LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for job seekers and recruiters alike. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and continues to grow. As a job seeker, having an optimized LinkedIn profile is crucial for visibility and standing out to recruiters and hiring managers. But how exactly does LinkedIn determine who the top applicants are for any given role? There are several key factors LinkedIn considers:
Profile completeness
A complete LinkedIn profile is one that has all relevant sections filled out, including a professional headshot photo, summary, work experience, education, skills, accomplishments, interests, and recommendations. Recruiters want to see a robust profile that gives them a comprehensive view of who you are as a candidate. A bare bones profile with missing sections signals you may not be putting in sufficient effort. A 100% complete profile indicates you’re serious about presenting your qualifications in a professional manner.
Number of connections
The size of your network matters on LinkedIn. Generally, the more connections you have, the better. This shows you are well-networked within your industry and peers are eager to connect with you. LinkedIn considers candidates with 500+ connections to be ideal. Anything under 100 connections can be a red flag that you’re not actively networking or establishing your professional brand. However, it’s important your connections are relevant and not just random people you’ve added in mass. Quality over quantity is key when growing your network.
Profile views and engagement
How often is your profile being viewed? If your profile has a high number of views each month, it signifies strong interest from recruiters. Lots of profile views means your skills and background are in demand for current job openings. LinkedIn also tracks engagement on your profile, including likes, comments, and shares. A high degree of engagement conveys your content and brand are resonating with your network. Active engagement illustrates other professionals find value in connecting with you.
Group membership and activity
LinkedIn Groups allow you to connect with other professionals in your industry and niche. Actively participating in relevant Groups shows you’re eager to share your insights, establish your credibility, and be part of the conversation. When evaluating candidates, recruiters often look at their Group activity and how they position themselves as thought leaders. Contributing valuable content to Groups indicates you’re committed to networking and community building.
Skills and endorsements
Recruiters pay close attention to your Skills & Endorsements section. The skills you list should accurately reflect your expertise and align with the position you’re targeting. The more endorsements you have for each skill, the better. Endorsements from connections serve as social proof to back up your proficiency in key areas. Listing obsolete, exaggerated, or unrelated skills can actually undermine your candidacy. Make sure your skills are current and paint an authentic picture of what you bring to the table.
Recommendations
Written recommendations can carry a lot of weight in how LinkedIn ranks your candidacy. Genuine recommendations provide outside confirmation of your achievements, work ethic, strengths, and abilities from people you’ve worked with. The more recommendations you have, and the more detailed they are, the higher your applicant rating. Generic or vague recommendations don’t offer as much value in evaluating your fit. Make sure to cultivate recommendations that include meaningful anecdotes and contextual details.
Shared connections with the hiring manager
When you apply for a job, LinkedIn looks at how closely you’re connected to the hiring manager and other team members. If you share several 1st degree connections, it’s a strong signal you’re qualified and will integrate well. Familiarity through shared connections can give you a considerable advantage over other candidates. Even 2nd and 3rd degree shared connections are favorable compared to no connections. Leverage your networks to determine who can introduce you to the right people.
Years of experience
LinkedIn prioritizes candidates who have spent more years in their profession and industry. Extensive experience indicates greater knowledge, exposure, and leadership. However, years of experience should be weighed against recency. Ideally, your experience was gained in the last 3-5 years to be most relevant. Dated or obsolete experience can sometimes be discounted. Make sure to keep your experience current by highlighting ongoing professional development.
Other factors
In addition to your LinkedIn activity and engagement, there are other factors that determine your ranking:
Application completeness
When you apply for a job through LinkedIn, it’s important to pay close attention to any requested fields. Fill out the application in its entirety to ensure you are compliant with the employer’s requirements. Incomplete applications are more likely to get passed over during screening. Demonstrate you’re detail-oriented by fully providing everything asked.
Application submission time
Applying as early as possible when a new job is posted can increase your visibility. LinkedIn often gives a higher ranking to candidates who apply within the first few days versus weeks later. This indicates you’re more eager for the role and have been actively monitoring for relevant postings. However, you should still take the necessary time to submit a thoughtful, high-quality application free of errors.
Application customization
If an application includes fields for a cover letter or customized message, be sure to tailor your content specifically for that role. Generic cover letters or messages are easy for recruiters to spot and reflect poorly on your candidacy. Demonstrate you’re excited for this exact position at this particular company. Reference details from the job description and your relevant qualifications. Mass applying to jobs with the same generic content can significantly hurt your ranking.
