Why Most LinkedIn Profiles Don’t Work (And How to Fix Yours)
- May 6, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 4
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful career and business platforms available today.
And it’s dramatically underused.
Most professionals have a LinkedIn profile.
Very few have one that actually works for them.
There’s a difference between having a LinkedIn profile and using LinkedIn strategically. The former is passive. The latter creates visibility, credibility, and opportunity.
In this article, we’ll walk through the key principles behind optimizing your LinkedIn profile so it attracts the right attention for the right reasons.
Part 1: Don’t Just Complete Your Profile—Use It to Brand Yourself
A “complete” LinkedIn profile is the baseline.
A branded LinkedIn profile is the goal.
The most common mistake professionals make is filling out their profile like an online résumé—listing roles, skills, and dates without context, narrative, or positioning.
Your LinkedIn profile should communicate:
Who you are as a professional
What you’re known for
Why you do what you do
The most underutilized section on LinkedIn is the About section (formerly “Summary”).
This is not where you list skills.
Everyone has skills—and LinkedIn already has a section for them.
Instead, this is where you:
Tell your professional story
Explain what drives your work
Articulate your value in human terms
Ask yourself:
Why did you choose this career path?
Was there a pivotal moment that shaped your direction?
What problems do you care deeply about solving?
This is where your personal brand comes to life.
Part 2: Visibility Requires Strategy—Keywords Matter
A strong profile that no one can find doesn’t work.
LinkedIn is a search engine first and a social network second.
Your headline is one of the most important ranking and persuasion tools on the platform. It should include:
Your current role or professional focus
Keywords related to your expertise
A personalized element that complements your About section
The goal is twofold:
Appear in the right searches
Make people want to click
Keywords should be used consistently throughout:
Your headline
About section
Experience descriptions
Avoid generic job descriptions. Instead:
Use 2–3 concise sentences
Summarize what you actually do
Highlight one accomplishment or area of strength
Recruiters and hiring managers can always ask for more detail later. Your job is to earn the click.
Part 3: Optimize the Settings—Most People Don’t Know They Exist
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile goes beyond what’s written on the page.
LinkedIn offers extensive visibility, privacy, and engagement controls—and most users never touch them.
For example, you can:
Remove the “People Also Viewed” sidebar (which often pulls attention away from your profile)
Control which sections are visible publicly
Choose whether people can see when you’ve read their messages
Decide whether you appear in company-sponsored content
Enable or disable being tagged or mentioned
Understanding these settings allows you to:
Control how you’re perceived
Protect your job search discretion
Improve how long visitors stay on your profile
A quick search will uncover tutorials, but most professionals never invest the time to learn these options—at their own expense.
Part 4: Use the Platform—or It Won’t Work
LinkedIn is not a static page.
It’s a tool.
And tools only work when you use them.
Use LinkedIn to:
Connect with people you meet at events
Follow up before or after conversations
Stay visible with former colleagues
Explore opportunities or talent
If you’re job searching, enable “Open to Opportunities.”
If you’re building authority, share or repost relevant insights.
If you’re networking, engage—thoughtfully and consistently.
And most importantly:
Keep your LinkedIn profile aligned with your résumé.
Inconsistencies erode trust.
Final Thought
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile isn’t about gaming the algorithm.
It’s about clarity, consistency, and positioning.
When done well, LinkedIn becomes a quiet but powerful engine for:
Career advancement
Business development
Professional visibility
If you want help aligning your LinkedIn profile with your résumé, brand, and career goals, we can help.
Because the right opportunities don’t always come through applications—they come through visibility.
About the Author
Evgeny Efremkin, PhD
Founder & Principal Strategist, ExecutiveResume
Hi, I’m Evgeny. I founded ExecutiveResume after years of working at the intersection of academic research, professional writing, and labor-market analysis—and after seeing firsthand how poorly most professionals are positioned by traditional resume writing services.
I hold a PhD in History and have spent my career researching, teaching, writing, and advising at a senior level. My background is not in HR compliance or resume templates—it’s in strategic narrative construction, analytical writing, and decision-maker psychology. Those are the skills required to position professionals clearly and credibly in competitive markets.
What began as a focused advisory practice has grown into a boutique, PhD-led career strategy firm serving professionals, senior leaders, and executives across industries. While our client base has expanded, our approach has not changed:every client works directly with a senior writer and strategist—never outsourced, never templated.
Our team is composed of doctoral- and Master’s-level writers, branding specialists, and former recruiters, allowing us to translate complex careers into narratives that hiring managers immediately understand.
I believe a résumé is not a document—it’s a strategic asset. And if your professional story isn’t being read at the level you deserve, no amount of keyword optimization will fix that.
I’m glad you’re here—and if you’re ready for clarity, positioning, and strategy, I look forward to working with you.
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