By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
EP 3111 LinkedIn’s recent changes make the old way of writing a profile worthless.
Alright, let’s get right into it. Have you felt like you’re just shouting into the void on LinkedIn lately? Well, I’m here to tell you, you are not imagining things. The game has totally, completely changed.
In this explainer, we’re going to break down exactly what’s going on and give you the playbook you need to win in 2025. So let’s just start with the hard truth, the really stark number. Organic reach, the number of people who see your stuff for free, has basically collapsed.
Some data shows it’s down by as much as 50% year over year. And look, that’s not just some tiny dip, it’s a massive shift in who sees your content and more importantly, your profile. So, what does this actually mean for you? It really begs the question, are you becoming invisible? I mean, if you’re still using the same old tactics from a couple of years ago, the answer is, probably yes.
But hey, don’t panic, we’re about to show you how to get visible again, not just to the right people, but to the right algorithms too. This right here gets to the absolute heart of the change. The old game, it was all about volume and virality, right? Just throwing stuff out there and hoping something would catch fire.
The new game is completely different. It’s all about showing real expertise and, this is crucial, maximizing a metric called dwell time. So, what is actually going on behind the scenes? Well, you can think of it like this, you’re fighting a war on two fronts now.
On one side, you’ve got LinkedIn’s brand new content algorithm and it’s looking for totally different stuff than it used to. And on the other side, a completely new audience you have to impress. The AI tools that recruiters are now using to find talent.
Okay, so let’s dig into that first front, the new algorithm. And you have to understand this one term, dwell time. This is the new gold standard.
The algorithm doesn’t really care about a quick like or a simple share anymore. What it really wants to know is, how long did someone actually stop scrolling and spend time with your post? The longer they stay, the more your content gets pushed out. And check this out, it’s all about timing now.
It’s not just what you post, but when the engagement happens. Your post literally goes through stages of judgment. That first hour is a critical quality check.
If you can get good, meaningful comments and engagement in what’s called the golden window, the first two hours, the algorithm rewards you. You miss it and your post is basically dead in the water. So, want to know a pro tip for nailing that golden window? It’s actually pretty simple, but it makes a huge difference.
The data is super clear on this. If you just respond to the comments on your post within that first hour, you can get a, get this, a 35% boost in visibility. That’s huge.
It’s the algorithm literally rewarding you for having a real conversation. Okay, so that’s the human facing algorithm. But remember that second front I mentioned? Your audience has changed a lot.
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It’s not just people reading your profile anymore. An insane 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their main tool. And more and more, they’re letting AI do the heavy lifting, parsing your entire profile for context.
And this is a really important point. These AI recruiters aren’t just doing simple keyword searches. They’re using what’s called conversational search.
A hiring manager can just type in something natural, you know, like find me a marketer who’s great at handling crisis situations. And the AI actually understands the intent behind that. So your profile has to speak that language.
So the big question is, how do you do that? Well, that brings us to the first part of our playbook. You have to start thinking of your profile as something you architect specifically for an AI. Let’s call it recruiter SEO.
It’s all about structuring your information so these new tools can find you and immediately understand your value. And it all starts with your headline. Seriously, this is the most important piece of real estate on your entire profile.
The old way of just putting your job title there, that’s over. The new AI-optimized way is this simple formula. Your target job title, plus a key skill recruiters are searching for, plus a unique value prop that shows your impact.
All right, let’s talk about the about section, because so many people get this wrong. You have to kill the vague, fluffy buzzwords. Phrases like dynamic leader or results-oriented, they are absolute poison for your profile.
Not only do humans just roll their eyes at them, but the AI parsers can’t verify them. They’re just empty claims, not facts. So here’s the fix.
You replace every single one of those claims with quantified proof, with hard numbers. Don’t say you’re a leader, show it. This after example is perfect.
It gives the AI specific verifiable data that it can actually process. And you know what? A human recruiter trusts that a whole lot more too. Okay, let’s move on to your experience section.
This is your keyword goldmine, a little insider tip from actual recruiters. Literally just copy and paste the detailed content from your resume right into this section. Yep, all of it.
Then structure each bullet point with that how plus result formula. And here’s a huge one. Add your top five skills to every single job you’ve listed.
It gives you a massive advantage in searches. All right, so you’ve rebuilt your profile for the AI. That’s half the battle and it’s a huge step.
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But now you need a content strategy that’s built for humans. One that wins that all-important dwell time game we talked about earlier. When it comes to the type of content you should be making, there is a clear, undisputed king, carousels.
You know, the ones you upload as a PDF or a document post. And the reason is simple. They force people to actively stop and swipe through them.
That skyrockets your dwell time. And the stats back it up. They’re two and a half times more likely to get reshared.
Now, if you’re really serious about being seen as an expert in your field, you should definitely turn on creator mode. It kind of rejiggers your whole profile to put your content front and center. It lets you add these topic hashtags that basically scream to the algorithm what you’re an expert in.
And it changes that connect button to follow, which is way better for building a true audience. Okay, we’ve covered a ton of ground here, right? We’ve talked about the new algorithm, the rise of AI recruiters, the whole shebang. So let’s pull all this together into a simple, actionable playbook that you can start using today for 2025.
So here’s the bottom line. Your strategy needs two parts, and they have to work together perfectly. On one side, you have your AI architecture.
That’s all about optimizing your profile with the right formulas, the hard data, those how plus result bullets, so the AI can find you. On the other side, you have expertise validation. That’s your content strategy, creating stuff that proves your value to humans and wins that dwell time game.
And that’s really the main takeaway from all of this. You can’t just do one and ignore the other. You absolutely need a profile that’s architected for a machine, and you need a content strategy that’s designed to captivate a person.
Getting both of those right, that’s the new non-negotiable key to success. So I’ll leave you with this one last question. After hearing all this, go pull up your LinkedIn profile right now.
Take a really honest look at it. Is it a relic of the old game packed with vague claims and just hoping for virality? Or is it a precisely engineered asset ready to win in 2025? The choice is yours.
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers easier. Those things can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, carer transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
He is the producer and former host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3100 episodes. 
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