How to get recruiters to notice you and contact you first

01

How recruiters look for candidates

In-house recruiters fill openings for their own employer. Agency recruiters work for a staffing or search firm that client companies pay to find candidates. Both do the same thing when a role opens: review whoever applied, then go looking for more people. That second step is called sourcing, and it is a search problem.

A sourcing search is a short list of filters: one or more job titles, a handful of must-have skills, a location or “remote,” and often a signal that the person is open to a move. LinkedIn’s help pages for its Recruiter product describe a filter that shows only candidates who have marked themselves open to work. LinkedIn also says that members who share their resume data appear when recruiters search for matching skills, experience and education. If your profile does not contain the words in the search, you are not in the results, however good your experience is.

02

Use the words recruiters search for

Recruiters search with the vocabulary of the job posting, so yours has to match it.

1. Collect ten postings for the job you want. Use the title you are targeting and two close variants.
2. List what repeats. Note the exact job titles, the tools and skills that appear in most postings, and any certification or license.
3. Put those words where searches read them. On LinkedIn that means the headline, your current job title, the skills section and the About section. LinkedIn lets you add up to 100 skills, so there is room for both the abbreviation and the full name of a tool.
4. Put the standard title next to an unusual one. If your employer calls you “Client Happiness Lead,” add the market title: “Client Happiness Lead (Customer Success Manager).”
5. Mirror the same wording in your resume. The resume you save on job boards and attach to applications gets searched too.

For wording you can adapt, see these LinkedIn headline examples and the guide to resume keywords. Only claim skills you can discuss in an interview.

03

Turn on the settings that make you searchable

A strong profile that is hidden from search does nothing. Check these settings.

1. LinkedIn Open to Work. On your profile, select Open to, then Finding a new job, and enter the job titles, locations and start date you want. Choose who sees it: all LinkedIn members, which adds the #OpenToWork photo frame, or recruiters only. The guide to LinkedIn Open to Work covers each option and its privacy limits.
2. LinkedIn resume data sharing. In the Jobs tab, open Preferences, then Resumes and application data, and switch on Share resume data with recruiters. LinkedIn says your profile then appears when recruiters search for skills, experience and education found in resumes you saved over the past two years. Recruiters do not get the full resume unless you give it to them, for example by applying.
3. Indeed profile visibility. Indeed has two settings: “Employers can find you” and “Employers can’t find you.” The default is that they cannot. If you want inbound contact through Indeed, open your profile, select the settings near your contact information and change it.
4. Other boards you use. Look for a resume visibility option on each one and decide deliberately.

If you are employed, weigh discretion against reach. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide a recruiters-only Open to Work status and shared resume data from recruiters at your current company, but that it cannot guarantee complete privacy.

04

Stay active so you look reachable

Recruiters would rather message someone who will answer.

• Keep the profile current. Add your latest role, location and results. An out-of-date profile reads as a person who is not looking.
• Reply to every recruiter message within a day or two, even if the answer is “not this one, but here is what I am looking for.” LinkedIn says that if it notices you have stopped responding to InMails from recruiters, it emails you to confirm you are still open to work, and removes the Open to Work feature if you do not confirm.
• Show up in your field. Comment on posts from people in your industry and share what you learn. Each one puts your name and headline in front of people who hire or refer.

A complete profile matters more than a clever one. The checklist in LinkedIn profile tips goes through it section by section.

05

Inbound versus outbound: do both

Being found is inbound. Reaching out is outbound. Inbound costs little once it is set up, but you do not control who writes or when. With outbound, you choose the targets.

For outbound, look for recruiters who name your function or industry in their own headline, or who posted the role you want. Write a short message that makes their job easy.

Hi [Name],

I saw that you recruit [function, e.g. supply chain] roles for [company or agency]. I'm a [current title] with [number] years in [specialty], most recently [one result or responsibility].

I'm looking for [target title] roles in [location or remote], and I can start from [date]. If you're working on anything close to that, I'd be glad to send my resume.

Thanks,
[Your name]

More templates, including replies to recruiters who write to you first, are in how to message a recruiter.

06

What to do when a recruiter contacts you

1. Reply promptly, even when the role is wrong. Say what would be right. Recruiters keep notes and come back.
2. Ask for the basics before a call: the job description, the employer’s name if it is an agency role, the location or remote policy, and the pay range.
3. Check who you are talking to. Look at the recruiter’s profile and email domain, and find the opening on the employer’s own careers page.
4. Do not pay. Legitimate recruiters are paid by the employer, not by you. Someone who asks for a fee, bank details or ID before an interview is following the pattern of a scam.
5. Keep a note of who contacted you, for which role and when, so you are not submitted twice for the same job.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions