When I’m reviewing a LinkedIn profile as a recruiter, I’m not reading it the way I’d read a book — front to back, giving equal attention to every line. I’m scanning it in a specific sequence, making micro-decisions at each stage, and the majority of profiles get eliminated in the first 10 seconds.
Here’s the actual sequence, and what I’m looking for at each step.
Step 1: The photo and headline (0–2 seconds)
Before I’ve read a word of content, I’ve already registered whether there’s a photo, whether the person looks professional, and what their headline says.
The photo signals whether someone takes their professional presence seriously. Profiles without a photo feel impersonal. A good photo doesn’t need to be a studio headshot — it just needs to be a clear, recent, front-facing image. That’s it.
The headline is the second half of this split-second. If it says “HR Manager | Hospitality & Hotels | Onboarding, culture, retention”, I know immediately whether this person fits what I’m looking for. If it says “HR Manager”, I’ve got a job title but no context.
The people who clear this step: clear photo, specific and keyword-relevant headline.
Step 2: The current role (2–5 seconds)
Below the headline, I check the current or most recent position. Company name, job title, dates.
I’m looking for:
- Is the timeline current? (A role ending two years ago with nothing since is a flag)
- Does the company name match the sector I’m hiring for?
- Is the title specific enough to tell me what they actually did?
At this point I haven’t read a word of their description. I’m just checking the skeleton.
Step 3: The About section (5–15 seconds)
If the first two steps are promising, I’ll read the About section — but only the first 2–3 lines. These appear before the “see more” click, and this is where most profiles lose me.
“Results-driven HR professional with over 10 years of experience delivering excellence across various sectors” tells me nothing I didn’t already know and uses language I’ve read a thousand times. I move on.
A specific opener — “I build onboarding programmes for hotels. In 10+ years in hospitality HR, I’ve reduced 90-day turnover by 30–40% on two separate occasions” — makes me read the rest.
The key at this stage: be specific. Vague sentences are invisible. Specific claims make me stop and pay attention.
Step 4: The experience section (15–45 seconds)
If I’m still interested, I scan the experience section. Not the bullet points — not yet. First:
- How many roles? How long in each?
- Are the companies names I recognise, or do I need to open them to understand the context?
- Does the career narrative make sense?
Then I might read the bullet points for the most relevant 1–2 roles. I’m looking for outcomes: what changed? What scale did you operate at? What problems did you solve?
“Responsible for recruitment” tells me nothing. “Managed end-to-end recruitment for 12 properties across the South-East (approx. 80 hires per year)” tells me scope, context, and effort.
Numbers are not required, but specificity is. “Restructured the onboarding process, reducing 90-day turnover from 55% to 32%” is specific without being a large number. “Improved the onboarding process significantly” is not.
Step 5: The secondary signals (45–60 seconds)
If the profile has cleared all the earlier steps, I’ll glance at:
- Skills and endorsements — more for confirmation than discovery
- Recommendations — one specific, detailed recommendation is worth more than five generic ones
- Education — relevant for certain roles and seniority levels, less relevant for experienced candidates
- Activity — if they’ve posted recently, I get a sense of how they think and communicate
These secondary signals rarely move a profile from no to yes, but a strong recommendation or a compelling recent post can tip a borderline decision.
What I’m actually deciding
At each stage, I’m making a binary call: does this person make it to the next stage? It’s not a holistic assessment of their career. It’s a series of fast filters applied in sequence.
The profiles that survive all five steps tend to have:
- A clear, specific headline with searchable keywords
- A current photo
- An About opener that names a real specialty and hints at evidence
- Experience descriptions with scope and outcomes, not job descriptions
- A coherent career narrative
The good news: almost all of these are fixable in an afternoon. Check your character counts, make sure your banner is the right size, and write like you’re talking to a person who has 10 seconds to decide.
Related posts: LinkedIn profile mistakes recruiters notice · LinkedIn headline formulas
Related tools: Character Counter · Image Resizer