Your LinkedIn Headline Is Sabotaging Your Career
Here's the 5-Minute Fix
Welcome to issue #065 of LinkedIn 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 a 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 use LinkedIn—because I do it every day.
It's absolutely shocking how many brilliant executives are invisible to headhunters because of one simple mistake.
Their LinkedIn headline (It is the tagline under your name that tells people what you do).
Just last week, I worked with Sarah, a VP of Operations who'd been job searching for 4 months without a single recruiter call. Talented executive. Impressive track record. Perfect qualifications.
But her headline read: "Experienced Operations Leader | Passionate About Excellence."
Generic. Unsearchable. Completely useless.
Within 5 minutes of fixing her headline, everything changed.
The Brutal Reality of How Headhunters Actually Find You
Here's what most executives still don't understand: headhunters don't browse LinkedIn hoping to stumble across your profile.
We search.
When I get a new assignment for a VP of Operations role, I open LinkedIn Recruiter and type specific keywords:
"VP Operations," "Manufacturing," "Lean Six Sigma," "P&L Management."
That's it.
If those exact terms aren't in your headline, you don't exist to me.
Sarah's "passionate about excellence" headline? It never appeared in a single search I ran for operations roles. Not once.
The Golden Formula That Changes Everything
After analyzing thousands of executive searches, I've identified the exact formula that gets executives found:
JOB TITLE | GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE | INDUSTRY | SUBSECTOR | KEY DIFFERENTIATOR
Sarah's transformation looked like this:
Before: "Experienced Operations Leader | Passionate About Excellence"
After: "VP Operations | Global | Manufacturing | Automotive | Led $200M Cost Reduction"
The difference? Night and day.
Why This Formula Actually Works
This isn't theory—it's how headhunters actually search.
When I'm looking for an operations executive, I filter by:
Job title: "VP Operations" or "Director Operations"
Industry: "Manufacturing" or "Automotive"
Keywords: "Cost reduction," "Lean," "Six Sigma"
Geographic scope: "Global," "EMEA," "North America"
Sarah's new headline hits every single filter.
The old one? Zero matches.
Sarah's Results Were Immediate
Here's what happened after Sarah implemented the golden formula:
Day 2: First message from an executive recruiter Day 5: Three different search firms reached out Day 12: Phone interview scheduled Day 27: Final round interviews at two companies
From 4 months of silence to multiple opportunities in 27 days.
The only thing that changed? Her headline.
The 3 Biggest Headline Mistakes Executives Make
1. Using Vague, Fluffy Language "Strategic leader passionate about transformation" tells me nothing. I can't search for "passionate about transformation."
2. Company-Specific Titles "Chief Growth Architect" might sound impressive internally, but headhunters search for "VP Sales" or "Chief Revenue Officer."
3. Missing Industry Keywords If you're in medical devices but don't mention "MedTech," "FDA," or "regulatory," you won't appear in relevant searches.
Your 5-Minute Headline Makeover
Ready to fix your headline right now? Follow this process:
Step 1: Identify your target job title Use the standard industry version, not your company's creative name.
Step 2: Add your geographic scope Global, EMEA, North America, Regional—whatever matches your experience.
Step 3: Include your industry SaaS, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Financial Services—be specific.
Step 4: Add your subsector Enterprise Software, Automotive, MedTech, Investment Banking.
Step 5: Include your key differentiator A major achievement, P&L size, or specific expertise.
Examples:
❌ "Seasoned Technology Executive | Driving Innovation" ✅ "CTO | Global | SaaS | Enterprise Security | $50M ARR Growth"
❌ "Results-Driven Sales Professional" ✅ "VP Sales | EMEA | Medical Devices | Cardiovascular | Led IPO Preparation"
The Bottom Line
Your headline isn't about personal branding or creativity.
It's about being found by the right people at the right time.
Sarah learned this the hard way after 4 months of being invisible.
You can learn it right now and start getting results immediately.
Stop hoping recruiters will find you by accident.
Make it impossible for them to miss you.
Your next career move is just one headline away.
Take Action Today: Update your LinkedIn headline using the golden formula. Within 48 hours, you should start seeing increased profile views from recruiters.
— Kristof
P.S. Want the complete system for LinkedIn optimization? I've helped hundreds of executives become visible to headhunters. [Get my full course here →]