90 Days, Zero Recruiter Messages? Check These 3 Job Title Mistakes
And how to fix them
Welcome to issue #112 of Job Search Unlocked. Twice a week, I share practical, unfiltered advice for free to help senior executives land their next role. Faster, and without wasting time on strategies that don’t work.
I’ve spent 20 years in the medical devices industry, including 5 at the C-level.
Today, I lead the global life sciences practice at one of the top 10 executive search firms worldwide. I know exactly how headhunters search for candidates like you, because I do it every day.
You updated your LinkedIn profile. You wrote a strong summary. You added your accomplishments. You’re even posting content and getting engagement from your network.
But the recruiter messages aren’t coming.
You start wondering if the market has shifted. If you’ve been in the game too long. If companies want younger, cheaper talent. If your experience has somehow become a liability instead of an asset.
Here’s what’s actually happening: recruiters aren’t finding you.
Not because you’re unqualified. Not because the market has passed you by. Because your job titles don’t match what recruiters type into LinkedIn’s search bar.
This is a problem most senior executives don’t know exists.
How Recruiter Search Actually Works
LinkedIn is a database. Recruiters query that database dozens of times per day. They type in job titles, hit search, and call whoever shows up.
They’re not reading summaries. They’re not scanning through your accomplishments. They’re not getting creative with search terms.
They type “Vice President of Sales” and call the first 50 people who appear.
If your title is “Revenue Growth Leader” or “Go-To-Market Executive” or some other company-specific variation, you don’t appear. You’re not in the results. You don’t exist.
The recruiter moves on. They have other roles to fill. They don’t have time to guess what creative title your company invented for your position.
Meanwhile, you’re sitting there wondering why your phone isn’t ringing.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Search “Sales Director” on LinkedIn. You’ll find hundreds of thousands of profiles.
Search “Commercial Director” for the same type of role. You’ll find roughly one-third as many results.
That’s a 3x difference in visibility for what is essentially the same job.
Now think about your own title. Is it the term recruiters type when they’re looking for someone like you? Or is it the term your company’s HR department invented during a reorganization three years ago?
Every week you spend with the wrong title is a week you’re invisible to people actively trying to hire someone with your skills.
If you’re between roles, that invisibility costs you real money. A senior executive earning $300,000 per year loses $5,769 for every week their job search extends. Multiply that by the months you spend invisible, and the cost of a bad LinkedIn title becomes very concrete.
Senior executives who work with me move from buried to page 1 of recruiter searches. I send you the before-and-after rankings to prove it.
Three Mistakes That Keep Executives Out of Search Results
Most senior executives make at least one of these errors. Many make all three.
Mistake 1: Using abbreviations
Your profile says “VP” instead of “Vice President.” Or “CEO” instead of “Chief Executive Officer.”
Recruiters search for the full term. LinkedIn’s search algorithm doesn’t always connect abbreviations to full words. When you abbreviate, you cut your searchability.
Write out every title in full. Every single one.
Mistake 2: Missing the seniority keywords
Recruiters filter searches by seniority level. They type “Director of Marketing” or “Vice President of Operations” or “Chief Financial Officer.”
If your title is “Marketing Lead” or “Head of Operations” or “Finance Executive,” you’re not matching those searches.
The words “Manager,” “Director,” “Vice President,” and “Chief” are seniority signals. Recruiters use them to filter results. If those words aren’t in your title, you’re filtered out before you’re ever seen.
Look at your current and past titles. Do they contain clear seniority markers? If your company called you “Team Lead” when you were running a 50-person department with P&L responsibility, that’s a Director or Vice President level role. Your LinkedIn title should reflect the level, not the quirky internal naming convention.
Mistake 3: Using company-specific titles
Some companies create unique titles. “Innovation Catalyst.” “Customer Success Ninja.” “Growth Acceleration Partner.” “Transformation Lead.”
These titles mean something inside your organization. Outside your organization, they mean nothing. Worse, they match zero recruiter searches.
Recruiters search for standardized titles. “Product Manager.” “Sales Director.” “Vice President of Marketing.” “Chief Operating Officer.”
If your official title was company-specific, translate it into the industry-standard equivalent. You’re not lying. You’re communicating in language recruiters understand.
You can include your official title in parentheses if accuracy matters to you. “Sales Director (Growth Acceleration Partner)” gives you the searchability of the standard title while preserving the exact language from your employment records.
The Visibility Test
Here’s how to know if your titles are working for you or against you.
Ask yourself: In the past 90 days, how many recruiter messages have you received about relevant opportunities?
If the answer is close to zero, your titles are likely part of the problem.
Recruiters are searching for people like you every day. If they’re not finding you, the issue isn’t the market. The issue is your searchability.
What To Do Right Now
Open a blank document. Write down the three job titles a recruiter would most likely type into LinkedIn when searching for someone with your skills and experience level.
Be honest. Not what you wish they’d search. Not what sounds impressive. What would a busy recruiter with other roles to fill actually type?
Now open your LinkedIn profile. Look at every title in your Experience section. Look at your headline.
Do any of those three titles appear? If not, you’ve found your problem.
Fix it today. Update your headline. Edit your job titles. Use full words, include seniority markers, and translate company-specific language into terms recruiters recognize.
This isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about making yourself findable to people who are actively trying to hire someone exactly like you.
Every day your profile stays invisible is another day a recruiter fills a role with someone else. Not because they were more qualified. Because they showed up in the search results and you didn’t.
Kind regards,
Kristof
Very useful article … thanks