By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
When it comes to advancing your career—whether you’re job hunting, looking to pivot, or just keeping your options open—LinkedIn is your storefront. And just like a storefront, it needs to clearly show what you offer today and what you’re selling next. If your profile looks like a list of what you’ve done, but not what you’re aiming to do, you’re making it harder for the right people to find you.
That’s where most professionals go wrong. They create a LinkedIn profile that reflects their past job descriptions instead of positioning themselves for the roles they want next. If you want to move up, switch industries, or get hired for your ideal job, you have to focus your profile around that goal—period.
Here’s how to do that the right way.
1. Know What Job You Want Next
This sounds obvious, but many professionals don’t take the time to define the job they actually want. It’s impossible to write a strong, focused profile if you’re trying to be too many things at once.
Start by answering this: What is the title or type of role you want to land next? Product Manager? Financial Analyst? Marketing Director? Executive Assistant?
Now get specific: What kind of company or industry are you targeting? Tech? Healthcare? Education? And finally: What level are you aiming for? Entry-level, mid-career, director, VP?
If you don’t clearly know where you’re going, your profile will just look like a record of where you’ve been.
2. Make Your Headline Speak to the Role You Want
Your headline is one of the most visible parts of your profile. It follows you around LinkedIn—in search results, in comments, in recruiter InMails.
Too many people just list their current job title. That’s a wasted opportunity. You want your headline to reflect where you’re headed, not just where you are.
Instead of:
“Administrative Assistant at ABC Corp”
Use something like:
“Operations Specialist | Project Coordination | Driving Process Improvement in Fast-Paced Teams”
This makes it clear you’re targeting something broader, or more strategic, even if your current title hasn’t caught up yet. You’re telling the market what kind of problems you solve, and what kind of roles they should consider you for.
3. Rewrite Your About Section for Your Future, Not Your Past
The “About” section is where you tell your career story—and like any good story, it should have a direction. Too many people treat this like a biography. It shouldn’t be.
Instead, write it like a pitch: who you are, what you’re great at, and most importantly, what you’re looking to do next.
Here’s a simple formula to structure it:
Start with your “why”: the kind of work you enjoy doing or the impact you like to make.
Highlight key strengths or experience that tie directly to the role you want.
End with a clear statement about the types of roles, teams, or industries you’re targeting.
Example:
I thrive in fast-moving environments where I can turn complex challenges into clear, actionable steps. With 4+ years managing client accounts and internal communications, I’ve developed a knack for bringing order to chaos and helping teams execute better.
I’m looking to apply these skills in a project coordinator or operations support role within a mission-driven organization, especially in tech, healthcare, or higher education.
Now you’ve given the reader (and recruiter) a narrative they can follow.
4. Tailor Your Experience to Match the Language of Your Target Role
Even if your past job titles don’t match the job you want, the work you did might still be relevant. The key is to reframe it in language that matches your target role.
For example, let’s say you want to move from customer service into sales. Your experience bullet might originally say:
“Handled inbound calls and resolved customer issues.”
That’s fine, but it doesn’t reflect the outcome-oriented language used in sales.
You could reframe it as:
“Built rapport with clients and uncovered needs to deliver tailored product recommendations—contributing to upselling and retention goals.”
Same work. Different framing. Now it sounds like someone with transferable sales skills.
This is especially important if you’re pivoting to a new function or industry. Study job descriptions for your target roles and mirror that language wherever it truthfully applies.
5. Skills and Endorsements: Align Them with the Role You Want
The Skills section isn’t just window dressing—it impacts how you show up in recruiter searches. If your top three skills are outdated or irrelevant, you’re hurting your chances.
Review the job descriptions of roles you want. What are the core skills they mention again and again? Do you have those? Add them (if they’re honest and true). If you’re missing some, you might consider taking a short course or certification to build credibility.
Also, reorder your skills so the most relevant ones are at the top. LinkedIn lets you pin your top three. Make those count.
6. Let Recruiters Know What You’re Looking For
If you’re actively looking—or open to being approached—turn on “Open to Work” in LinkedIn. You can choose to show it only to recruiters (not your network), and specify the titles, types of work (onsite, hybrid, remote), and locations you’re targeting.
This simple step helps recruiters filter for candidates like you.
Final Thought: You’re Not a Resume—You’re a Signal
Your LinkedIn profile is not just a digital version of your résumé. It’s a signal to the market.
You get to shape that signal. And if you don’t, others will do it for you—often based on your last job, not your best fit.
Focusing your profile around the job you want isn’t about pretending or stretching the truth. It’s about speaking clearly and confidently about the value you bring and where you want to go next.
And if you do that well, the right people will find you.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2025
Do What Recruiters Do
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search
and succeeding in your career easier.
Career Coach Office Hours: May 14 2024
You will find great info and job search coaching to help with your job search at JobSearch.Community
Connect on LinkedIn
Schedule a discovery call to speak with me about one-on-one or group coaching during your job search at www.TheBigGameHunter.us.
What Recruiters Know That You Don’t: They Aren’t Watching All Those Screening Videos
We grant permission for this post and others to be used on your website as long as a backlink is included to www.TheBigGameHunter.us and notice is provided that it is provided by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter as an author or creator. Not acknowledging his work or providing a backlink to www.TheBigGameHunter.us makes you subject to a $1000 penalty which you proactively agree to pay. Please contact us to negotiate the use of our content as training data
