Prepared by David Marwick, KempMillJobAssist
July 13, 2026
Here’s a summary:
- Stop writing a “clever” headline
Recruiters hunt by keywords: hard skills, tools, titles, and skill sets. They load those terms into the search, and the algorithm serves up the profiles that match. Every fancy adjective you use in place of a real keyword pushes you further down the results.
- Stop writing an epic novel in your About section
Recruiters want a fast, clear summary. The move that works is three short sentences that roll up your experience in numbers. How many years do you have in your field? How big were the teams you led? What was the range and size of the projects you ran? Roll up the total, because numbers are the easiest thing for the human eye to catch and understand. Under your quick summary, add a clean vertical list of your core skills. That triggers what I call the check-mark effect: the recruiter scans down, validates each skill, and keeps scrolling to see where you earned it. Short, numbers, skills. That’s it.
- Stop letting your resume and LinkedIn disagree
Your resume bullet points must match your LinkedIn work history. Because so many people are now generating fake resumes with AI, recruiters have started cross-checking. When a resume looks like a fit, they jump to your LinkedIn to confirm it’s legit. If the two don’t line up, you look like a risk.
- Stop treating your profile like a “set it and forget it” page
LinkedIn runs on a give-get model. You give by commenting thoughtfully on other people’s posts, real perspective, not “Great job.” You get by posting about your own industry and expertise. That activity is how the algorithm understands you, validates you, and confirms you’re a real human being.
You can learn more about J.T. at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtodonnell/
You can read the whole article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-4-things-linkedin-you-want-job-j-t-o-donnell-zfkfc/
Her post includes a 5-minute podcast on the topic.
Our usual caveat: Profit-seeking coaches presumably provide some content for free in the hope that you will be induced to buy some of their services.
If you have comments/questions about this article, please email KMJobAssist@gmail.com