# How to get recruiters to notice you and contact you first

> How recruiters search for candidates and how to show up: the right profile keywords, Open to Work, searchable resume settings, steady activity and direct outreach.

- Canonical URL: https://jobbie.bot/blog/how-to-get-recruiters-to-notice-you
- Topic: [Job search](https://jobbie.bot/guides/job-search)
- Published by [Jobbie](https://jobbie.bot/) · Updated 2026-10-06 · 8 min read

Recruiters find candidates by searching. On LinkedIn, in job-board resume databases and in their own applicant tracking system, they type job titles, skills and a location, then narrow the results to people who look available. To be noticed, put the titles and skills of the job you want where those searches read them, switch on the settings that make you searchable, and stay active enough to look reachable. Then message recruiters yourself instead of waiting.

## Key takeaways

- Recruiters search by job title, skills and location. Use the market’s wording for your target role in your headline, job titles, skills list and resume.
- Turn on the signals that say you are available: LinkedIn’s Open to Work (set to recruiters only if you are employed) and its resume data sharing.
- Check the visibility setting on every job board you use. On Indeed, the default is “Employers can’t find you.”
- Answer recruiter messages quickly. LinkedIn removes Open to Work from profiles that stop responding to recruiter InMails and do not confirm they are still looking.
- Inbound interest is unpredictable. Pair it with direct messages to recruiters who fill roles like yours.

## 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.

| Where recruiters look | What it searches | What you control |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LinkedIn | Your profile, plus resume data if you choose to share it | Wording, completeness, Open to Work, resume sharing |
| Job-board resume databases | The resume and profile you saved on that board | Whether the profile is searchable, and what the resume says |
| The employer’s applicant tracking system | Applications you sent that company before | Applying to roles you fit, with a resume that says so clearly |
| Their own network | Referrals and people they have spoken to or placed | Staying in touch and being easy to recommend |

## 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.

> **Example:** A headline that says “Experienced professional seeking new opportunities” contains nothing a recruiter would type. “Staff accountant | Month-end close, reconciliations, NetSuite | CPA candidate” contains a title, three searchable skills and a credential.

For wording you can adapt, see these [LinkedIn headline examples](https://jobbie.bot/blog/linkedin-headline-examples) and the guide to [resume keywords](https://jobbie.bot/blog/resume-keywords). Only claim skills you can discuss in an interview.

## 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](https://jobbie.bot/blog/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.

> **Watch out:** A searchable resume reaches more people than recruiters. Leave your street address off, use an email address you keep for the job search, and treat unexpected offers with care. The guide to [job scams](https://jobbie.bot/blog/job-search-scams) lists the warning signs.

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.

## 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](https://jobbie.bot/blog/linkedin-profile-tips) goes through it section by section.

## 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.

| | Inbound: recruiters find you | Outbound: you contact recruiters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Effort | A few hours to set up, light upkeep | Ongoing, a few messages a week |
| Control | Low: you get whatever matches your profile | High: you pick the companies and roles |
| Works best when | Your skills are in demand and your profile says so plainly | You are changing fields, targeting specific employers or need to move quickly |
| Main risk | Silence, or messages about jobs you do not want | Generic messages that get ignored |

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.

```Message to a recruiter who fills roles like yours
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](https://jobbie.bot/blog/how-to-message-a-recruiter).

## 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.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do recruiters find candidates on LinkedIn?

They search. LinkedIn’s Recruiter product has an Open to work filter that narrows results to people who have signaled they are looking, and LinkedIn says members who share resume data appear in searches for matching skills, experience and education. Profiles that contain the searched words and look current get the messages.

### Does Open to Work help recruiters find you?

It tells them you are available, which is one of the things they filter for. LinkedIn shows the status to people using LinkedIn Recruiter, or to everyone if you choose the public option with the photo frame. It does not replace keywords: a recruiter still has to search for a title or skill that appears on your profile.

### Should I make my resume searchable on job boards?

Yes, if you want inbound contact and accept the exposure. Remove your street address, use a dedicated email address and expect some irrelevant or suspicious messages. If you are employed and need discretion, keep job-board profiles private and rely on LinkedIn’s recruiters-only setting instead.

### Why am I not getting messages from recruiters?

The usual causes are a profile without the titles and skills recruiters search for, visibility settings that are switched off, a location or level that does not match what is being hired, or a field where employers get enough applicants without sourcing. Fix the first two, then start contacting recruiters directly.

## Sources

- [LinkedIn Help: Let recruiters know you’re open to work](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a507508): how to turn on Open to Work, who can see it and when LinkedIn removes it.
- [LinkedIn Recruiter Help: View candidates who are open to work in Recruiter](https://www.linkedin.com/help/recruiter/answer/a419131): the Open to work filter recruiters use.
- [LinkedIn Help: Share and manage your resumes with recruiters](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1327213): what resume data sharing does and how to switch it on.
- [LinkedIn Help: Add and remove skills on your profile](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a549047): the limit of 100 skills.
- [Indeed Help: Profile Settings Menu: Managing Your Privacy](https://www.indeed.com/help/job-seekers/articles/204524164-profile-settings-menu-managing-your-privacy?hl=en&co=US): the two visibility settings and which one is the default.