Last updated: March 2026

Before you send your next application or reach out to a recruiter, your LinkedIn profile should be able to stand on its own. This is a section-by-section self-review checklist you can complete in 30 minutes — identifying what's working, what's missing, and what's actively hurting your visibility.

If you'd rather skip the manual review and get an AI-powered score immediately, ProfileScore analyzes every section in under 2 minutes. But either way, understanding what great looks like helps you make better decisions about your profile.

How to Conduct Your Own LinkedIn Profile Review

Step 1: View Your Profile as a Visitor

Before auditing details, see your profile as others see it. Click "View Profile" then look at the top preview: What's your photo? What does your headline say? Does the above-the-fold experience make you want to learn more?

Ask yourself: If I had never met this person, would I send them a connection request? Would I message them? If the answer is uncertain, the fundamentals need work.

Step 2: Photo and Background Banner

Check these in order:

☐ Is there a photo? (No photo = 21× fewer profile views)
☐ Is it recent and professional? (No selfies, group photos, or blurry images)
☐ Does your face fill 60-70% of the frame?
☐ Is the background neutral?
☐ Do you have a custom background banner? (Most profiles don't — easy way to stand out)

Step 3: Headline Review

☐ Is your headline more than just your job title?
☐ Does it include keywords a recruiter would search for your role?
☐ Does it include a value proposition — what you uniquely deliver?
☐ Is it at least 100 characters? (Most compelling headlines use 150-200 of the 220 allowed)
☐ Would someone reading it understand what you do without knowing your industry?

If you answered "no" to 3 or more, your headline is a priority fix. See our 15 LinkedIn headline formulas guide for rewrites.

Step 4: About Section Review

☐ Is the About section filled out? (Blank About sections are a major missed opportunity)
☐ Do the first two lines create curiosity or just state your job title?
☐ Is it written in first person? (Not "John is a…")
☐ Does it include at least 2 quantified achievements?
☐ Does it end with a call to action or what you're looking for?
☐ Is it 3-5 paragraphs or less? (Long About sections lose readers)

Step 5: Experience Section Review

For each role, check:

☐ Is there a company name, job title, and date range?
☐ Does each role have at least 2 bullet points?
☐ Do bullets lead with strong action verbs (Led, Built, Grew, Reduced)?
☐ Does at least one bullet per role include a metric (%, $, time saved, users)?
☐ Are bullets about achievements, not just duties?
☐ Do older roles have fewer bullets than current/recent roles?

The most common failure: bullets that describe job duties ("Managed social media accounts") rather than achievements ("Grew LinkedIn following from 500 to 15,000 in 6 months").

Step 6: Skills Section Review

☐ Do you have at least 30 skills listed? (The maximum is 50 — most people leave 30+ slots empty)
☐ Are your most important and searchable skills in the top 3 positions?
☐ Do your skills match the language used in job descriptions for your target role?
☐ Do at least 5 skills have endorsements from connections?

Step 7: Education and Certifications

☐ Is your degree listed with institution, field, and graduation year?
☐ If you graduated in the last 5 years, did you add relevant coursework and honors?
☐ Are relevant professional certifications listed (AWS, Google, PMP, etc.)?
☐ If taking courses on LinkedIn Learning or Coursera, are recent completions listed?

Step 8: Profile Settings Review

☐ Have you set a custom LinkedIn URL? (linkedin.com/in/yourname, not linkedin.com/in/john-smith-49283bc)
☐ Is your profile set to public?
☐ Have you configured "Open to Work" if you're job seeking?
☐ Is your "Contact info" section filled with email or preferred contact method?

What Your Self-Review Score Means

Count how many items above you checked "yes" to:

0-12: Your profile needs significant work. Focus on photo, headline, and at least 3 achievement bullets per role first.
13-20: Solid foundation. Fix the items you missed — each one is measurably reducing your visibility or conversion rate.
21-28: Strong profile. Focus on content strategy — start posting 1-2x per week to build authority in your area.
28+: Excellent. Now optimize for specific roles by tailoring your headline and skills to active job descriptions.

Or Skip the Manual Review

A self-review is a good start, but it's inherently subjective — you might miss things a fresh set of eyes (or an AI trained on millions of profiles) would catch immediately.

ProfileScore's AI audit reviews every section of your LinkedIn profile against best practices, scores each area 0-100, identifies the specific gaps holding your score down, and suggests concrete rewrites. It's free to start, takes under 2 minutes, and gives you a prioritized action plan rather than a generic checklist.

The paid upgrade ($5) unlocks the AI-generated rewrites for every section — so instead of knowing what to fix, you have the fixed version ready to copy and paste.

Free LinkedIn Profile Review: What to Look For (and How to Fix It)