A few months back, a friend of mine texted me. He’s a sharp guy. Five years of experience. Good at his job. He asked why he wasn’t getting any callbacks.
He had applied to over 60 jobs. LinkedIn, Indeed, even a few recruiter referrals. Nothing. Not one reply.
I asked him to send me his LinkedIn link.
Within 30 seconds, I knew the problem. The profile photo was cropped from a wedding group picture. His headline just said “Software Engineer at Company Name.” His About section was empty. Totally blank.
That was it. That was the whole problem.
Recruiters weren’t rejecting him because he wasn’t good enough. They were rejecting him because his profile gave them nothing to work with. So they moved on to the next person.
I’ve spent the last few years fixing LinkedIn profiles for people. Some as favors. Some as part of freelance resume and LinkedIn work I did on the side. And I keep seeing the same mistakes, again and again. Doesn’t matter the industry, the experience level, or the salary range. I’ve seen this hurt beginners and six-figure executives the same way.
So let’s go through it, one piece at a time.
Mistake #1: Your Photo
I know this sounds shallow. But it’s not about looking a certain way. It’s about looking friendly and professional in one quick glance. That’s all a recruiter has time for.
LinkedIn’s own data shows profiles with a photo get way more views and connection requests than ones without. But just having a photo isn’t enough. It needs to be the right photo.
Bad examples I see all the time:
- A photo cropped from a group picture (you can always tell)
- A blurry selfie in a dark room
- An old photo that doesn’t look like you anymore
- No smile, arms crossed, looking like a mugshot
You don’t need a fancy $300 photoshoot. Though if you’re going for an executive role, it might be worth it. For most people, a phone camera near a window works fine. Wear something you’d wear to an interview. Have a friend take 10 shots. Pick the one where you look normal and friendly. That’s it.
Mistake #2: A Boring Headline
This one bugs me because it’s the easiest fix on this whole list. And almost nobody does it.
Your headline sits right under your name. It shows up everywhere. In search results, in comments, in connection requests, in recruiter searches. It’s basically your billboard.
Most people leave it as the default: just their job title and company. That’s a wasted chance.
Compare these two:
“Marketing Manager at XYZ Corp”
vs.
“Marketing Manager | Helping B2B SaaS Brands Grow Through Content & Ads | 40% Avg. Traffic Growth”
The second one tells a recruiter exactly what you do and why they should click. The first one tells them nothing new.
Quick tip: Companies search LinkedIn through a paid tool called LinkedIn Recruiter, which works a lot like a search engine. Your headline carries a lot of weight in those searches. Add real keywords: the job titles you want, your certifications, the tools you use.
Mistake #3: An Empty or Robotic About Section
People either skip this section completely (like my friend did) or copy-paste their resume into it. Both are mistakes.
An empty About section makes you look inactive. Like you made the profile once in 2019 and forgot about it.
A resume-style About section (“Results-driven professional with 5+ years of experience…”) reads like nobody wrote it for anybody. It’s stiff and forgettable. I’ve read a lot of these. I even wrote one myself years ago. Trust me, this style hurts you.
Here’s a simple structure that works:
- Start with what you actually do, in plain words, in the first line (this is what people see before clicking “see more”)
- Give 2 or 3 real examples or numbers. A project you led. A result you got. A problem you solved.
- Mention your key tools or skills naturally, not as a list dump
- End with what you’re looking for and how to reach you
Example opener that actually makes people want to read more:
“I got into data analytics by accident. I was managing spreadsheets for a small nonprofit and realized I liked untangling messy numbers more than anything else on my plate.”
That’s a real, human sentence. Nobody keeps reading “Results-driven professional with 5+ years of experience.”
Mistake #4: Listing Duties Instead of Results
This is probably the biggest mistake I see. Even from senior people.
Most experience sections just list job duties:
- “Responsible for managing social media accounts”
- “Handled customer inquiries”
- “Assisted with project coordination”
This tells a recruiter what your job was. Not whether you were good at it.
Now flip it to show real impact:
- “Grew Instagram following from 2K to 45K in 8 months”
- “Resolved 95%+ of customer tickets within 24 hours”
- “Led a 6-person team through a launch that shipped 2 weeks early”
You won’t always have exact numbers, especially early in your career. That’s fine. Even without numbers, just describing the result instead of the task makes a big difference.
Can’t remember the details from an old job? Check old emails, performance reviews, or old Slack messages if you still have access. That’s usually where the real numbers are hiding.
Mistake #5: A Weak or Empty Skills Section
LinkedIn lets you add up to 50 skills, and this section directly affects how often you show up in recruiter searches.
Two common mistakes here:
Leaving it half-empty. If you only list 5 skills, you’re missing a lot of searches you could show up in.
Listing random stuff. I’ve seen people list “Microsoft Word” next to real technical skills. Be picky. List what actually matters for the roles you want.
Also, ask a few former coworkers or managers to endorse your top skills. It takes them 10 seconds and adds real credibility.
If your field values it, add a relevant certification too. Something from Coursera or LinkedIn Learning. One good certification does more for you than five vague soft skills.
Mistake #6: Zero Activity
You don’t need to post every day. But a totally dead profile, no posts, no comments, no activity, looks stale to recruiters checking your account.
You don’t need much. A thoughtful comment here and there. Sharing an article with your own short take. Posting about something you learned at work once every couple weeks. That’s enough to look like an active, real professional.
I started doing this myself. Just commenting on posts in my field a few times a week. My profile views roughly doubled within a couple months. Nothing fancy. Just consistency.
Mistake #7: A Messy Profile URL
Small thing, but it matters, especially if you put your LinkedIn link on a resume or business card.
Go to your profile. Click “Edit public profile & URL” on the right side. Change it to just your name (or name plus profession if your name is taken). Takes 30 seconds and looks a lot more polished. LinkedIn has a help page that walks through it step by step if you get stuck.
Mistake #8: Not Turning On “Open to Work”
There’s a setting that shows recruiters you’re open to work, without your current employer seeing it. A lot of people don’t know this exists, or they’re scared to use it.
If you’re job hunting, turn it on and set it to recruiters only. It really does increase how often you show up in recruiter searches. And it costs you nothing. You can read exactly how the privacy settings work on LinkedIn’s own help page.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It?
People ask me this a lot, so here’s the honest answer.
LinkedIn Premium Career shows you who viewed your profile, gives you salary insights, and includes LinkedIn Learning courses. If you’re actively job hunting and going into salary talks soon, it can pay for itself fast.
Sales Navigator is a different tool. It’s built for sales and outreach, not job seekers. Skip it unless you work in sales or business development.
My honest take: if your profile is still weak (no photo, empty About section, boring headline), fix that first. No paid plan fixes a profile that isn’t saying anything.
Quick Checklist Before You Apply Anywhere Else
- Clear, friendly, recent photo
- Headline with real keywords, not just a job title
- About section that sounds human, with real examples
- Experience bullets focused on results, not duties
- 15 to 20 relevant skills, with a few endorsements
- A relevant certification if your field values it
- Custom URL
- Some activity in the last 30 days
- “Open to Work” turned on if you’re job hunting
Final Thoughts
My friend from the start of this story spent one weekend fixing everything above. New photo. Rewritten headline. A real About section. Experience bullets that showed results instead of duties.
He got two recruiter messages within ten days. Same person. Same experience. The only thing that changed was how it was presented.
That’s the whole point. LinkedIn isn’t judging your worth as a professional. It’s just a search engine and a first impression. Most people lose opportunities before a human even opens their resume. Fix your profile first. Everything else gets easier from there.
