Are you actively looking for a new job? Do you just want to make sure that the professionals in your industry have an accurate depiction of your skills and expertise? In either case, your LinkedIn could probably use some updating. To help you decide what's needed (or not), Parade spoke with a recruiter to determine the six best things to put on your LinkedIn profile.Anya Mwamba has worked in recruiting for 11 years and is the Managing Director of Syndicatebleu at Career Group Companies. She says she's "very actively using LinkedIn on a daily basis," and she can easily spot problem areas on someone's page. She explains to Parade what makes a profile stand out to a recruiter and how to best keep it up to date, even if you're not currently looking for new work. Spoiler alert: Don't neglect your profile just because you don't have plans of switching jobs any time soon.Around 30 million companies use LinkedIn for business, and approximately 68% of recruiters rely on the site when hiring for roles, so it's pretty important to be able to catch their eye.Here's everything you need to know about putting together a LinkedIn profile that can help you land your next role.Related: 6 Things to Never, Ever Say in a Job Interview, According to a Recruiter
Mwamba says, "It's good to always have your LinkedIn updated" even if you're not actively job hunting. That way, if you ever change your mind, you're not suddenly updating everything all at once and potentially tipping off your employer that you're looking. By refreshing it periodically, it always stays relevant.Additionally, it might be worth leaning into the social aspect of LinkedIn and posting articles, commenting on others' posts, etc. "For me, personally, I post when there's something relevant is happening to our company," Mwamba explains. "If you're looking for a job ... for connections," commenting and posting can be a way to gain reach, she adds.Related: The 25 Most In-Demand Jobs for People Over 50—#15 Might Surprise You
The 6 Best Things To Put On Your LinkedIn Profile, According to a Recruiter
If you're actively looking for work, Mwamba suggests turning on the "open to work" filter on your profile. You can even elect to show that status only to recruiters if you don't want your current job to know you're searching. And you can also specify if you're looking for temporary work, part-time, full-time and so on. She says it's important to fill out all of that information accurately."If I'm looking for someone who can jump into an ASAP temp assignment, I'll sometimes filter just by people who are open to temporary work," she explains. "If you don't have that [selected], then you might not come up with a search even if you are actually open to temp work."Related: Psychologists Swear By the 'Tinkerbell Effect'—Here's How It Can Change Your Life
2. A Professional Photo
Mwamba says she always starts by looking at the top part of a profile and that having a professional bio photo is important, particularly if you're in a more traditional field. She adds that people in creative industries can have a little more freedom with that photo but, ultimately, it's important that it "represents who you are."For many industries, that likely means getting professional headshots taken.
For her part, Mwamba says she doesn't always read the "about" section, but she adds that many of her coworkers go to that section first. "What everyone [in my office] did agree on is like two to three sentences is good," she says. "More than one paragraph I don't think is needed."Keep it short and sweet for the recruiters who do prefer to start with that section.
4. Information That Matches Your Resume
Mwamba says she sometimes runs into issues where a candidate's LinkedIn and their resume vastly differ in content. "Their LinkedIn has all these jobs but it's not on their resume or vice versa, and you really want to make sure those are aligned as possible," she says. "If your title's different [on LinkedIn] and then a recruiter gets your resume, it just automatically makes them question, 'What else isn't truthful here?'"Think of your LinkedIn profile as a digital extension of your traditional resume, not something completely different. Make sure job descriptions, skills, experience and timelines match up.Related: What To Wear (And What *Not* To Wear) To Land the Job—These Are the Best Outfit Colors for an Interview
In the skills section of LinkedIn, you can include general "soft" skills like leadership, communication, etc. But also make sure you're including as many specific "hard" skills as possible, particularly with regards to any industry-related software or tools you have experience in."A lot of times, recruiters actually search by skillset or keywords," Mwamba explains. If you want to show up in those specialized skill searches, she says, "Make sure they're listed."
6. A Portfolio
For those in creative fields, Mwamba says a lot of people forget to link to their portfolio. Having examples of your work represented and easily accessible on your profile is "really helpful," she explains.The "featured" section on LinkedIn appears beneath the "about" section, and it's ideal for showing your work. You can add articles you've written, photos you've taken, videos you've made, links to your portfolio and website and so on.Related:125 Creative Ways To Earn Extra Money in 2025
Sometimes, a company's hiring is limited to the states where they're registered to do business. So if your LinkedIn state and city locations aren't accurate, it could affect the jobs that recruiters consider you for."We reach out to you and run the whole job by you and then it turns out we can't represent you," Mwamba laments. "It's a waste of everyone's time. So having that correct job location is really helpful." Related: An Etiquette Expert Is Begging People To Start Putting This One Thing in Emails
2. Irrelevant Info
As you consistently update your profile and get further away from your college years, Mwamba says it's important to weed out irrelevant experience. "If you had a bunch of one-year jobs out of school, I wouldn't necessarily include those," she explains. "Say you're now a director of marketing ... and you worked at your local grocery store in college, you don't need to include that."She adds that highlighting college course topics or your GPA also isn't necessary, especially if you're far removed from your college days or your industry doesn't really require a certain GPA.Just focus on "all relevant experience," she says.
3. Obvious AI
Mwamba says that she's noticed an uptick in potentially AI-generated content from prospective hires that often comes off sounding too formal. She adds that it's especially obvious during phone calls that would usually be more conversational. "You can tell that they're, like, reading a bio," she explains."I would just be careful if you're using AI. Make sure you're still checking it and adding your human touch," she adds.After all, companies are on LinkedIn looking to hire real people, so putting your best foot forward in that regard is key.
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Anya Mwamba has worked in recruiting for 11 years and is the Managing Director of Syndicatebleu at Career Group Companies. Read More Details
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