What discourages employers? LinkedIn under the microscope of recruiters.

Katarzyna Piotrowska, career advisor and president of Sourcing Now, explains that she visits the profile primarily to see more than what is in the CV, but also to verify the consistency of the application with the LinkedIn profile.

— Recently I was checking the candidate's profile, where in the references I found information about a specific project in which the candidate participated. Such information can greatly enhance the credibility of the candidacy, he says.

According to Dominika Balińska, manager of the permanent recruitment team at Manpower, a CV shows history, and LinkedIn shows a broader context: specialization, method of communication, network of contacts, recommendations, industry activity and how the candidate himself understands his role.

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The biggest sin? A profile that shows nothing

Experts agree that the worst are not even individual mistakes, but… no specifics. “Manager”. “Project Manager”. “Head of Finance”. “Responsible for business development.” This all sounds good until the question is asked: what exactly were you doing?

Recruiters don't look for a list of responsibilities. They're looking for evidence. Numbers, projects, results and scale of responsibility. It is this information that allows us to assess whether the candidate actually did what he writes about.

— The job title itself is often not enough, because it can mean something completely different in different companies, emphasizes Dominika Balińska.

“Manager” in one organization may mean a person managing a team of several people, and in another a specialist responsible for a multi-million budget, production or transformation of the entire business area.

Therefore, the profile with the information “responsible for sales” loses to the profile of the person who wrote: “I developed sales in the CEE region, achieving a 20% increase.”

An epidemic of “ninjas”, “wizards” and other professional superheroes

One of the most annoying trends is creative job titles. “Business Ninja”, “Growth Catalyst”, “Digital Wizard”, “Innovation Evangelist” and “Transformation Hero” sound impressive, but often say little about a person's actual work. As Dominika Balińska notes, such titles may exist within the organization, but they are simply illegible to the recruiter.

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What does “Digital Wizard” actually do? Manages campaigns? Does he program? Responsible for digital transformation?

If after several seconds the recruiter does not understand what the candidate does, he or she moves on to the next profile. Creative job titles may look good on a company presentation, but they are more likely to hinder than help in the recruitment process.

The problem especially begins when an eye-catching title is followed by no content. The candidate boasts that he was the “Chief Happiness Officer”, but does not specify whether he actually led HR projects, was responsible for engagement research, or simply organized integration. In such a situation, the recruiter has to guess, and if he has to guess, he usually chooses someone who doesn't have to guess.

Recruiters recognize texts written by AI

A new phenomenon are profiles that sound perfect but say little about the candidate's actual experience.

Marek Santorek, associate manager at Michael Page, points out that descriptions generated by artificial intelligence are becoming more and more common. The problem is not the use of AI itself, but the mindless copying of ready-made formulas.

If each experience point looks like a fragment of a corporate handbook, it is more difficult for the recruiter to assess what the candidate actually did. As a result, LinkedIn increasingly resembles a place where dozens of people describe their careers in almost identical language.

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Paradoxically, this is why specificity and authenticity gain in value. A few simple sentences describing real projects, achievements or responsibilities can make a better impression than perfectly polished text generated by AI.

As expert Michael Page emphasizes, content created using artificial intelligence should be a starting point, not a finished product. When the profile looks like it was copied from a universal template, it is more difficult for the recruiter to assess the candidate's actual competences and experience.

The red light turns on sooner than you think

Recruiters check not only what is on the profile, but also what is not there. Inconsistent dates of employment. Positions other than those on your CV. Month-long gaps with no explanation. Frequent job changes. All this raises additional questions.

Marek Santorek explains that public activity is also important. Emotional disputes, open criticism of former employers or regular involvement in online conflicts may become an additional warning signal for the recruiter.

The employment gap itself is not the problem. The problem begins when the profile pretends it doesn't exist – and leaves the recruiter with the impression that something needs to be read between the lines.

Katarzyna Piotrowska sees one more problem: candidates marking their profiles as “Open to Work” who do not even write what they do or what job they are looking for. It's a bit like putting up a “for sale” sign but forgetting to write down what.

Recruiters also admit that they increasingly have to separate facts from candidates' professional fantasy.

— I remember a candidate who introduced himself as “Global Leader” in his profile. During the conversation, it turned out that his “global” experience included two countries neighboring Poland, says Katarzyna Piotrowska.

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In addition to the red flags, there is also the issue of consistency of roles and content. Dominika Balińska cites the example of a person who calls himself “Head of Finance” in the headline, but in the description of his experience there is no mention of budgeting, controlling, management reporting, working with a team or ERP systems. In such a case, the recruiter must ask himself a simple question: was it really the management of the financial department, or rather the role of an independent specialist with a raised title.

The situation is similar with the profiles of project managers who have not added a single project. Without information about scale, budget, methodology and result, this title becomes an empty label. Just a few lines are enough: what project, for whom, in what environment and how it ended – so that instead of another “PM”, the recruiter sees a person who actually delivers.

You don't have to become an influencer

The good news is that recruiters don't expect daily publications, photos from conferences or reflections on leadership over a cup of coffee.

— Sometimes all you need is a well-described experience, a clear headline and consistency with your CV, says Dominika Balińska.

LinkedIn remains primarily a recruiting tool, not a popularity contest. Up-to-date information, clearly described specialization and specific examples of completed projects are much more important than regular publications.

Recruiters unanimously emphasize that the most impressive profiles are those showing the effects of work: achievements, scale of responsibility, participation in projects and recommendations from people who actually worked with the candidate. Therefore, they are much more willing to contact a person who has a calm, specific profile without posts than with someone who publishes content every day but cannot clearly explain what he does every day.