LinkedIn remains the go-to platform for job hunting in Canada. This makes utilizing LinkedIn a vital consideration when searching for a new job, transitioning to a new career, or making employment changes. Knowing about the company and position before you apply, as well as ahead of job interviews, will help you make informed decisions and be prepared to ask good questions when you meet for an interview. But with so much advice floating around, what truly works in 2025?
What many job seekers don’t realize is that the evaluation begins long before the interview. Job recruiters are already checking you out, forming impressions, and making decisions based on your online presence.
Every day, thousands of hiring managers across Canada quietly scan LinkedIn profiles, making rapid decisions about who gets a chance at their open positions.
While you wait for the moment to create the perfect cover letter, recruiters have already formed their first impression of you from your LinkedIn presence. What you should be asking yourself is if it’s telling the right story.
This isn’t just another social platform. It’s a two-way investigation tool where you research companies and they research you. The candidates who understand this dual purpose are the ones getting interview calls.
The proof? LinkedIn now drives 85% of job interview decisions before applications are even fully reviewed. Your profile isn’t just a digital resume; it’s your silent advocate in rooms where hiring decisions are made.
If your LinkedIn profile appears to have inconsistencies or is not updated to reflect that you’re a suitable match for the job role, that alone could put you at a disadvantage. It’s more than just your digital resume. It’s a clear snapshot of you as your professional brand and your hireability. There are a few actions you can take to easily tune up your LinkedIn profile to make it as clear, cohesive, and job-ready as possible. To help you be prepared, we’ve gathered insights and tactics from successful candidates that can turn LinkedIn from just another job board into your most powerful career advantage.
Tip #1: Make Your Profile Stand Out (Without Trying Too Hard)
Grab your resume and then pull up your LinkedIn to see if you can locate any differences. Are you seeing job titles or employment dates that don’t match up? Now is the time to make those corrections. Create a list of anything that could potentially raise a red flag, and then address it on the spot to ensure a cohesive message across all online media and platforms.
How is your profile photo? Do you have one uploaded? It’s surprised us to learn how many students came to us without a complete profile and headshot. What we have heard from many of them, especially those returning to the workforce or changing careers: “I don’t look professional enough for LinkedIn.” Here’s the truth: you don’t need a fancy suit or polished corporate headshots.
You do need to upload a real photo of yourself. LinkedIn’s data shows that profiles with photos are viewed 21 times more often than those without. But that photo can be simple. A clean background, good lighting, and a professional outfit, done with your phone camera, work perfectly.
In a world now full of AI-generated content and graphics, people, especially recruiters, are not looking for model-perfect photos. They want to see authentic images of real people to put a face to their skills.
Select a strong headline that follows you everywhere
Just like your name follows you everywhere and in every introduction in your daily life, it does the same online, and LinkedIn is no different. On this platform, it’s not just your name that is connected to your every post and interaction; it’s your headline.
Every single comment, connection request, and message shows your headline. This is an important consideration because this is your digital first impression.
To help provide you with the best advice, we’ve analyzed thousands of successful graduate profiles.
We found that the best headlines follow this formula:
[Your Role] + [Key Skill] + [Value You Offerf]
For example:
- “Dental Office Admin who streamlines patient scheduling systems”
- “Bookkeeper specializing in QuickBooks for small construction firms”
- “IT Support Technician solving network issues for healthcare clinics”
- After reading those three headlines, you can see how each is specific and concise, announcing to the world and potential employers exactly what you do, versus using this limited character space to feature vague descriptions that will not help get you noticed.
Keep your About section focused
This is an area where we’ve seen many people write novels, but the compelling profiles that capture others’ attention are the ones that get right to the point. Like all adults, employers and recruiters have busy schedules and often lack the time to read lengthy content as they quickly browse LinkedIn in search of candidates. The best profiles get to the point.
You can stand out if you use this approach: Start with a problem you solve related to the role you want, explain how you solve it, and then end with what you’re looking for.
