do one thing on LinkedIn, comment daily with meaningful insights. It builds more relationships than posting alone.
🤝
80/20 Everything — 80% helping others, 20% about you. This applies to content, engagement, and networking.
📊
Keep at least 80% of your content informational — and no more than 20% promotional. People will tune you out if every post is a sales pitch.
| Section | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Headline | 220 characters |
| About | 2,600 characters |
| Experience (each) | 2,000 characters |
| Skills | Up to 50 skills |
| Photo | Min 400 × 400 px |
| Banner | 1584 × 396 px |
This mini guide is based on LinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide by Sandra Long. For the complete framework with additional examples, case studies, and advanced strategies, get the full book.
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