Resume keywords
Leveraging the right keywords on your resume is important for getting past automated tracking systems. LinkedIn and the employer will scan your resume for keywords from the job description indicating your fit for the role. Using targeted language directly from the posting ensures your resume makes it through to human eyes. Avoid relying solely on generic resume language that could fail to match. Research the keywords you should include and work them organically into your bullet points.
Resume length and format
An optimized resume should be concise, skimmable, and easy to digest for recruiters spending just seconds reviewing each one. Excessively lengthy or dense resumes fail to make the most important information jump out. Ensure your resume follows standard best practices for length (1-2 pages), layout, formatting, and scannability. Avoid unconventional resumes that are difficult to quickly process. Stick with simple, clean designs optimized for applicant tracking systems.
Tips for improving your LinkedIn applicant ranking
Here are some proven tips for boosting your applicant rating on LinkedIn and standing out from the pack:
Claim your unique LinkedIn URL
Claiming a custom URL makes your profile much easier to remember and share, such as www.linkedin.com/yourname. This also adds to your credibility and brand. Include your customized URL prominently on your resume, business cards, and other materials to drive traffic to your profile.
Optimize profile with relevant keywords
Conduct keyword research for your target job titles and ensure these keywords appear appropriately throughout your profile. These can highlight important hard and soft skills, certifications, job tasks, industry terminology, and more. Use keywords in your headline, summary, experience descriptions, skills section, and accomplishments.
Showcase examples of your work
Employers want to see actual samples of your previous deliverables, not just take your word for it. Upload presentations, reports, images, videos, published articles, and other professional work samples. These provide tangible proof points of the quality you bring to the table. However, obtain permission first and avoid sharing anything confidential.
Promote your LinkedIn profile
Increase awareness of your LinkedIn presence by sharing your profile URL prominently on all your other professional sites and platforms, such as your website, resume, online portfolios, email signature, and business cards. Promote your profile on your other social networks. The more visibility your profile gets, the more opportunities for engagement.
Join relevant LinkedIn Groups
Become an active participant in at least a few key LinkedIn Groups related to your industry and interests. Post thoughtful discussions and share advice and articles to establish yourself as an expert. Engage with other members’ posts through likes and comments. Offer value to the Group community.
Follow target companies
Follow companies you’re interested in working for to stay up-to-date on their latest news and job postings. Company pages showcase useful information for getting a sense of workplace culture and values. Following shows your specific interest and that you did your research. Their posts will appear in your feed.
Publish long-form posts
Build your personal brand and subject matter expertise by occasionally publishing longer-form posts on LinkedIn focused on insightful analysis and thought leadership commentary related to your field. Aim for at least 300+ words to provide meaty value. Posts appear on your profile and in your connections’ feeds.
Comment on industry updates
When companies or influencers in your space share relevant articles or updates, add your thoughtful commentary to the discussion. Share how the update relates to your experience. Commenting demonstrates you’re plugged into industry conversations and adds more content associated with your name.
Putting it all together
Here are 6 steps for showcasing yourself as a top candidate on LinkedIn:
- Craft a 100% complete, keyword-optimized profile reflecting your ideal professional brand
- Grow your network by connecting with colleagues, clients, peers, recruiters, and key influencers
- Proactively engage with your connections by liking, commenting, and sharing updates
- Establish yourself as an industry thought leader by publishing posts and participating in Groups
- Follow target employers to stay up-to-date on their opportunities
- Apply early to jobs and submit thoroughly customized applications conveying your passion
Remember, simply creating a basic profile is not enough. You must actively manage your profile, connections, content, personal brand, and job search strategy. With a smart approach, you can maximize your LinkedIn presence and become a top candidate that recruiters eagerly want to contact. Differentiate yourself from other passive applicants by showcasing the value you can bring to the table.
Conclusion
LinkedIn has access to an extensive set of applicant data and activity signals to determine which candidates float to the top for any given role. While the exact ranking algorithm is proprietary, in general LinkedIn rewards those who invest time in building a strong professional brand and demonstrating their genuine interest in opportunities. A thoughtful content strategy, robust network, tailored applications, and heavy engagement activity are all key to standing out. With a strategic approach, you can leverage LinkedIn as a passive job seeker to get discovered by your dream companies. Consistently showcase yourself as a top performer in your industry, back up your skills with social proof, and maintain an active presence to maximize your applicant visibility.