How to Evaluate an Executive LinkedIn Profile Optimization Service: A Headhunter's Checklist

Most executives shopping for LinkedIn help start with a comparison article. Services ranked by price and turnaround time.

Those lists help you set a budget. They tell you nothing about the one thing that decides the result: does the person rewriting your profile know how a headhunter searches?

I run retained searches for Director, VP and C-level roles at Mercuri Urval, and I've rewritten more than 2,500 executive LinkedIn profiles. Yes, I sell this service myself. Run this checklist on me too.

First, know what the profile is for

LinkedIn is a database first and a social network second. When I get a new mandate, I open LinkedIn Recruiter and search by job title, industry and location before I call anyone.

An executive profile has 3 jobs, in this order:

1. Findability. You show up when a consultant searches for your role.

2. Ranking. You show up on the first pages of results.

3. Comprehension. In a quick scan of your headline, current title, last roles and location, the consultant decides you're worth a click.

A good service works on all 3. Most writers only work on the third, because that's the part a human reads.

1. Does the work start with keywords?

Ask to see the keyword map before any writing starts.

A writer who opens by asking for your CV will hand you a nicer version of your CV. A recruiter-led process starts with the roles you want to be found for, and builds the keyword list from there.

I work with 100 to 150 keywords per profile, across 5 categories:

• Job titles, in the standard form consultants type

• Industry terms (medical devices, SaaS, FinTech)

• Subsector terms (cardiovascular, orthopedics, enterprise software)

• Functional expertise (P&L management, go-to-market strategy, post-merger integration)

• Methodologies and systems (Lean Six Sigma, SAP, MEDDIC)

"Strategic thinker" and "visionary leader" belong on none of these lists. Consultants search for functions and industries. Adjectives never make it into a search.

Ask: which search terms will my profile be built for, and who decided them?

2. Will they change your job titles?

This is where most executive profiles fail, and where most writers don't touch anything because the title is "what the company called you".

The rules I use:

• Every title carries one of 4 seniority words: Manager, Director, Vice President or Chief

• Abbreviations get spelled out (Vice President, Chief Financial Officer)

• Compound titles get split ("Sales & Marketing Director" becomes "Sales Director | Marketing Director")

• Internal jargon gets translated into the market title

A real example from a medical devices client: "Head of Pre-Hospital / Hospital Emergency Care Sales" became "Sales Director | Pre-Hospital and Hospital Emergency Care | Medical Devices". Same job. One version matches a consultant's search, and the other one doesn't.

Ask: will you rewrite my job titles, and what rules do you use?

3. Do they cover every searchable field?

A headline and an About section are half the job. Here's what a full rewrite covers:

• Headline: all 220 characters, built on a clear formula. Mine is Job Title | Geographic Scope | Industry | Subsector | Differentiator

• About: up to 2,600 characters, written as a keyword repository with a short opening that states your role, industry and scope

• Experience: up to 2,000 characters per role, with standardized titles and your scope in numbers

• Skills: rebuilt from zero with hard keywords. Soft skills and endorsements do nothing for search

If the quote only mentions the headline and About, the searchability problem is still there when the invoice arrives.

Ask: which fields are included, and will you use the full character limits?

4. Who writes it, and how much is AI?

Many services sell on brand and deliver through subcontractors you never speak to. Others paste your CV into an AI tool.

You can spot both. AI-written profiles read polished and generic: "results-driven leader", "strategic visionary", no company names, no numbers. Consultants recognize that language in seconds, and so does every executive who reads your profile.

AI can help with structure. Your numbers, your companies and your judgment about what goes in your first line have to come from a person who talked to you.

Ask: who writes the copy, and will that person run the intake conversation?

5. How do they handle Open to Work and a confidential search?

If you're employed and searching confidentially, your profile has 2 jobs: get found by the right consultants, and avoid announcing to your employer that you're looking.

A writer who knows the recruiter side will tell you to switch on Open to Work with visibility set to recruiters only, and skip the public green banner. They'll also tell you how to fill the 5 job title slots: your current title, 1 or 2 synonyms, and 1 or 2 step-up titles. Load all 5 with step-up titles and you drop out of the searches that match your current level.

Be clear-eyed about the risk. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide the recruiters-only signal from recruiters at your own company, but it can't guarantee it.

Ask: what do you recommend for my Open to Work settings, and why?

6. Do they sell you things that don't move search?

Watch for these in the pitch:

• LinkedIn Premium. Consultants use LinkedIn Recruiter, a separate product with its own search. Premium doesn't change how Recruiter ranks you.

• A posting plan. Consultants search the database. They don't scroll your feed.

• Personal branding. It shapes how people see you once they've found you. It does nothing to get you found.

• Endorsements. Cosmetic.

Each might have a place in your plan. None of them changes where you rank in a consultant's search.

7. What happens after delivery?

A rewritten profile is a starting point. What keeps you in searches is behavior: keeping the profile current, replying to every InMail (a polite "not right now" counts), and updating titles and keywords as your target roles sharpen.

Ask: do I get a review of the finished profile with the writer, and guidance on what to maintain myself?

The 20-minute test

Before you buy, ask 3 questions:

1. Which search terms will my profile be built for?

2. Who writes it?

3. What do I do if recruiter contact doesn't pick up in the first months?

A supplier who answers all 3 with specifics is worth a call. A supplier who answers in brochure language just showed you what your profile will sound like.

A profile is half the work. The other half is outreach: which search consultants to approach, in which markets, and what to say. My one-month coaching program pairs a LinkedIn profile rewrite with an outreach strategy, 4 private calls, a network activation plan and a list of executive search consultants who cover your industry, level and target markets, with their contact details.

Explore the coaching program →

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