So, what’s the maximum amount of text that should be included here? Our suggestion is 3 paragraphs. That’s it. In some cases, you may need more text, and that’s okay, but start simple, without attempting to publish a bestselling novel about yourself digitally.
Will some individuals need to provide additional information? Sure. But start simple. Remember, regardless of whether you have a lot to include or very little, you can always add more or make changes later.
Tip #2: Tailor Your Approach to Your Career Stage
For career-changers:
If you’re switching fields, LinkedIn offers a hidden advantage.
Most job boards force your experience into rigid categories. LinkedIn lets you tell your story, how skills from your previous career transfer perfectly to your new one.
A retail manager becoming a project coordinator? Both require scheduling, people skills, and budget management. Make those connections clear in your experience descriptions.
Recent analysis of 55,000 Canadian job postings shows the top skills employers want:
- Communication (17,415 mentions)
- Teamwork (11,013 mentions)
- Leadership (10,183 mentions)
- Customer service (6,614 mentions)
- Problem-solving (5,646 mentions)
Notice something? These transfer between nearly all careers.
For new graduates:
“I don’t have enough experience for LinkedIn.”
We often hear this from our younger students. It’s simply not true. LinkedIn isn’t just for people with 20-year careers. It’s for professionals at all stages of their careers. School projects should be listed as projects, volunteer work counts, and part-time jobs should be added. Employers want to see how you apply your skills, not just how long you’ve had them.
Your next step is to seek a second opinion. Have a friend, mentor, or career coach review your updated profile and resume together. A fresh set of eyes can help identify inconsistencies or areas for improvement that you might have overlooked.
For experienced professionals:
If you’re over 50, LinkedIn requires a slightly different approach. Here we suggest that you focus on your most recent 10-15 years. List earlier positions without including the extensive details.
To navigate and subtly address the biggest unspoken concern some employers have about hiring mature workers, you should highlight your technical skills prominently. Avoid buzzwords like “results-driven,” “strategic thinker,” and “go-getter” that are vague and mean little to recruiters assessing your qualifications. Instead, this is the space where your experience speaks for itself. Include high-quality information around specific skills, tools, and accomplishments to be more impactful.
Use the “Career Break” feature if you have any gaps in your employment history. Utilize the platform’s area for specific categories, such as caregiving, health issues, and career transition, that normalise these everyday life experiences.
Tip #3: How Successful Job Seekers Use the 15-15-15 Rule
Students at our campuses from British Columbia to Ontario ask us the same question: “How much time should I spend on LinkedIn?” The answer might surprise you as it’s much like the saying that, ‘it’s quality rather than quantity that matters,’ which means how you go about spending your free time online is not about hours, but minutes spent wisely.
Quality Over Quantity
People who find success with LinkedIn don’t live on the platform, post daily, or spend their evenings scrolling through updates. What they do instead is much simpler: they show up regularly for shorter bursts of time.
This approach works because LinkedIn’s system notices patterns. When you regularly log in, your profile gets shown more often, and commenting occasionally but thoughtfully will lead to people, users, and companies starting to recognize your name. Taking this approach ensures that you build your presence strategically over time without overwhelming your life.
The 15-15-15 Rule in Action
This is what that approach looks like:
15 minutes, 3 times per week.
- Monday: Check messages, reply to connection requests.
- Wednesday: Read your feed, comment thoughtfully on 2-3 posts.
- Friday: Share one article or update related to your field.
That’s it. 45 minutes total per week.
This isn’t a full-time job; it’s a helpful tool that’s not simply another social media platform demanding your constant attention.
What Makes a Good Comment?
Part of the value comes from what you say, rather than how frequently you speak. Compare these two comments:
Generic: “Great post! Thanks for sharing.”
Thoughtful: “Your point about Excel automation saving time resonates with me. I recently started using VLOOKUP for our inventory tracking, and it cut my weekly reporting time in half.”
A single thoughtful comment about an industry trend shows more about your thinking than several basic “Great post!” responses. When contributing to discussions, aim to offer a unique perspective or pose a question that advances the conversation.
