How to Write a LinkedIn Headline That Gets You Noticed by Recruiters

## The 7-Second Recruiter Test When a recruiter searches LinkedIn, they see your name, photo, and headline. That's it. You have approximately 7 seconds to make an impression before they scroll past. Your headline is not your job title. It's your professional value proposition in 220 characters or less. ## What Recruiters Actually Search For LinkedIn's search works on keywords. Recruiters filter by: - Job titles (exact matches and variations) - Skills and tools - Industry terms - Certifications Your headline needs to include the keywords recruiters use when searching for someone like you. ## The 3 Parts of a Great LinkedIn Headline ### Part 1: What You Do Your primary role or expertise. Use the exact job title recruiters would search for. ### Part 2: Who You Help or What You Achieve This is what separates you from everyone else with the same job title. ### Part 3: A Differentiator A notable credential, company name, specialization, or metric. **Examples:** - "Product Manager | Building fintech products users love | Ex-Stripe, ex-Revolut" - "Data Scientist | ML & AI for Healthcare | 3x Kaggle Grandmaster" - "Software Engineer | React & Node.js | Open Source Contributor | Remote-first" ## Formulas That Work **Formula 1 (Role + Value):** [Job Title] | [What you do for whom] | [Differentiator] **Formula 2 (Skills-first):** [Skill 1] + [Skill 2] + [Skill 3] | [Current company or role] **Formula 3 (Achievement-based):** [Job Title] | Helped [companies/people] achieve [result] | [Credential] **Formula 4 (Student/Early career):** [Degree] Student at [University] | Aspiring [Role] | [Relevant skill or project] ## What to Avoid ❌ "Looking for new opportunities" — Use the Open to Work feature instead ❌ "Available for freelance projects" — Add this to your About section ❌ Just your job title — You're invisible in search ❌ Generic buzzwords like "passionate professional" — Everyone is ## Character Limit LinkedIn shows ~120 characters on desktop and ~86 on mobile before truncating. Put your most important keywords first. ## Try Our Free Headline Generator Not sure where to start? Our [LinkedIn Headline Generator](/tools/headline-generator) will help you build a compelling headline in seconds. Or try the [Headline Optimizer](/tools/headline-optimizer) to improve your existing one. [Generate your headline now →](/tools/headline-generator)