Building Your Digital Network
Well-connected people stand out more to a potential employer, and you want to build your digital credibility and visibility to capture their attention. Consider staying up to date with everyone in your network. You could think about connecting with people you know personally, professionally, and academically. If you have any professional qualifications or are a member of any professional institution it is equally important to connect and associate yourself with these networks too.
This doesn’t mean you have to become a LinkedIn celebrity. Instead, focus on the goal of showing up when the right opportunity arises, your name is familiar, and your skills are visible. The platform rewards steady participation over occasional heavy usage, and your regular, meaningful interactions build professional credibility gradually.
Start Today
Open your calendar right now and block three 15-minute slots for next week. Label them “LinkedIn Monday,” “LinkedIn Wednesday,” and “LinkedIn Friday.” Treat these appointments with yourself as seriously as you would a job interview. This small commitment of 45 minutes per week could be what separates you from other candidates when that perfect opportunity appears.
Tip #4: Smart Search Techniques That Find Hidden Jobs
While many of us searching for something using Google will scroll until we find the answer or website we need, using LinkedIn in the same way for employment, as we’ve seen many users do, leads to missing out on great jobs simply because they don’t know how to search correctly. Endlessly scrolling through your news feed, hoping for the correct position to appear magically, will take much more time and work, and is more likely to result in seeing employment opportunities at all.
Here’s what is working for people right now:
- First, stop relying only on the obvious job postings that everyone sees. Instead, utilize LinkedIn’s powerful search capabilities, which most people never bother to learn.
- One simple technique that gets real results is using search operators. It’s not an overly complicated technical experience, but you’re telling LinkedIn exactly what you want using search parameters like the examples below:
- “looking for”, “join our team”, “years experience”, “just posted”, “new opening”, “new position”, “hiring”, “opportunity”, “apply”, “your job title” or “your skill”
- Using search strings can lead you to find posts mentioning hiring opportunities that don’t specify the required years of experience, which is ideal if you’re changing careers or just starting out.
- Visit the company’s LinkedIn page and website directly. Most people miss the opportunity to apply directly for a position through the company’s business pages and official website. Always take a moment to check and use in both places, as this step works better than going through a recruiter who reposts the same job.
- Just like Google lets you create alerts, you can use LinkedIn to set up job alerts using specific details that are not just limited to a job title, but location radius, company size, and remote options. Let the system work for you now and around the clock, and you’ll get notified about brand new postings before most other candidates even see them.
- Follow the LinkedIn business pages of the company you want to work with. The data shows you’re 58% more likely to get hired by companies you follow. Why? You learn their language, understand their challenges, and can speak to their specific needs in applications and interviews.
The job market isn’t always straightforward, especially when transitioning into a new career. However, using these techniques gives you a real advantage over individuals who scroll and click “Easy Apply” on every job they see.
The best opportunities often don’t look like traditional job postings. Sometimes, they’re discussion posts where someone mentions their team is growing. Sometimes they’re hidden in company updates. Your search skills help you find these before anyone else.
This isn’t about spending more time on LinkedIn. It’s about spending smarter time. Fifteen minutes of strategic searching beats two hours of random scrolling every single time.
Beyond the Basics: When You’re Ready for More
Once you’re comfortable with LinkedIn, consider:
- Take skills assessment tests (for free) that will support you by verifying your abilities with a badge that displays on your profile.
- LinkedIn Learning is another excellent resource available at many public libraries, offering free access to these courses.
- Utilize LinkedIn’s creator mode setting, which allows you to add a follow button instead of the standard ‘Connect’ option. This is useful if you plan to share content regularly.
The Real Goal
LinkedIn works best when you remember its purpose: making professional connections that lead to opportunities.
It’s not about becoming an influencer, having a presence on every single social media channel available today, or being competitive by having the most connections. It’s about finding the right people who can help you advance your career, and then helping them advance theirs as well.
That mutual benefit is the true power of LinkedIn in 2025.
As the largest career college in Canada with over 50 campuses, Academy of Learning Career College provides customized programs that connect education with workplace needs, offering convenient, practical, flexible training in Canada.